Monster Bass Or Numbers?

[dead eye]

One big fish shows I am lucky, numbers of 2 to 3 pounders shows i am skilled in my sport. I would take numbers.

[South FLA]

Most of the time I am a Monster hunter catching plenty of dinks (under 3lbs) while trying.

[Mattlures]

My best numbers day was 117 bass from 1.5lbs to 5.5lbs with most fish between 2 and 3 lbs.

My biggest single bass is 17.2lbs

There is no question which day was better or more memerable. To me the numbers day actualy became borring and I started goofing off seeing what else I could catch them on.

The big bass had my knees and hand shaking and I felt like I had arived.

Nope not even close. I'd take the big bass.

[Eternal Angler]

This one is pretty easy, I'll take the 100+ bass a day, that can be a lot of fun.

Never had a day like that in a long long time!

[Paul Roberts]

Neither. I'm out there to learn about fish and critters, and fishing. And I'm easily distracted by things most people wouldn't think was immediately related to fishing.

One seeming oddity is, when I find something that works really well someplace, I'm apt to drop it and move on. It's ADDING to my knowledge, not re-hashing past GoTo's, that floats my boat.

That said, I tend to be MORE interested in the mature (bigger) fish in my waters, than the little ones. I will get down on my belly and play with fingerling bass (they behave EXACTLY like large ones but are easy to watch), but usually to learn more about larger bass in general, or the fishing possibilities in that water. When perusing my ponds I am more angler than biologist -the story of my life .

If I were a trophy hunter, I'd be searching the waters that provide the best chance at out-sized bass: They have to exist first, as I'm not one for relying on empty hopes. I'm happy with the mediocre ponds I fish. They have healthy populations of bass, conditions change constantly, and keep me thinking and experimenting. My PBs in each run 18" to 20". They are fairly close by so I can be there quickly and get down to business, whatever that may be on that particular day.

[roadwarrior]

Size only, always.

8-)

[angler1]

I would rather catch the 100 fish.

[Bankbeater]

For one single day I would rather catch a monster.  I'll take numbers if I just can't find any hawgs.

[senile1]

A few more choices would clarify where everyone actually draws this line, or if, indeed, a definitive line can be drawn. I think the size of the bass in one's geographic region also plays a part in the decision.

For example:

(1) One 14 lb'er

(2) Five 8 lb'ers

(3) Twenty 5 - 6 lb'ers

(4) Fifty 3 - 4 lb'ers

(5) One hundred 2 - 3 lb'ers

Etc.

Most of us want to catch that huge bass, but this question is too much in the "all or one" category. For instance, it takes quite a bit of time to find and catch a 17 lb'er in California like Matt mentioned, or a 9 lb'er in my state. These trophies don't come every day. I am not willing to go for days not catching much of anything while searching for that elusive monster. I'll exchange a few days of trophy hunting for numbers, and vice-versa. I think it depends on the day and what I have been doing over the past few weeks.

[Raul]

SIZE !!!

But the kiddo gets bored if he ain 't catchin ' so if lil Rul is comin with da then it 's numbers.

"Paaaapii, ¡ ya pesqu é una !"  ... and he shows he 's trophy ( which is smaller than the bait  :-? ) but what the heck, that big grin on his face is worth a thousand 10+ pounders in my book.

[George Welcome]

I've yet to meet anyone that truly was only interested in that big fish. I've met many that claim that exclusive interest up front, but none that within a short period of time aren't looking for any fish. It's nice to have the steak, but the side dishes are what makes the dinner complete.

[190sxchamp]

I always enjoy catching a big fish for sure but I'll go ahead and take the numbers on this one. I fish because I enjoy it. I love being on the water, spending time on the boat with my boys and enjoying the beautiful country we live in.

[Paul Roberts]

A few more choices would clarify where everyone actually draws this line, or if, indeed, a definitive line can be drawn. I think the size of the bass in one's geographic region also plays a part in the decision.

For example:

(1) One 14 lb'er

(2) Five 8 lb'ers

(3) Twenty 5 - 6 lb'ers

(4) Fifty 3 - 4 lb'ers

(5) One hundred 2 - 3 lb'ers

Etc.

