Question for Mattlures

[Muddy]

Hey Matt: I was doing some reading and from the list of certified top 25 bass taken ( there seems to be 2 of them) from those fish actually on the list; Am I thinking right here

If you are hunting the biggest of the bass ( not just dd's) are you hunting specific solitary fish, on known beds and haunts or would you be fishing schools of bait fish. I am trying to figure out where and how the biggest certified fish were taken

I read some of Longs and Chris stuff here and around and the guys looking for the biggest fish seem to know their targets and they are solitary fish

Thanks

Dominick

ps Mind you I have no experience fishing for DD fish at all. Except for Stripres and Blue Fish in the Ocean around Brooklyn

[tand]

Interesting question...favorite marked!!!

[Mattlures]

Before I answer your question you need to understand that there is no accurate big fish list that I am aware of. Most are outdated. There are also other big fish that arent reported or not reported to whomevere is in charge of a certain list. That doesnt mean that the lists are bad info, what it means are there are more big fish that arent on SOME of them.

Ok to answer your question.

Dottie was a known target. Mike Long caught her at 20+lbs. When he did this he wasnt as famous as he is now. He was still building his resume as a big fish hunter. So he reported her. That basicaly ruined Dixon. Everybody knew that a 20+ fish was caught and released and she looked young. She was caught 2 more times by guys looking for her. They werent the only ones looking for her though. A week before Mac snagged her Mike caughta 21.1 but did not report it because he knew Dottie hadnt come up yet. We all knew she was there but it wasnt fun chasing her. Too much hasell and it was realy expencive.

Now that shes gone its a little different.

Out here our lakes go through cycles. the guys who are in the know, have a good idea of how big the fish are in each lake and if they are getting bigger or declining. Also we have lakes located throughout different elevations. what this means is they spawn at a little different times. They do overlap but over the years the guys who are in touch the most have an idea of how each lake spawn. Some lakes the biggest fish will come up first and other lakes they are last.

So when it comes to hunting the biggest fish durring the spawn one must play the percentages of which lake gives you the biggest fish at what time. The more in tune you are the easier it becomes to narrow the choices. Now with each "record potential" lake there is one or more known fish. They generaly spawn around the same area.

So basicaly it comes down to who ever has the most knowlege has the best chance of finding a monster. The guys that I know who have the most knowlege are also arguably the best sight fisherman in the world so they have a good chance of catching a giant when they find them. Dottie took the guess work out of it. We knew she was there, it was just a matter of finder her when she came up. The guys who found her just put in more time. They didnt look at other lakes. Just went to Dixon everyday. BTW I went there 1 time this year it cost me $38 for a permit and a boat rental. Imagine doing that everyday for 3 months.  

Now thats how the spawn game woks. That should give you a little insight on why we white out a picture. Because If Mike holds up a fish I know where he caught it. Just knowing the lake and the date is huge.

The spawn is not everything there are monsters caught out of the spawn also. The thing is though that same fish that weighed 20lbs durring the spawn might only weigh 18. so even though its the same exact fish it wont make the "list" because it wasnt as heavy. This is one of the biggest reasons you see most of the dates of these giant fish durring the spawn. Not because thats the only time they are caught but because they are bigger.

Now regular fishing is similar in that you know which few lakes have fish that are realy big. Contrary to what people think not all our lakes have 20lbs swimming in them. Only a few and they are mostly only that big durring the spawn. If you know where a monster lives you can target that specific fish. I saw my 15 follow my bait so I knew where she was hanging out. I was fishing for her. In most cases though you go to known big fish spots and you try to aproach them as perfectly as possible. A lot of big fish are seen following swimbaits. You better believe I remember where I saw them! So to answer your question in a nutshell. The answer is yes we do hunt specific fish but more often then not we try to pinpoint a specific bite that gives us the oportunity at a big fish but not nescasarily a specific single big fish.

