Do You Think Catching a Big Bass is Luck?

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

If I catch a 10 lbr, it would be a miracle, never mind luck

You could always hit 'em with the motor Muddy!!

Bass Wrangler has touched on something that brings alot of the grey area into focus.

In the beginning there is more luck involved. As you gain experience, the luck/skill see saw starts to level out and eventually leans towards the side of skill. (provided the angler is challenging himself and encouraging new growth/diversity)

Then there's the definition of skill. There are more variables,......does the angler only catch the bigguns on the lake he's fished for 25 yrs? (cough, me,cough) or can he catch with consistency from coast to coast? I can do well anywhere in New England (my lake is so nice because it has just about every feature found in NE lakes,all in 1 spot), but put me in California and I'm catching the same fish 85% of the general public can catch.

[Bassnajr]

No...like killing that huge whitetail buck, there is much skill involved....unless you are fishing at Carbuncle pond with a meal worm. :

[Shad_Master]

Okay, let me try this another way:

If it's skill that catches the bigguns - then it must be unlucky when a dink hits your line   :-/

[Bassnajr]

Where there are dinks there are bigguns. The skill comes in figuring what the big ones want to eat and how to catch 'em.

[Shad_Master]

And they never eat the same things the dinks eat, huh?  So to keep them pesky keepers from ruining your day of Hawg!! fishing, just avoid using them there dink baits 'cause your skills far out weigh the average fishermen that would think they had a good day loading the boat with dinks.

I guess that's why the BASS and FLW guys never have to measure their fish to make sure they are legal before putting 'em in the live well.  'cause they got all them skills and don't rely on luck.

I'm sorry if this sounds snotty - I just can't get over the fact that so many people have problems letting "luck" into the equation.  Of course it takes skill to be a consistent fish catcher - but you can't catch 'em all and some are gonna be bigger than others.  Even Mike Long, that has been mentioned here, probably has days when he hooks one that is less than 10 lbs.  But that doesn't take away from what he has accomplished - by the same token that guy who caught the 8#+ on his first day ever should be rewarded for doing something that some of us only dream of, although he may never do it again.

LBH calls luck - odds -- sure the more you fish the better your chances of pulling in a monster - I have been fishing for over 50 years and have several 6+#ers in my memory bank but that is it - part of it does have to do with location - I can't help that - I fish where I live most of the time.  But even those 6#ers had some luck attached.  Does that make me less of a skilled fishermen than some other guy - maybe, but it makes me more skilled than lots of other as well and lucky enough to have been in the right place, doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time when them 6#ers decided to show up.

[roadwarrior]

Yes and no.

Anybody can luck out the first one, but "luckying" the next ones I don 't think so.

My first 10 pounder ---> luck

My PB ---> luck

All the rest in between ---> no siree.

So why I say my first 10 and my PB were luck ? wasn 't doing anything special or particular, I was just fishing and ¡ surprise !, the other ones, I went looking for them.

Very interesting reply. I think this is probably

the case for most big bass hunters.

8-)

[UrbanRedneck]

Consistently catching large fish is not luck.

Butch Brown gets my vote for best big bass fisherman of all time.

[Shad_Master]

You may be right - I don't know the gentleman - however, the original question did not have to do with catching big bass consistantly it was simply about catching a big bass.  If you can show me someone who never snags a dink and only pulls in hawgs in the "big bass" class (what ever that is, I suspect it varies from place to place) - then I am willing to concede that luck is not a factor, but until then I will continue to carry my lucky coin, rub my rabbit's foot, etc. until I manage to "out skill that really biggun".

[roadwarrior]

If you can show me someone who never snags a dink and only pulls in hawgs in the "big bass" class (what ever that is, I suspect it varies from place to place) -then I am willing to concede that luck is not a factor...

When Fish Chris is fishing for "Big Bass" I don't think he catches

many "dinks". Anyone that "doesn't bother" weighing 7 and 8lb

bass is pretty focused.