Most of us want to catch that huge bass, but this question is too much in the "all or one" category. For instance, it takes quite a bit of time to find and catch a 17 lb'er in California like Matt mentioned, or a 9 lb'er in my state. These trophies don't come every day. I am not willing to go for days not catching much of anything while searching for that elusive monster. I'll exchange a few days of trophy hunting for numbers, and vice-versa. I think it depends on the day and what I have been doing over the past few weeks.

Yes, good point. This is true across all the different ponds I fish too. Some have numbers of smaller fish, and it's really fun to tackle down for them, play with different techniques, or keep track of where they're at. I had a ball a few years ago catching big numbers of ~12"ers from a particular pond on a little buzzbait. This bode well for the future -a pond to keep tabs on. (Alas, it winter-killed. )

Another pond is tougher to catch a bunch in, but at least one or two (sometimes 3 or 4) will be in the 4lb range. Because of the apparent age structure on that pond, I run the highest risk of blanking there too. I have a couple ponds set up perfectly for topwater -but I've yet to break 19inches there.

On a few other ponds I know where the biggest bass in those ponds hang out. The first thing I do when I arrive is see if they are at home. Often they are, but getting them is never certain.

Yep, I love to catch the bigger bass, but there's more to bass fishing than any one place or time can give. I love it all, and am thrilled to have those choices ahead of me on just about every given day.

I think George Welcome's comments are especially interesting too. What people think they want, and are willing to pay for in fishless time, might be two different things. It's easy to say "size is what matters", after we've caught the big one.

[Lund Explorer]

My answer will be either, and/or neither.

I'm just glad to be on the water, sharing time and knowledge with my wife, a good friend, or perhaps the grandchildren. 

If I was going for numbers, I'd fish bluegills.  If I was only worried about size, there's all kinds of fish that grow bigger and harder to catch than a bass.

[Mattlures]

I am actualy suprised that ANYBODY would pick the numbers. You have all done it before, just not in one day. You have all caught a hundred small bass. The only difference is that it took you more then one day. Yes catching a bunch of small/medium bass is fun but when it gets too easy it becomes borring. When I caught 117 bass I had a blast. I went back to the lake about 5 more times trying to beat my 117. I broke a 100 the next 2 trips and that was all I could take. I started fishing for big bluegill and had more fun. You all dont realize that the challenge is what drives us as humans. Take the challenge away and it becomes borring. The lake I was at is lake Barrett and for 2 or 3 years the good sticks could get 100 and a beginner could get 20-30. It was fun for a little while. But it grew old. Now the lake is still easy but not like before. I havent gone back. What makes big bass soo special is how rare they are and how difficult they are to catch.

[George Welcome]

I am actualy suprised that ANYBODY would pick the numbers. You have all done it before, just not in one day. You have all caught a hundred small bass. The only difference is that it took you more then one day. Yes catching a bunch of small/medium bass is fun but when it gets too easy it becomes borring. When I caught 117 bass I had a blast. I went back to the lake about 5 more times trying to beat my 117. I broke a 100 the next 2 trips and that was all I could take. I started fishing for big bluegill and had more fun. You all dont realize that the challenge is what drives us as humans. Take the challenge away and it becomes borring. The lake I was at is lake Barrett and for 2 or 3 years the good sticks could get 100 and a beginner could get 20-30. It was fun for a little while. But it grew old. Now the lake is still easy but not like before. I havent gone back. What makes big bass soo special is how rare they are and how difficult they are to catch.

Give it a break.

[senile1]

I am actualy suprised that ANYBODY would pick the numbers. You have all done it before, just not in one day. You have all caught a hundred small bass. The only difference is that it took you more then one day. Yes catching a bunch of small/medium bass is fun but when it gets too easy it becomes borring. When I caught 117 bass I had a blast. I went back to the lake about 5 more times trying to beat my 117. I broke a 100 the next 2 trips and that was all I could take. I started fishing for big bluegill and had more fun. You all dont realize that the challenge is what drives us as humans. Take the challenge away and it becomes borring. The lake I was at is lake Barrett and for 2 or 3 years the good sticks could get 100 and a beginner could get 20-30. It was fun for a little while. But it grew old. Now the lake is still easy but not like before. I havent gone back. What makes big bass soo special is how rare they are and how difficult they are to catch.

