Two pounder truth

[Raul]

I couldn't help noticing that the average size you guys catch is quite small.

That 's what happens when there are a hundred lil ones ready to pounce on every bait you throw, like Madhouse just pointed out. You go through a bunch of dinks before a bigger one actually has a chance to hit your bait.

[Guest avid]

This topic is interesting, because I usually guess on the weight and turn them loose. I think I will buy myself a nice set of digital scales and throw a pen and notebook in the boat and start actually weighing all the fish I catch. This should interesting as I consider myself to be an average fisherman.

The old spring loaded scales I have are only good if you're weighin a sack of rocks. I think thats why I never weigh anything, the accuracy is too poor with the spring scales, so I dont' use them, even if the fish is a good one. I will post my results some time this spring here on the site after I've made several trips.

I havn't seen one in years, but Zebco used to make a spring loaded scale called the "de-liar" I don't know how accurate mine was, but I can tell you that everytime I put a bass on that scale it always weighed less than the fisherman said it did.  De-Liar was the absolute perfect name for it  ;D ;D ;D

[Preston]

All i know is that id be pretty happy if i could net one 2lb fish EVERYTIME i go out. Never get skunked again, man that be nice especially in this time of year.

[5bass]

It all depends on where you fish.Obviously if you are fishing ponds or private lakes your # of fish and average fish weight should be bigger than someone who fishes on really deep,really big,heavily pressured lakes all the time.

I live in Va. and fish a heavily pressured lake and most fish we catch during a day are up to 2# but 1.5# is probably a more realistic number,on average.We usually dont have a problem catching 4 or 5 "keeper" fish in an 8-hour period and would say that we catch at least one bass each trip that will go between 3 and 6 pounds,it's not real uncommon.

But catching a big fish always depends on the length of time it takes me to catch a limit.If it takes a while to limit,my time for fishing for a big one is cut way down and that could cause me not to catch a 4 pounder on an outing.That's just how I fish,I always try to catch 5 keepers FIRST,then fish for the big one.I do this whether I'm fishing a tournament,practicing or just fishing.It's like I'm fishing a tournament on every trip.

There are lots of variables that go along with this topic.

[Matt Fly]

Certain baits in tournaments can eliminate a few small fish.    generally, my spinner bait fish are 80% keepers, 14 inch plus, I average 2.75 on keepers with SB.   dd22 pull more keeper fish than dinks.   A nice bulky profile pig/jig usually weeds the dinks out also.  

Baits that catch dinks, this isn't saying they don't catch "keeper fish".

Drop shots, flukes, tubes, finese worm, small cranks, rattle traps, small spinner baits.

My theroy for my lakes with 200 teams.   Lots pressure, so bites and keepers may be few.   So with a larger profiles bait, I'm trying to attract chunks instead  of 14 inch minimums.   14" x 5 =  5 to 6.25

[earthworm77]

I fished with a whole club full of guys who claimed every fish they caught was a two pounder, yet come tournament time, they all brought in 5lb limits.....go figure!! ;D

[5bass]

Matt,I agree with that DD22 statement you made.....or any larger,deep diving crank for that matter.The DT16 has been by far my best crankbait for big fish the past 2 seasons but for 10-12 seasons before that,the DD22 was my go-to crank.Sure you can catch dinks with it but usually the dinks are shallower than 16-18 ft.

I generally catch decent fish with the spinnerbait but the 13-15" fish get on it the most,but there again,it matters what lake you are fishing and the quality of fish in that lake.

I've gotten away from jig fishing the past few years (b/c of a patience issue I have) but jigs are generally what I throw after I've got 5 fish.I need to fish them more at the start of the trip rather than later on.I guess I've just gotten used to catching fish by fishing really fast and thats what I always start doing when I hit the water.......fishing at warp speed,looking for aggressive fish.

[Guest avid]

I love fishing the jig.  Under the right conditions it is soooooo effective and fun to fish.  Perfect conditions for me would be water temp in the mid 60's, visiblity around 3', 5-10 mph wind blowing paralell to the shoreline.  I can get into a rhythm of pitching the jig that gets sort of zen.  Really, nothing else exists except me and the bass.  Moments when I get like that are rare, but I cherish them.  Bass fishing is the only activity where I can just loose myself.  Some might call it being totally "in the zone".  I don't know, but it's a Rick Clunn type experience and it is wonderful.