8-)

[WRB]

One of the best books written to date on big bass is Bill Murphy's "In Pursuit of Giant Bass". The late Bill Murphy was a true pioneer in modern trophy bass fishing and credits earlier pioneer's like Mike Brown, Bill Wade and Red DeZeeuw, fishermen who could consistently catch big bass, as his mentors. Other pioneer's like Buck Perry, developed controlled trolling methods that helped locate big bass in deeper water, before sonar units were available.

If you want to catch big bass consistently, reading Murph's book would be a giant step in the right direction.

Giant bass are simply the largest bass in any regional lake or river, not necessarily world record class bass. Bill's largest bass was 17 lbs 1 oz., with several hundred 10+lbs.,he never lucked into a 20+.

WRB

[Bassnajr]

LUCK....

Yes, luck does come into play.

Are you lucky enough to fish every day, or almost every day?

Are you lucky enough to live in an area that has big fish ponds?

Are you lucky enough to have the money to have good equipment, lures, and time to study up on the sport?

Are you lucky enough to live in an area of the country that has good weather year round?

Just a few examples of luck.

Yes, dinks do eat the same things as lunkers...maybe just smaller.

Skill...

Knowing when to fish, where to fish, and what to fish at the optimum time.

[J Francho]

I prefer the term serendipity. There is a great quote from Wikipedia's article: "luck is probability taken personally." This discussion will go on and on.....no one will be right or win, since it is linked to an individuals beliefs. Its too deep rooted for it to be anything other than what each of us thinks it was. Most of my biggest fish weren't luck. My very 1st big fish probably was, though.

[Shad_Master]

Boo on you J Francho! Your'e trying to introduce logic into this conversation - what fun is that?

You are absolutely correct and quite frankly in the long run none of this really matters.  It has been a fun discussion though and thanks to all of you who put your $.02 in.

[Muddy]

If we are to believe Hannon, give me a break. This is the part of this big bass stuff that puts a pain in my psyche. Not all do, but another angler will put up a big fish, then comes the biological arguments,photographic detective work and general disparaging remarks. Where is the documentation of all the big fish , everyone has caught. This is the part of the big bass game, that I really dislike

[George Welcome]

I'm just so lucky - lucky in the area of having a lake that supports big fish. I am always looking for the bigger fish in the lake and as luck will have it we catch many. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

[Catt]

The question is "Do You Think Catching a Big Bass is Luck?"

The word or letter "A" in this question means singular or one; no where is the question does it indicate 10 pound plus.

Anyone can "luck" into one big bass

[rboat]

I think luck does play a role. Even the pros, Vandam, Iconelli, Reese, etc. have said things like this on stage, "I knew I was on to them and had a good weight but was still unsure, when I was lucky enough to get this big girl to bite."

This thread reminds me of a story I once read in a fishing magazine.

A young boy with an old zebco was casting off a public ramp with a small spinner for bluegills. Meantime, a big bass tournament was launching beside him. 40 boats worth 40 grand each, experienced anglers with the best equipment. In the end, The largest bass of the tourney 5.5 lbs. The young lad caught one that was over 8.

I think the kid was lucky.

My problem, my luck is mostly bad.  

[etommy28]

as several people have said, YES and No. No cause u have to be around fish and in areas where big ones live. Yes cause u have to also have a fish that will eat and put a lure on that fish.

[FEVER Erie - St Clair]

I would put experience against luck any day. Experience, in my view, will win. Are there exceptions? Sure. But the odds are, and have been, in the favor of experience.

And there are two ways of looking at this as well. Tournament fishing is one thing. Big bass fishing is another. How often have you heard this; "I'll go for my quick limit at my first spot then look for big fish." I've done that so many times in the past, I couldn't count them all. That paid off sometimes after drastic pattern changes from "keepers" to big fish patterns, and ended in successful wins. Other times it didn't pay off. On the other hand, years later, I worked on big fish patterns to start with. No fishing for quick limits. I started with places where bigger fish live. I finished with places where the bigger fish were. My overall tournament wins increased.

