Go for the big bite this year or numbers?

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

BOTH of coarse

[Hammer 4]

Might consider throwin some 6" and bigger swimbaits, 8" would be my choice, but you would possibly need a new rod to handle them..

This would be a big plus, if no one has been throwing big swimbaits..go for the gold..I'm tryin for a 12lb'r..or bigger.

[Kowen117]

Go big or go home

X100 I'm throwin big baits all year goin for one over 10lbs

[Big Bait Fishing]

i don't throw swimbaits 90% of the time to catch the dinks , we'll see what this year brings 

[ib_of_the_damned]

Seeing as how I have only been bass fishing for a about a year and a few months, its a numbers game for me.  But lately I have been wanting to get that big one that I have seen swimming in the lake I fish. It looks to be about a 6-7 pounder, the biggest I have seen in the lake(city lake mind you...).  So I have been throwing jigs, and larger plastics than I normally do.  Im happy if I get one or two 1-3 pounders when I fish.  City lakes are hard to get bit.

[SlateTundra]

I'm gonna have to go for both.  I'm greedy...I want quality and quantity.   

[Sherlock 60]

I faced that question last year. I went for numbers and ended the year with 1,175. Big fish 7.25#. Was it worth it? You bet. I learned how to pattern fish and caught some nice ones along the way. This year I'm gunning for the big fish. Have I got it yet? Nope 6.5 lbs is nice but not the one. I read that the natural progression for a bass fisherman goes like this.

1st) Happy to get bit.

2nd) Numbers

3rd) Size.

I will admit that after a few hrs of not getting bit, I get bored and want to feel something on the end of the line no matter the size. (maybe I don't have enough sense of purpose yet).

No matter, now is the time to go for the big ones.

Good luck no matter what you choose.

Nick

I'm still in the numbers phase, but thinking about size more and more.

I well remember the "happy to get bit" period of my life and the ribbing I used to take from my wife.

[Hammer 4]

I'd bet there's more than a few DD bass in there. I should head over there with the 8" swimbaits..

Seeing as how I have only been bass fishing for a about a year and a few months, its a numbers game for me. But lately I have been wanting to get that big one that I have seen swimming in the lake I fish. It looks to be about a 6-7 pounder, the biggest I have seen in the lake(city lake mind you...). So I have been throwing jigs, and larger plastics than I normally do. Im happy if I get one or two 1-3 pounders when I fish. City lakes are hard to get bit.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Go big or go home

Words to live by..........................................i would be chunking some big swimbaits around man.

[BigEbass]

Go big or go for numbers?  Hmmm....I am a relative newB - been fishing the past 2 years under the wing of my more experienced neighbor who got me into this - we fish to catch whatever size, but I feel our tactics vary and many times I presume qualify as big bass tactics - we fish slow at times and faster other times.  Which brings up my question.  Is there one given way to catch the big ones?  I just read a bassmaster article regarding their "lunker club" entries - huge majority were caught on plastics, primarily plastic worm - I recall reading an article by doug hannon some time ago in field and stream I believe stating that he has caugh a majority of his bass on a basic 7 inch texas rigged worm. But everbody seems to know big uns come from deep, shallow, on jigs, sb's, worms, traps, etc...

I guess I get confused in reading all this stuff as a beginner cause Big bass are seemed to be caught by people via a number of tactics. 

Can I have my cake and eat it too

I guess my question is to everyone (cause I am a newB) - we may need to define what exactly it means to "go for the big one" vs. "going for numbers".  In my limited experience so far, if we find the fish in numbers and the quality isnt there, we alter the tactic (change to a worm, jig, or just something else).  But I have never tried the only slow and only deep approach that I see some favor for even more consistent big catch rate.

Bill Siemantel's book sort of touches on this issue as I recall - have only read it once and it was like a year ago for me - he seemed to think we should go for both size qty...he also stated in his book that he simply fishes good spots that should hold bass and probes the entire water column from topwater to shallow to deep - then establishes a "milk run" to get multiple big ones....that is what I am going for - probably will take a while though I suppose

[BigEbass]

I have read Bill Siemantel's book and have seriously contemplating attempting this style of fishing in the next year or so - would require some serious gear changes obviously - the baits are pretty darn expensive -

Not to hijack the thread, but a side quesion - is this style of big swimbaits and big tube baits and the like in my region of birmingham going to be effective - Bill stated in his book that frequently it is thought that it a western clear water tactic only, but he stated that it will work in the southeast too?  Do many people really even committ to this style on here to even comment on it? I planned on reading more up on it this year and gearing up for trying it later if warranted...

[Hammer 4]

Guys across the USA throw swimbaits..and yes it's effective..

