I dont get the big bite :(

[FivePoundBluegill]

Something that has been frustrateing me when fishing for quite a while now is whenever I go for largemouth bass I can almost NEVER get the big bite. Yeah most of the time I fish a small pond which doesent have any fish over around four pounds but even when I go to a larger lake I still do not get the big bite. I go to a one of two larger lakes about once a week and I end up doing pretty well with numbers of bass. I used to go out and catch one decent bass at these lakes and about 8 dinks. Now I am doing quite a bit better and usually catch 2-4 nice 2-3 pound bass every time I go to a larger lake. Thing is I almost never catch any bass over four pounds. Also its not like these two lakes dont have big bass in them. I have seen bass in the 8-9 pound range in there I just cant get them to bite. My last outing at one of these larger lakes I took two rods with me. One was rigged with a four inch castaic baby bass swimbait and the other was rigged with a zoom super fluke. I was hopeing these big baits would catch me a lunker but I did not even get a bite on the swimbait. The super flukes I got a few nice two pound fish though. Even when I throw senkos in these larger lakes I only seem to catch small-average bass. Maybe it is just that these two lakes are realy heavily fished. I just ordered a mattlures baby bluegill. Very expensive bait which I hope will produce me a nice fish. Anyone got any advice for me?

[Catt]

Location is the key not the bait; you can throw all the big bass baits in the world but if you aint in the right location you aint gonna catch no big bass.

[Brian_Reeves]

I'm with Catt on this one.  "Big Bass baits" only work in Big Bass Locations.  Areas that you should be looking for are usually located in deeper water, but not always.  Prime contestants are points that swing into river channels, grasslines, holes in the grassbeds, humps, dropoffs, and roadbeds.  These are areas that I usually start thinking "5lbs or biggber baby!"  Sometimes it pays off, sometimes not.  I'm not as experienced in the big fish game as say, FishChris or Catt, both of which have probably caught my weight in lunker bass, but I'm working on it  ;D

[RobDar]

you dont get the big bite??? your handle is fivepoundbluegill for god's sake!  ;D ;D

that is a big bluegill!!!!

Catt is right AGAIN...

this is difficult for me as well. knowing when, where, and how to catch fish by size is the "finesse" of bass fishing. It is a major skill refinement that takes a while to learn I think.

It was once explained to me like this...

"to catch big fish you gotta hit the fish where he lives, you gota toss into his living room...so always be thinking real estate...location, location, location."

Good luck with this by the way. I really think that this is one of those things that just plain takes time and experience to learn. Start keeping a log, if do not already, it is a big help.

[Fish Chris]

I'd say you should start looking for the guy(s) in your areas that "DO" get the big bites ! What are they doing ? When, where, and how are they fishing ? Sure, some of those guys are going to be pretty tight lipped.... but their has to be one or two of them who will appreciate your enthusiasm, and give you some valuable info.

The fact is, if you can find even just 1 guy in your area who catches some good fish, like your dreaming of, this means "it's possible" ! If he can do it, you can too !

Also, talk to your local F&G. Heck, it doesn't even matter if the biologists you talk with are fishermen.... They still know where the most big ones are, through, studies, electroshocking, etc.

One things for sure; "If what your doing right now is not producing the desired results, their is no sense in beating your head against the wall" ! It's time to switch it up, and approach it from a whole different angle.

Ten years ago, I could have continued to fish exactly the way I used to, and by now, I might have caught "1" bass over 10 lbs.... or, I might not have. Instead, I changed everything, and caught my 83rd 2 months ago.

Hope this helps,

I know their are some big ones in your waters, just waiting for you to crack the code ;-)

Peace,

Fish

[bassindon]

There is no magic to big bass fishing. It is hard work and time on the water. You can fish the very best spot in a lake when you start and not even know it. Why? because they did not feed or bite that day. Thats what makes it tough. When it is on, It's ON! (Be ready) I have had many 40 lb five fish limits the past two years and even a 53 lb limit and in Most cases they come from one spot or area. You can NOT go out and just put it together. If you do you got very lucky. I used to hope for even a 5 lb fish each trip, now a 5 is a dink for me LOL! Here is a post I put on another site about big fish.