You can spend 4 hours catching a limit of pound and a half keepers or you can spend those same four hours catching two 5 pounders. So, in the case of tournaments, which would you rather weigh in?

But fishing for big fish, to me, is different. This often means slowing down. It sometimes means waiting for the fish to move, or trigger, in a particular depth, point, or other area. Especially in the summer pattern months. You often have to do things different depending on the lake type, location, and fishing pressure. We all know we fish OVER and through more fish than we catch . . .

Still, those who catch big fish consistently do so for other reasons. Weren't they lucky they took the time to change their line last night? Weren't they lucky to check the bottom underneath the boat for fiberglass or aluminum scratches that might cut a line on a big fish? Weren't they lucky to have forced themselves to read hours and hours about liminology, so they can understand any lake type that they fish, anywhere, and how those fish relate to those systems.

Personally, I don't believe in luck fishing (on a consistent basis). To a lesser degree SIZE might be influenced, based on the lake type, forage, health, growing season (north or south), etc. But luck? Like the guy or gal who catches a big bass on the first trip out? Well, that's like winning the lottery. It happens (usually to someone else!), but not nearly as often as a good, knowledgeable fisherman that has upped his odds, and who can put consistent big fish in the boat.

Just my humble opinion.

[csizzle]

The whole idea is to factor out as much luck as possible.

The better you become at that, the more luck you will have

Roger

Ditto

[paul.]

I am talking about if you are not fishing known big fish waters and you are not using huge baits. Also, if you aren't sight fishing for them.

So watch do you ladies and gentlemen think?

I just thought about this as an open debate, so don't bash me posting it.

well, based on the original question, i'd have to say that catching a big bass without (1) fishing big fish waters, (2) using big baits, and (3) sight fishing makes it more likely that you will have to rely on pure luck if you're gonna catch a big bass. why? because the 3 things eliminated here are proven big fish techniques utilized by a lot of skilled guys who catch big fish consistently.

if you eliminate other proven big fish techniques in addition to the ones above (fishing deep structure, fishing heavy cover, fishing slowly and methodically, using live bait, and fishing during peak times for instance) then you nearly guarantee that any big bass you manage to catch is nothing but pure luck as you have all but completely eliminated skill and intelligent fishing from the equation.

this was a great thread. i really enjoyed reading the responses.

[JellyMan]

I tend to catch more larger sized bass than smaller size.

But thats also 18+ years off bassin.

Experience+knowledge= Biggins.

I have caught big bass in my younger years too but not nearly as consistantly as I do now.

[Mattlures]

If I catch a big bass dropshotting, I was lucky. If I catch one on a swimbait then there was no luck. I do not factor luck into anything I do. Does it exist? yes but not for me. If I succeed its becuase I learned how to. If I failed, I was not unlucky, I simply was not good enough that time. Thats when I try to figure out why I failed so I dont make the same mistakes.

[Muddy]

Hy Big Bass Guys: Question, in seaching the web, of state records an such : Would you say that a good portion of States Records and large bass are taken on LIVE BAIT, instead of artificials, with Large Shiners and Crawfish doing thier share of the damage?

[George Welcome]

Put some reality in this: You have learned to use your equipment to cast to the area where you "think" there are bass". You have become proficient with electronics, topography reading, and all the other skills needed to put you in the running.

Below you are 30 bass, one large one and 29 small to medium ones. As you cast to your expected target area, one of the bass inhales your bait.

Let's review: you cast with your equipment to an area in which all you can see is water. One of the bass stepped up to the bait: which one? Is that luck? Yep.

This is the only sport where you are operating in the blind. Is there a degree of luck? You bet there is!

The more often you are out there, the luckier you will get: maybe!