[Clark Stewart]

I have read Bill Siemantel's book and have seriously contemplating attempting this style of fishing in the next year or so - would require some serious gear changes obviously - the baits are pretty darn expensive -

Nice to see a neighbor on here. We need to swap notes on what works around here. I welcome the "hijack!" I bought several yum money minnows and quickly learned that 5/0 hooks were too small. Haven't learned how to fish em yet. Read the same article in bassmaster - that may be the best issue I've read in a while.

I've been using the after the catch app on my iPhone and so far I've noticed a trend. The first day I fished this spring I caught 8 keepers. The moon was 68% illuminated. The catch has gotten worse everyday since that day, and the moon has been less and less illuminated. I'd heard that the moon played a role, but geez. I am blaming the bite on the moon because by and large the weather hasn't changed and neither has the location of the fish.

I'd love to see this topic go nuclear and become a sticky someday - I'd really like to see it morph into a pattern discussion. Like a place where we all contribute to creating a general pattern for each time of year. I'd LOVE to see this be a place to swap fishing journals. I'm using after the catch like I said for the iPhone but I can share easily

Not to hijack the thread, but a side quesion - is this style of big swimbaits and big tube baits and the like in my region of birmingham going to be effective - Bill stated in his book that frequently it is thought that it a western clear water tactic only, but he stated that it will work in the southeast too? Do many people really even committ to this style on here to even comment on it? I planned on reading more up on it this year and gearing up for trying it later if warranted...

[Clark Stewart]

Apparently I don't know how to quote! The last paragraph is what I tried to quote!

[Hammer 4]

There are websites for those dedicated to swimbait fishing..

[gobig]

I have not posted here for a while but I had to get in on this one...RoLo said it best "How about, numbers of BIG bass." Why not?

I have read Bill Siemantel's book and have seriously contemplating attempting this style of fishing in the next year or so - would require some serious gear changes obviously - the baits are pretty darn expensive -

If you truly adopt what Bill teaches... the way you look at fishing will change forever. The BBZ is not just about throwing big baits (the greatest counter part is finesse)... its a state of mind that applies to all fishing. Its not thinking outside the box... its eliminating the box all together.

Not to hijack the thread, but a side quesion - is this style of big swimbaits and big tube baits and the like in my region of birmingham going to be effective - Bill stated in his book that frequently it is thought that it a western clear water tactic only, but he stated that it will work in the southeast too? Do many people really even committ to this style on here to even comment on it? I planned on reading more up on it this year and gearing up for trying it later if warranted...

The answer is yes. Big baits pretty much work everywhere. Why would a jig work in dirty water but a swimbait that displaces 3 or 4 times the water not work? Trout are not the only fish bass eat that reach lengths of 8,10,12 inches. For one bass eat other bass.

Make The Big Bass Zone your bible read it and re-read it and most important apply it. The other must have book is Bill Murphys How to catch giant bass.

[SirSnookalot]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1257906266/0

Nice fish.

My buddy and I have a friendly competition when we go out to see who can catch the most fish. So, I'm a numbers guy, but thats probably because I have never landed anything with any size to it. Although I did have a 100+ ib tarpon on my line last May. That was a blast.

That's fishing !

Land it?

I love catching big fish of any species, but with little interest in a personal best.

[Clark Stewart]

Taking this in a new direction, and hijacking my own thread, what do you guys think of a website devoted only to sharing fishing logs? I know there's some guys out there who've been keeping journals for years, and I'm sure we'd all love to learn a little from them. Maybe have sections devoted to regions and even lakes. I'd love to eventually have a database where you could plug in your conditions and get best lures, techniques, etc

[BigEbass]

Well, I will be trying the big bait tactics covered in bass zone - I will look into the book mentioned in addition in the next couple months as well. 

When I saw this thread it brought to mind a general question about the issue brought up in this thread.  There is an assumption out there that going big means having the ability to go many days without catching squat - or at least catching  a significant amount less than with traditional pro-tactics used - I am sure this is true to an extent, but my question still remains, to what extent does going after the big one hurt your numbers?  What is an avg day for these big bait guys? 

After reading Bill's book (and I just skimmed through it again today) - it kinda tackles this issue, although not directly enough perhaps in my opinion.  In the book - he alludes to the progression of a new "big bait fisherman" - and states essentially that it will simply take time using these tactics - at first you may come up short, perhaps many days in-fact - but with time it will come and confidence will gain - just as confidence came for me as a recent newbie to a handful of baits and presentations I use now, but he warns that the step to get to the confidence with big bait finess tactics may be a more difficult step...

None-the-less - it seems in his book after reading it, that if one committs to it, then they can expect to have productive days of fishing - and some days very productive - but what I am still unclear about really, is this question I have still yet:  How many fish does someone like Bill catch on a given day.  I mean, does he go out and a productive day may have 2 quality fish?  How many days will we get skunked even once you develop the skills/confidence required?