Edit; also a big fish out here is not a fluke. There are usualy a couple more as big or a little bigger and few more that are a little smaller.

So If a lake kicked out a couple 17' s and a 16lber 2 years ago there was probably an 18 and a few 16's in the lake at the same time. Now 2 years later that lake hase WR potential. Its all in the cycle. Its a very small window of catching the right fish at the right time of the year. Look at Castaic back in the 80's it kicked out many huge fish. i havent heard of a monster out of that lake in 20 years. Same with Mirramar. or San Vicente or El Cap but they all have lake records of over 18lbs. But probably nono of them have a 15 in them and V, Cap and Mirramar probably dont even have any teens

[Muddy]

Thanks Matt that answers a lot

[fishingflorida]

Dotties gone? someone kept her? or they found her floating? whats going on I didnt hear anything about it? please let me know! thanks!

[Hammer 4]

They found her floating...

Dotties gone? someone kept her? or they found her floating? whats going on I didnt hear anything about it? please let me know! thanks!

[fishingflorida]

So I guess Dixon wont be targeted so hard anymore now.. kinda breaks my heart I never got to make a cast in that lake with her still in it.. what did she weigh when they found her?

[Branuss04]

Dotties gone? someone kept her? or they found her floating? whats going on I didnt hear anything about it? please let me know! thanks!

Old news man... she died.  

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/news/story?page=world_record_bass_dies

[Muddy]

2o dollars says their is a strong possibility that the Big Bass Hunters used National Geographic and another Bass to get the pressure off her to be able to get and keep the record for themselves :

[Branuss04]

2o dollars says their is a strong possibility that the Big Bass Hunters used National Geographic and another Bass to get the pressure off her to be able to get and keep the record for themselves :

Another 20+ pound bass   :-/  hmmmm

[Big Bait Fishing]

Matt's talkin' about dixon lake , i fish there ALOT , and yes there are huge bass still in there , put it this way , i've seen bass well into the teens. any how , that lake gets pounded day in and day out!!! fish that are big , dominant females stay in a small area most of there life once they have found a spot that has optimal ambush spots and is deep but close to shallow ,spawning type ground . for instance , ''dottie'' was living in a spot that is at the bottom of a steep drop off , almost a wall, that she would pin trout against to feed on. but this was right close to the shallows to spawn . she would get off that spawning spot real quick , that's why she was hard to spot let alone catch . i think these bass see people and very quickly go deep (Dixon lake is very clear) . alot of times you can't even see them ever . for instance , i'll probably hear crap for this but this is the truth, i won't mention what lake this was at , but a really big bass that Mike long was tryin' to catch was being very elusive and would only come shallow when the park was closed. well one night after this lake closed the rangers making their rounds spotted this huge bass and called mike to come back and actually let him fish  and catch her it was actually allowed to be a lake record, pretty sad huh. anyway , just an example of how elusive these big bass are and how hard it is to target them , and as Matt said, can get quite expensive!!!

[fivesixone]

Very interesting thread! Thanks guys!

[Muddy]

2o dollars says their is a strong possibility that the Big Bass Hunters used National Geographic and another Bass to get the pressure off her to be able to get and keep the record for themselves :

Another 20+ pound bass :-/ hmmmm

 We have all seen pics here of 15's that look like 20's and 19's that look like 17. Who knows what they showed those National Geographic Mooks! There has been open admission right here, that stories have been started by the Crew Of Big Bass In Cali, that were false to protect spots and specific fish. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, I just wouldn't buy a car from one of them at this point ;D

[Mattlures]

Muddy I will give you something to chew on. That dead bass was infact Dottie. But...........that was one huge coincidence that she just happen to float up as NatGeo was finishing up their storry. Hmmm

Little did they know she had died earlier and somebody(not me and NO I aint telling) decided to plant her for them to find. The word is she was found floating earlier that year. :o

[Big Bait Fishing]

rangers found her last memorial day.(or was is the year before  :-?)