What percentage would you say bass over 10lbs are caught on normal plastics and baits vs guys targeting them with large baits you wouldn't normally throw unless you are wanting that big bite. I know out in Cali they throw some large swim baitts and target big bass in their deep clear lakes.

I ask because I want to target big bass more, caught plenty of fish and would be fine fishing all day without a bite. Besides big swimbaits I know jigs are known to catch bigger fish what other baits do you like to throw, I know Forks big bass deal is this week and I'm not fishing that (prob the wrong week to ask this question)....just wanted some advice because it seems the guys who catch big bass seem to be a lot of the same guys and tend to always get that big bite when it counts. Is it the more the baits they are throwing, places they are targeting consistantly or a little of both?

Thanks
Chris

Really interesting topic. Staying tuned

I think it's more the places they are targeting. There's big bass patterns and smaller bass patterns. In general, smaller bass will do a lot more chasing of bait. Big bass have gotten big by learning how to eat the most while expending the least energy; they use cover/structure (and often deeper cover/deep structure drop offs) to ambush much better than smaller bass. Find the best cover and structure and you'll find bigger bass. This is partly why jigs are so good; they can quietly get into those ambush spots.

Some of it is food selection. A big bass sees a big meal (big swimbait/big plastic) as an opportunity for lots of food with minimal energy expenditure (eat one big fish instead of having to chase and eat 100 small shad)

The biggest fish I've caught have been on 6xd's and 10xd's in 15 to 25 ft of water on points.

It depends on the time of year and what forage fish are feeding on at that time.

I've caught fish over 10 pounds on a variety of baits, all the way down to a 4" sinko


If you want to target A BIG FISH that's a lot differnt than wanting to find schools of larger (4-8lb) fish.

Totally differnt tactics and strategies involved, IMO.


Most, including myself, don't have the patients to fish for 1 or 2 bites every 10+ hours that your true giant hunters fish for...

That sounds about right to me.
Doug recently you had at least some patience with that giant you caught- lol!
I try to be a big weather watcher- for me there are about 20-25 prime days each year where the odds are better. Any day could be the day but it's an odds thing.
Fish the right place at the right time with confidence courage and concentration.
If any of those 5 things aren't right- fix it.

Its more about where your throwing and just plain old luck that matters most.

All my biggest bass came on non big bass baits-6" worm, small cranks and spinnerbaits. Some on a
downsized finess jig.

Guys I know back in CO fish big swimbaits for large pre spawn walleye but they also fish all
day or night for maybe 1-2 bites, maybe none. Not for me.

You really can't put California and Texas in the same sentence when it comes to big bass, Texas doesn't even crack the top 25 bass caught, I think California has about 21 spots and Japan has proved to be a better producer of big bass also.

So far biggest bass in Texas has come on minnow (I guess) by some guy fishing for crappie on Fork.

Location is key. You have to be in areas where the big girls live. I throw the big baits a lot and catch big fish. I've caught big fish on both little baits and big baits. A bigger percentage have come on the larger baits. Throwing those types of baits takes a lot of patience. I've gone 2-3 trips without bites and wanted to just put them up and go back to throwing my "go-to" baits. Once I really learned the big baits, it paid off.

I had probably gone over two years without winning big bass in my club. Then, last year, I won big bass in 6 of our 12 tournaments. I don't think I fished any better or differently, I just got better bites and got them in the boat when they bit.

In other words, I think there is a lot of luck involved in catching big fish. Preparation has to meet opportunity, but at the same time you can't discount the luck factor.

Luck helps for a few, but consistently being good at something makes you more lucky.

i think the biggest bass come from odd areas. You know like places you normally wouldn't consider fishing.. I say this because i personally have pulled up 2 bass from the thickest timber, right in the middle. jigs and creatures, not in timber in a cove but main lake timber. Of course bigger baits usually result in larger fish i believe, but location would be number one on my list.

This is my take on it and I have caught many over 10. It comes down to three things.
- Time of year.
- Location
- Most important is your presentation with a bait that holds all the senses that a big bass is looking for.

I want each of my baits to have as many of these as possible so the Big Bass will take it every time. We would be surprised at how many huge fish our baits have come in contact with and was passed up because she didn't feel it was natural or real.

I love the Spook for a top water example. All the big fish have come while it is sitting. I have perfected a technique that I call the "Dying Quiver". I have seen the two largest bass in my years of fishing stalking a dying fish on the surface. Both of these Bass were well over 15 lbs. The bait fish were quivering in a circle on the surface, the bass circles then turns on it's side taking the bait by the head. Both seemed to look it's pray in the eye before taking it. I had the opportunity to cast to this spot on one of the Bass but they are zeroed in on the pray and payed no attention to my lure.

I throw the spook out letting it sit as long as possible depending on the wind. I make a quick downward twitch with the rod tip making the bait spin to the right then another to the left. Letting the bait sit for long periods of time seems to let them make the decision to take it. I am always throwing past my target a short distance then after it sits, I will walk it to the target then repeat the dying quiver again then reel it in and target the next grass pod, tree or bush.

** ON PLASTICS AND JIGS. They must carry as many of the 5 senses as possible to so up the deal.
- Sight - All earth tones with the extra fine diamond dust glitter some where on or in the lure is very helpful. It represents the subtle flash of the scales on bait fish. Bulk of the bait falls in this category also. On skirted baits like jigs and spinner baits living rubber is a must on my lures. I want all my blades to have this fine diamond dust on them also. I like the RAINBOW colors on the small blade and BLUE on the large blade.
- Sound - Sometimes they like it and some times they don't. I always strike the middle of the road with one BB under each jig eye. It makes a softer sound and seems to be exactly what they like. There are many rattle systems out there to put on all plastics, spinners and jigs. I use a through the head cylinder with a flat flange on both ends with one BB inside on all my swim baits and flukes. The flat flanges work like a prism and reflects light which make a wonderful eye for these type baits. Eyes are one of the most important in my opinion.
- Eye Contact - As mentioned above; when a huge Bass takes it's pray it looks it in the eye. I want all my baits carrying as large an eye as possible and as natural a color as possible. The double flange through head rattles works great on large plastics. My dome eyes are on my jigs with one BB under each dome. I even want my crank baits to be customized with as large an eye as possible. On a side note I just have not had very much success on a RED eyed bait. It is not natural to me.
-Vibration - The way it wiggles. The size of the wiggle, The tail of the plastics. The rings on plastics. The size of the blades on spinner baits. I always down size the blades one click. Again living rubber comes into play here because it keeps moving long after the bait is dead on the bottom, like a jig for example.
-Scent - The human order is very offensive to all fish. USE SOMETHING. Plastics carry scent very well and is best done when hot out of the mold. I use custom poured plastics that are immediately scents while hot with the two most natural scents to fresh water fish, Minnow and Night Crawler. Silicone baits will not hold scent. Skirts in this material have to be sprayed often to produce the scent trail. I only use living rubber on jigs and spinner baits for this reason. They hold scent and can be sprayed a couple times per day to leave that trail. This alone has doubled my big fish catches over the years and I have no doubts that the big bite wants something natural to them. The Crayfish paste works great on silicone as well as my pure extract.

Back a few years ago when Falcon was hot, I spent some time targeting big bass. And I did manage to catch a number of 7 - 9 lb fish on Mag Flukes, 10 inch worms, and other oversized baits, but no double digits. I caught one double digit on a DD-22 and all of the rest came on "normal" sized plastics. Heck, I even caught one on a little shakey worm.

Location,location,location,that's the key then presentation!!!!!! Period