My lingering question about big bait fishing is simply, to what extent do we as anglers sacrifice numbers for quality when doing it this way?  Bill's book when I read it seems to suggest that this idea that the big bait guys go out and catch none or the occassional 1-2 big fish is wrong, he seemed to say rather that the "smaller" fish are on avg. larger (3-5 lb'ers) and he seems to allude that you will simply catch more big fish, rather than previously many many more "keeper" size fish.

I think most beginners and even experienced weekend anglers are turned off from such measures because there is in my view a widespread assumption that to target the trophies means setting for many days of catching none or maybe 1 or 2 fish (granted quality fish) - any of you guys care to clarify for me?

I can live with an avg catch rate of say 2-7 fish per outing, but as a weekend angler, I dont really want to spend 4 weekends in a row to catch 1 8 pounder - but if I must invest some hard work and scrifice to get to a point where I catch more fish in greater numbers that are bigger, that seems to be the ideal setup

My neighbor for example - he is 69 - long time "traditiona" bass angler - my mentor to date infact - we have talked about such things before - actually including today - he said he would rather stick with numbers stating he would rather catch some type of fish than hold out for the few bites and few quality fish....note however he has never undertaken the steps discussed in Bill's book - but my point is that the broad assumption is that even for the experienced big basser, you suffer greatly in quantity - please someone quantify this better perhaps.

I wonder if its a big farce - that is, that guys like sienmantel are catching strong numbers and quality - and everyone else is slow to get on this train?

[BigEbass]

Taking this in a new direction, and hijacking my own thread, what do you guys think of a website devoted only to sharing fishing logs? I know there's some guys out there who've been keeping journals for years, and I'm sure we'd all love to learn a little from them. Maybe have sections devoted to regions and even lakes. I'd love to eventually have a database where you could plug in your conditions and get best lures, techniques, etc

I am still a relative newB, but I doubt you are gonnt get a sorta plug-n-chug system down to a T to guide your fishing to the highest level - not that I am a definative source! 

Take KVD - he seems to state over and over that he probes a body of water and lets the fish tell him what to do at each outing - he has stated before he actually does not want too much input from others to potentially bias his thoughts and perhaps get stuck in others' ruts? 

Bill Siemantel's book (since we were talking about him) would agree with the above - Bill simply states you find the best spots (points, creekbeds, flats, drop offs, etc) and probe the entire depths of the water column to establish a pattern or a "milk run". Its all about presentation, really good presentation on areas that should hold bass - after I read this book it seemed too darn simple, but I think it has helped get out the clutter in my mind of all this other stuff and worry about what specific lure, what specific color, is there a cold front, what is the water temperature, what season is it, etc....although these all have their importances I imagine, but I think they may be taken too far at times?

Thats just my newB 2 cents worth based on the base knowledge that I have to date, which is still pretty slim

We will let the more expeirenced people chime in and bash me if needed

[gobig]

Offline

Gadsden, Alabama

Gender: male

     

Re: Go for the big bite this year or numbers?

Reply #42 - Today at 1:19am Alert Board Moderator about this Post! Quote

Taking this in a new direction, and hijacking my own thread, what do you guys think of a website devoted only to sharing fishing logs?

I think interesting things would be learned. Detailed logs would have to be kept for the full benefit. You would definitely see big fish patterns emerge.

After reading Bill's book (and I just skimmed through it again today) - it kinda tackles this issue, although not directly enough perhaps in my opinion. In the book - he alludes to the progression of a new "big bait fisherman" - and states essentially that it will simply take time using these tactics - at first you may come up short, perhaps many days in-fact - but with time it will come and confidence will gain

There is a learning curve to everything. How long did you fish a jig or a crank etc... before your results had any kind of consistency? Its all the same there are no magic bullets. It takes time on the water.

None-the-less - it seems in his book after reading it, that if one committs to it, then they can expect to have productive days of fishing - and some days very productive - but what I am still unclear about really, is this question I have still yet: How many fish does someone like Bill catch on a given day. I mean, does he go out and a productive day may have 2 quality fish? How many days will we get skunked even once you develop the skills/confidence required?

Bill and his partner Troy Linder are studs. They consistently put up big weights. Bill is like the Tony Gwynn of fishing he consistently puts up big numbers, is in the hall of fame and somehow flys under the radar. Google Bill and troy you will see what mean. Here is a recent win. Mike Jones cracks me up he says it how it is.

http://kramergonefishing.com/2010/02/28/more-of-the-same-at-dvl-51-pounds-wins/#more-6648

[avid]

I'm totally about hog hunting this year.

[looking4structure]

Go big or go home

x2.Go after a hoss

[Catt]

How about, numbers of BIG bass.

Roger

[bigfruits]

i guess im in the minority. unless its a new PB, id rather fight five 4lb'ers on 6lb test than waterski one 6lb'er to the boat with a broomstick and 60lb test for bragging rights. (dont laugh. 6lb is a big fish up my way)

if i want big game i hit the coast.