In my region, catching 100 bass in a mature lake with a mature population of bass is rare. To catch that many on successive trips to the same lake usually indicates a situation where the lake was restocked recently with young bass. This is obviously a different situation from what you and the the other anglers experience at Lake Barrett. For someone who has never caught more than 10 or 20 in a day, 100 would probably be electrifying. (I know the first time I caught 100 I was high as a kite, though I was in my teens at the time. I don't think that 100 smaller fish would provide the same excitement as 5 to 10 bruisers now.) If that same person were to catch 100 a few days in a row, I'm sure that, like you, he or she would become bored. However, for most anglers, I suspect that catching over 100 is a rare occurrence and boredom would not come into play, especially if he or she had not experienced that many bass before.  As you indicate in your post, you went back 5 more times to beat the 117 you caught the first day, so you were still excited about numbers for a few days until it got old.

[K_Mac]

George you're comment about folks changing their minds when it gets right down to it tickles me. I was one of those guys. My brother and I took a guided trout fishing trip on the White river a number of years ago. I have reached the age where I don't remember exactly how many. : What I do know is that my brother was killed in an accident over ten years ago, so it has been a while...Any way, we told our guide that we wanted to catch big browns. The big browns did not play along, and by mid day we decided to catch a bunch of smaller rainbows. We had a ball the last couple of hours. I don't know how many we caught, but it was a bunch, including a couple of native fish.

I have gone on record as choosing the big fish in this thread. Based on the premise of one day/either/or that would be my choice, but if you were my guide for a once in a lifetime day your water, I would trust your judgement. I would let you know I was an experienced angler who didn't know a thing about your water, and let you do your job. I would fish the whole day anticipating a monster fish. 8-)

[Revo_Carrot Stix]

With work and family, my fishing opportunities are usually limited to 2-4 hours. So if I could spend an entire day on the water, I would prefer the NUMBERS. When that gets old, I'll get greedy and search for the monsters.

[George Welcome]

Just got off the lake; 1st fish was maybe 2 pounds - 2nd was 8.5 pounds. If your lucky enough to fish where there are big fish and you keep your lure wet than there is a good shot at a big fish. They are right there with the smaller ones.

[Mattlures]

The question was not about oportunity. It was about results. Trying for monster is a lot different then catching them. Of course people give up and settle for small fish. The question is, what would you rather catch? Not what would you rather spend your day trying to do.

And yes I went back to beat my number because that is what made it challenging. With out that it was only fun for an hour or two. Also the reason I went back was because you had to buy reservations to fish the lake. Between myself and my friends we had bought a bunch of trips.

[microman]

number one would be more fun, but number two would be a  once in a life time thing

[Dwight Hottle]

Size matters. I aways say I would rather fish all day or all week for one special trophy than get my string pulled all day long.

[Paul Roberts]

Sounds a lot like why I got so into fly-fishing for trout. And traditional/primitive archery gear. It's about quality. Quantity pales after you've been there. But quality comes in many ways.

In my ponds, when I find a pod of 12"ers I don't keep casting, I move.

[George Welcome]

Okay guys I hate recycling my old posts but theres a ton of new members, and old members may have changed their minds... It's one of my favotrite topics for some stupid reason so I want to know...

What's a better fishing day?

Fishing your favorite lake in the universe for 10 hours and catching 100+ bass in the 2-6 pound class range? (1-3 pound class SMB)

OR

Fishing your favorite lake in the universe and on your first cast of the day you catch a 14 pound LMB (or a 8 pound SMB), then the rest of the day, you catch NOTHING?

I'll take the latter

The original post talked about 100 2-6 pound bass, not 12" bass. I doubt seriously if many have seen a 100 fish day of 2-6 pound bass. I do know that having many days like that I have seen an awful lot of happy fishermen walk away.