Size class question- FishChris, other trophy hunters please

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Do you find that the larger, i.e. "elderly' class of fish don't jump as much?

Is there a definitive style of fight? (diggers, jumpers, rubber boot,?)

[Raul]

It 's not that easy for a 10 + pounder to jump out of the water, only seen it a few of of times, most of the times they just pull like mad with ocassional runs when you catch them in relatively open water, when you happen to hook one where there 's cover the first thing they do is to run for it which normally is no more than three feet away.  

[Big-O]

In my opinion, they all try. I don't think I have ever seen a big fish that didn't try to come to the top asap and try to throw the bait. Not to say that they will all jump if you set the hook and just let them swim around down there without putting pressure on'em. But even then, I've hooked no telling how many huge fish that got the best of me and broke off with the bait in their mouth only to come up immediately if not later and thrash around trying to throw the bait.  Been doing it too long and got the t shirt. After bass fishing for 45 yrs and guided on lakes like Fork and other big fish lakes in Texas for 20 yrs., it doesn't necessarily mean I am an authority on this subject but it does give a little credence to the info.

www.ragetail.com

[Catt]

I've had one clear the surface but plenty of them come up and roll or head shake more than once on the way to the boat.

[Mattlures]

Big old bass are not always the hardest fighting fish but they are the smartest fighting fish alive. They will instantly head for cover. The first thing I do is troll the boat to open water if I can while fighting the fish. The big fish I have caught rarley clear the water but they all come up shaking thier heads. When I feel them come up, I sweep my rod hard to the side and try and turn them just before they break the surface. If you can do this, you parachute their mouthes. Their mouthes are stuck open from the pressuer of you cranking them in.

Dont try this with regular gear. First off you CANT turn them and second you will break off.

[WRB]

Bass jumping after they are hooked depends on several factors;

1. The depth they are initially hooked; 25 feet or less they usually try to shake off by making at least one jump or surface head shake. 30 feet or deeper they rarely jump.

2. Size of the lure and how they are hooked; larger lures like swimbaits that the bass has managed to engulf deeply usually keeps the bass down and fighting less agressively. Hooked anywhere near the eye socket really fires them up and they usually jump to escape the lure.

3. Big old bass not fighting hard? All the bass I have caught between 17 to 19 lbs are big and old, they jumped completely out of the water at least once.

WRB

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

In my opinion, they all try. I don't think I have ever seen a big fish that didn't try to come to the top asap and try to throw the bait. Not to say that they will all jump if you set the hook and just let them swim around down there without putting pressure on'em. But even then, I've hooked no telling how many huge fish that got the best of me and broke off with the bait in their mouth only to come up immediately if not later and thrash around trying to throw the bait.  Been doing it too long and got the t shirt. After bass fishing for 45 yrs and guided on lakes like Fork and other big fish lakes in Texas for 20 yrs., it doesn't necessarily mean I am an authority on this subject but it does give a little credence to the info.

www.ragetail.com

I need one of those shirts...

[fourbizz]

I have had only 1 fish that I thought was over 10 jump clear out of the water. First big swimbait fish I ever hooked. She jumped, I dumped her. Other than that almost every "big" fish I have hooked has come up and at least thrashed around at the surface. I have had very few that just bulldogged to the net. None of them were my biggest fish, but they fought MUCH harder than the "thrashers".

[.dsaavedra.]

my biggest bass (7lbs) imediatley bolted for deeper water when i caught it in 1 foot of water spawning.

my second biggest bass (6lbs) was also caught in a goot of water spawning, but it was much closer to me and it spent most of the time thrashing like crazy around the nest.

[Big-O]

In my opinion, they all try. I don't think I have ever seen a big fish that didn't try to come to the top asap and try to throw the bait. Not to say that they will all jump if you set the hook and just let them swim around down there without putting pressure on'em. But even then, I've hooked no telling how many huge fish that got the best of me and broke off with the bait in their mouth only to come up immediately if not later and thrash around trying to throw the bait.  Been doing it too long and got the t shirt. After bass fishing for 45 yrs and guided on lakes like Fork and other big fish lakes in Texas for 20 yrs., it doesn't necessarily mean I am an authority on this subject but it does give a little credence to the info.

www.ragetail.com

I need one of those shirts...

