Quest for a DD

My 19th year on quest for a double digit Largemouth. Originally from Nebraska, we don't have the abundance of big big bass (although there is great bass fishing) like Texas does. I've been wearing my lines out at Lake Fork and will again this weekend. Feel free to help out with info if you want and wish me luck!!

fork has big bass but, im not sure id count on it...

Go to Falcon

Good luck to you. Try some night fishing, magnum flukes, big jigs, 10-12 inch worms...yes you can catch them on Senkos too...

Falcon Lake!!! Went on same quest in 2009, spent 10 weeks fishing Falcon before it happened. Now have 13 over 10 all from Falcon. My biggest is 11-9.

Sugar lake or falcon or west coast Mexico lakes

Would love to go to Falcon, but unfortunately a 10 hour drive from DFW isn't an option very often when you have 2 small kiddos. Definitely going to sometime for sure though.

Go to Waco or Joe Pool....and fish 20-25tt drop offs.

Save your money that you would spend on Fork for a year trying it and go to Camelot Bell.

Place looks sweet, but I'm not going to pay to catch a big bass

I would be throwing big jigs on humps/drop offs out on fork. Graph, graph, and graph some more until you find schools near bait fish. Its that time of year where they should be setting up nicely out deep

I think a lot has to do with location, and technique, that being said I'll give you my $0.02 worth.
If I wanted to catch a double digit largemouth bass I look at the the following possibilities,..
1. I would book a trip with Mark Pack or Randy Oldfield and tell them what you want to catch. Pick their brains..!
2. I believe that time of year (prespawn), time of day/night, presentation and location are paramount. I think they have the best reputaion on Fork for big bass guides.
3. I hate to admit this but in the 10 years that we have fished Fork, my wife has caught 4 double digits from the back of our boat.
The first one was in our first year, fishing under a bridge with minnows , eating lunch, 10 pounder !
The second was about 3 in afternoon, 105*, CRIG with a 10" worm in 30' off the end of a point, 10 pounder !
Number 3, last cast of the evening, coming into our RV cove, TRIG 10" worm in about 4 feet of water, 10 pounder !
Last one, when we had Hydrilla, using a 4" little red worm, TRIG, just before dark, 10 pounder !
The common denominator is she is the slowest fisher-person alive...she will drag a worm on each cast for what seems like forever.
4. So, Right time of year and day/night, presentation and location. technique, and luck. And slow down !!

Every time you go fishing for big or smaller bass, you are paying for it. It all depends on how you want to look at it. But maybe your thought on this is like mine hunting for a monster buck in a high fence ranch, I wouldn't do that either.

Yes that's exactly how I am thinking. I like more of a "fair chase"

I don't want to get into a big debate on this, but Camelot Bell it is not like high fence hunting. Lakes have three dimensional space, you can't see the bass like you can see deer, and even if you knew where it was, the fish still has to choose to take the lure. A deer can't choose not to eat a bullet. Additionally the success rate varies at Camelot Bell based on the skill of the angler and cycle the lake happens to be in. Plenty of guys, including some of the best sticks in the state have been skunked out at Bell.

+1

Looks like Falcon has a bunch of votes. I will add one more what the heck.

If you've been trying for 19 years, and have been "wearing" your lines out at Fork, then you probably need to seriously consider a guide to help improve upon your current skill set if you've been in a DD drought for that long. I'd suggest saving a little bit more to hire a guide on Fork....the one-on-one time may not land you a DD but will seriously increase your odds of landing one.

You might check with Chuck. He's caught over 186 DD's since 1990. He guides at McGee Creek which is less that 2 hours from DFW. Another option from Fork or driving to Falcon.

Chuck Justice Trophy Bass Guide Service

I never said I wasn't catching any fish. I've caught plenty of fish and big ones close to 10, but not one over. I personally like to do it myself without a guide. Never have used one before and probably won't start now. It's fun finding them on your own

What has worked for me is night fishing. Less pressure, big jigs and worms, and turn off the graph. The studies by John Hope made me change my tactics.

If you've caught plenty of big ones close to 10... don't change a thing lol. Keep throwing what you were.
Good luck!

Read this article.
http://www.bassfishing.org/how-to-catch-monster-bass.php

Learn to sight fish, get a ladder, go to fork 2 weeks straight in the first of April. You're welcome

been bass fishing for 40 + years , have landed over a dozen DD bass . Not one of them sight fishing and not one of them on a "big " bass lure . It's all about timing -- being in the right place at the right time . I believe big bass eat more food but eat less frequently and always come either from key deep water area's to feed shallower , or are caught in key area's in deep water itself . Big bass are definitely more wary than smaller bass , they are typically 6-12 years old and have probably seen most lures . It's so hard to fish deeper water for bigger bass when your catching smaller ones in less than 10 feet of water , this is why most guys don't get DD fish -- I am guilty of this myself , I would rather catch 10-15 good 2-3 lbers versus spending the whole day fishing deeper for one or two big bites .

good morning,

"el salto"..........www.mexicofishing.net..........Doug is a great guy and will work with you...

AA out of DFW, nonstop.......

here's mine 10.5, wacky rig , 12', water/red..........just saying........

great food, great guides, glass boats......fun times.....




good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

Sorry to seem harsh - but if you fish 20 years and try and you are not really trying because you won't do things to improve your chances, then you are pretty much just gonna have to get lucky. Hope you get lucky soon.

Or you could just take the advice of several posts above and greatly improve your chances. You already have all the information you need in the posts above- it's up to you now.
Not trying to be harsh as I said and I really hope you get your DD soon!

Man that Salto fish is black! Are you fishing a tournament down there?

Let me refresh. I started bass fishing when I was 12 maybe a little earlier actually. Now this isn't going out hammering every weekend. I didn't even fish for a few years when I was busy working my way up in the golf industry, which allows little time for family, let alone fishing. I recently got out of golf and back into bass fishing a lot. So when I say 19 years bass fishing it doesn't mean I was fishing every weekend or even every year. I shouldn't have embellished so much, but hey I'm a fisherman that's what we do!

June + live bait = GIANTS

I'm also in the "No DD club"
Biggest I've ever caught was a 9lb13oz at Fork. Some folks would call that a ten, but it wasn't. I recently got a place on Fork and love to fish deep water so maybe before I run out of time, I'll catch one. I've caught 8's and 9's but no 10.

If you don't want to go private and can't drive 8-10 hours and don't want to pay for guides you can still do it but it's just the chances are less- but still very doable. In that case read what some of the guides and great fishermen above said. Some big bass are in many of the lakes within 3 hours. I don't have much fishing time and I love to catch big ones so I have learned over the years to put all of the odds that I can control in my favor and then fish hard and get a bit lucky. I'm sure you will get one pretty soon. A lot of times guys post about it then catch one within a month or two- funny but I have noticed that happens.

I'm still looking for my first public water DD, had more than I can count between 8.5 and 9.5 lbs but just haven't quite gotten it done. PB is a little over 11 lbs, but that was on private water.

Thanks for all the info guys I really appreciate it. I'll keep trying. My 4 year old boy will probably get one before me!

Good Luck to you.

good morning,

no tournament, however it is the blackest bass I've ever caught anywhere and her tail is slightly bent in this photo,she was a bit longer than it looks.......came on the edge of water hyacinth.......

we caught 5 big ones that day, all over 10#.........it was a terrific day......just saying....

everyone should put www.fishingmexico.com on their bucket list..........

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2