People don't catch big bass that much because they don't fish for them. The masses use smaller baits that catch smaller fish. Most buy a 25 to 30+ thousand dollar boat. They did not buy this boat to go out and get skunked for trips at a time. They bought it to catch fish so they fish baits that catch fish. They don't fish baits that catch the Big fish, why? They can't stand not catching thats why. Thats how it is with Big fish fishing. You have to stay with it. Not a few hours then put it down, that gets you nothing. All day long you have to stick with it. Trip after trip after trip. You guys ready to fish many trips with out a fish? I don't think so. Thats why you don't get them.  Big fish are fish eaters, trout,baby bass,perch,crappy and on... any thing that swims, easy meal and anything a bass can fit in its mouth around gets it. Again in over 20 years I had 3 fish over 10 and in two years using Big baits I caught 18 over 10 and two teens and nine 9's on down. Two trips I had 3 bass over 10 with a teen same day, I would say that says something for using big baits. I have had my share of fishless days. But its worth it to me. No one likes to learn all over again. I hated the fact I had to buy new rods and reels and start paying high dollar for baits. You know what, now that I have a bunch of big baits I find my self spending less on tackle then I did before. Big fish fishing I guess is not for everyone, you will like it or not. Me, I love it! I feel in the next few years I will get a 15 or bigger. I already had one on that was that big. I never dreamed fishing could be like this. I know some say you got it good out there in calif but you can still get the bigger fish in your lakes also. 3 lb fish hit big baits too.

Best of luck!

Don.

[32251]

Get a copy of Bill Murphys book " In search of Giant Bass".  You will understand more of the traits of larger fish and if you want you can change your tactics to fish for them.  There will always be the situation where you just luck out and catch a big one using standard tactics, but if you really want to fish for big fish, you have to change your approach to suit them. They have a much higher survival insinct than smaller fish and are not fooled often.

[jwo1124]

All I have to say is, join the club. I have been bass fishing for the past 8 years since I've been 12. Most of my fishing has been done off the shore though. My biggest bass is 3.14. I only get the chance to bass fish in ponds though. My brother just caught a big bass out of a pond in a local cemetary while fishing with shiners. We tried to weight it, but the scale wasn;t working properly and I wanted to get the bass back in the water without injuring it. So we had to sacrifice a weight to save the fish...small price to pay if you ask me. A big bass is a gift from god. Sure there are prime holding places you can search for, but for the most part, it's just going to happen...One day you'll be fishing liek always, get a bite, and you'll see that big mama break the surface with that first jump and your heart will be in your throat until you land her. Just put in your hours, do your homework, and fish smart and you'll get a big girl eventually.

[Catt]

bassindon69, I respectfully disagree every one of my DD bass came on small baits; this is not saying big bait don't catch big bass but so does small baits. Now let me clarify my bass were caught on 7 1/2 & 9 worms and a ½ oz Rat-L-Trap. If you throw a Huddleston Prototype 12 Shad in the wrong place it aint gonna catch a DD bass cause the DD bass aint there. I recall Fish Chris recently catching a DD on a Huddleston Bug and as Matt Fly can verify one of the biggest bass caught in Texas was on a crappie jig.

Fish Chris said it in a round about way but I'll say it straight up If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got

[deepsessions]

seems like the right retrieve and right spot have more to do with getting the bigger fish this year for me. However swimbait'n has helped me get a much better understanding of big fish mentality,location,angles etc...

can't hurt to learn both just loosen up your pockets  ;D

[Randall]

I have to agree with Catt on this one. Catching big fish is mostly location. I catch just as many big fish on skinny little trickworms as I do big swimbaits. Each day and lake is different and I believe in choosing the best bait/tool for the job. Sometimes its a big swimbait, sometimes its a jig, sometimes its a worm. Location, picking the right bait, and the way a bait is fished are all way more important than bait size.  Also, the best two ways to learn to catch bigger fish is to either learn it from someone who already catches big fish on a regular basis or to learn it by reading or maybe watching a video tape. Learning it on your own is the hard way and could take years to learn what someone may be willing to show you in minutes.  

[StatosDadRI]

Catt is right about location. But... just from my experience I used to have a serious issue like that were I could get my 5 in the boat no problem but I would come in no weight. Then I fished a tourney with my buddy and he  ended up really turning me into a jig fisherman. It was one of those deals were I would throw to a tree with a senko or spinnerbait and pull of that little 12-14" keeper then my buddy would throw the jig and pull off the 3 pounder. Then we would go to anothe rpiece of cover and I would throw and not get bit and my Buddy with his jig would pull of another quality fish. It took me couple of trips where I would get my you know what beat bad to get me to start doing it. When I did eventually start fishing a jig I didnt get the numbers I used to but I got the quality. Maybe its just a New England deal, I really dont know, but I have been much more successful catching above average fish since.

[Tin]

Ya I acctually posted that, dad's name was already signed in and didnt realize it.

[bassindon]

WOW!  I guess we all believe what we want to believe but the numbers dont lie.  

[5bass]

WOW! I guess we all believe what we want to believe but the numbers dont lie.

What #'s are you referring to?

[Randall]

WOW! I guess we all believe what we want to believe but the numbers dont lie.

What #'s are you referring to?