I'll get you one LBH but keep it quiet..shhhhhhhhhhhh

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[Fish Chris]

I think it really depends on a lot of this. When a bass inhales a big swimbait, it really has nothing it can do "besides" try to jump and throw the lure. It can't make any fast runs, because unless it can shut its mouth completely (tough when its stuffed full of swimbait) it's mouth acts like a driftsock, catching all kinds of water, and creating way too much drag.

So again, litterally 95%+ of my swimbait fish try to jump.

With a small bait, when they can close their mouth all the way, it varies from fish to fish.

As for the ability of big {old} fish to jump, that really varies too. My 18.4 PB made 3 huge runs, the first followed by a straight up high jump, clearing the water by her full 29" body length ! {still seared into my memory 5 years later} The second run, followed by a low, but long jump that must have been twice her body length. The final run was another attempted high jump.... but she only managed to get her tail a few inches above the surface.

My 15.8 (the fatty in my old avatar photo) tried to jump, but couldn't get her tail above water.

My recent 17.1 came to the surface a couple times like she was going to jump, but instead just burned a bunch of drag.

Again, its just a variable thing from fish to fish...

Peace,

Fish

[Matt Fly]

Time of the year and whats stuck in there mouth plays a big part if they jump or not.    Some of us don't raise our rods way up and try to keep the rod lower as to keep the fish restricted from jumping.

Lots of factors determine if they will or not.     Never had alot of jumpers in the dead of the winter, and thats probably due to metabolism as much as any other factor.

In winter, I find most fish to fight sluggish as opposed to when the temps have risen to the 60's.

[RoLo]

The first thing that impresses me most about really big bass is their shear strength,

somehow they always make me feel under-tackled (maybe I am).

I find it intriguing that every bass, regardless of size, instinctively knows

that it can shake its head back-&-forth faster in the air than it can underwater (so they take to the air).

I'm sure that really big bass are just as eager to sling-off the lure, but from what I've seen,

they usually don't have the athletic ability of medium-size bass. The gorgeous jumping hawg described by Fish Chris

is a treasured moment and an exceptional specimen. I've also encountered outstanding specimens,

once with a northern pike and once with a striped bass, but not so far with a largemouth bass.

From what I've seen in Florida, most of the jumps made by the largest bass are almost laughable. It goes something like this:

During the fight you'll notice the line moving upward in the water as she swims toward the surface,

but instead of breaking water on cue, there seems to be a slight hesitation.

Just when you're wondering what she's up to, a large head suddenly rises out of the water almost in slow motion.

She's prying downward on the water with her broad tail, but rather than an actual leap, it's more of a tail-stand.

While holding her big head high out of the water and almost in place,

she'll rattle her gills for all she's worth (good time to be wearing safety glasses).

In short, I would say that the tail-stand from the largest bass is more technical than athletic.

Roger

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Great answers everyone, thanks!

[WRB]

Bass deeper than 40 feet in most lakes can't run up and jump because of their airbladders expanding too fast. If they do come up, some will, they can't get back down with line pressure being applied and tend to wallow around on the surface with little or no fight left in them.

This has only happened to me once at Castaic. I metered a few big marks and dropped a structure spoon down, was bit set hook and the bass run straight up and jumped next to boat and stayed there while frantically reel line to catch up with the bass and simply lead the bass easily to boat. The bass was about 12 lbs and looked like a deep water rock codd with it's airbladder pushing put the stomach. During the winter cold water period I keep a 12 oz torpedo sinker tied on an outfit to lower bass back down into the depth of water they were hooked and just pull the sinker placed in the basses throat back out by lifting up the rod and retreiving the sinker...works better than fizzing IMO.

WRB

[btcprince]

all bass 10lbs+ i have seen caught or caught have broken the surface. all of these have been river fish in FL.