I was wondering the same thing. Don there are guys here on this site who have big numbers of double digit fish on smaller size baits. They all have the photos and/or witnesses to prove it as well. If you are refering to your numbers it may be true for you. It may be true for California fishermen for the most part. I don't know since I have never fished there. But if you are looking for big numbers of big fish including double digit and a few teen fish caught on smaller to average size baits then all you have to do is look at some old posts on this site from people like George Welcome, Tom Redington, Catt, Doghouse, myself and some others to see that the numbers of big fish are there. I can remember that even Fish Chris and Fourbizzle have some big fish that came on smaller size baits. I try to read all these guys posts when I can because even though I do OK already catching big fish I have picked up a few things from reading their posts as well. But, the one thing I have noticed for sure is that I am not the only guy catching numbers of big fish on average size baits.

[Catt]

When Fish Chris, George Welcome, Raul, Tom Redington, Matt Fly, Doghouse, Randall, Matt Lures, Fourbizzle, Rolo, and other whom I've forgot to mention talk about finding & catching big bass I usually copy and paste it to Micro Soft Word for future reference.

I don't think anyone here is questioning the validity of big baits, I think we are all in agreement you have to use simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch big bass regardless of the size of the bait.

The first 2004 ShareLunker from Lake Fork January 14, 2004

Frank Hardy of Mineola, TX caught the first of the 2004 Share A Lunker weighing 13.32 lbs. The bass measured 24" and had a girth of  22.13". Frank Hardy was crappie fishing under Hwy 154 bridge in 40' of water. The bass went for a handmade crappie jig.

[bassindon]

It's cool, Forget it, I don't know what I am talking about.

I will go back to the other fishig web sites.

Best of luck on your big fish everyone. Im out.

C'ya

Don.

[deepsessions]

I've been fishing for bass since the early 80's and know the only way to productively catch big northerns where I grew up fishing in WA was to use live bait or use weightless plastics....big worms,slug-go's(before senko's),and gitzits. These would be a staple in the spring/summer/fall months.

Since moving to Cali in '98 I've been learning about many of the great fisheries and have been trying to figure out why some bass get so big. That being said the one common thing that I've found is big forage. Whether it be hatchery raised trout or kokanee in our reservoirs, Squawfish or American Shad througout the Delta,or numbers of shad and monster hitch at Clear Lake. Everything is big in Cali wild,native,or hatchery raised. As I'm sure most of you already know the growing season is year round here. In order to match the hatch for trophy sized bass alot of guys throw swimbaits or big profile plugs to target these big fish on our many highly pressured waters. This raises your chances when fish are picky and have been feeding on one forage. When that forage decreases some guys throw big profile plastics or jigs when trophy hunting.

it seems to me that there's more to getting those big bites than just using a big bait   :

[Matt Fly]

You want bigger bites, look for lakes that give you better odds of doing so.      There are some lakes that you could make 500 casts on and have good odds of catching 5 lber.   Some lakes, you may need to make 5000 casts to catch a 5 lber.    To me that is 1 five pounder every 5 triips.   Good, but not great, considering I can catch one  7  or better every  3 trips.

    Simple facts are, there are some lakes you could fish 100 days a year on the prime times, and not ever catch a personal best or a 5 lber.    

Time on the water normally helps us find some productive spots, sometimes its smaller baits that helps us find numbers.    Only to fish a jig the next time to find better fish in the same spot.  

Some of us are blessed to have lakes that kick out big fish every hour, and there are some who are blessed if they see a big fish in a years time.  

All of this science and theory is only good if you can apply it to where it applies.

You just may be on a lake that it will take 20000 casts to produce a good keeper.

Matt

[SPEEDBEAD.]

It's cool, Forget it, I don't know what I am talking about.

I will go back to the other fishig web sites.

Best of luck on your big fish everyone. Im out.

C'ya

Don.

BYE.

FPB, like it has been said before....listen to the guys who are catching the big fish.  You live in a state w/ some of the best big bass potential in the world.  Once you have put in the work, you will be on your way to "the big bite."

Keep in mind what your "big bite" will be, though.

Will you be satisfied w/ a 6lb bass or are you looking to surpass the 15 pound mark?  Either way, keep your eyes on the prize and focus on that specific target.

Good luck!!

Wayne

[roadwarrior]

My take is location, location, location!

I do prefer big baits/ big lures and fishing for THE bite. As Fish Chris has often stated, "getting skunked is expected", it's just part of the program. To consistantly catch big fish, you must target big fish. It's not luck, it's persistence and a plan.

[Del from philly]

if your not worrying about the "where".....

then i would say this: SLOWER IS BETTER, especially for the big ones.....

at least, thats how its been for me in PA

my 3 best fish this year (nothing too specialy, but big for these waters) were caught on soft plastics that were on the bottom sitting for a little bit

these fish i didnt even know where on....untill i pulled back

one i was lighting a ciggerett, when i picked the rod up BAM

another was when i was taking a picture of the lake.......

take your mind off it, and try it slower and stiller than usual