In my previous post showing photos of fish caught and the lures they were caught on, did you notice how large those lures were?! Of course it depends on the water and the average size of fish, but generally speaking, if fish bite larger lures, it says something about the fishery. Somehow the gene pool evolved and spawned fish that are larger and more aggressive. An example is this 3" worm with spike tail:


and these were caught on a 3" worms with a thick body and straigh tail:



I used to thing - smaller lures in general for panfish, but over time and hundreds of fish caught on larger lures (length/diameter or both), I'm convinced that you gotta match lures to the fish and not the other way around.

I usually catch my bigger Bluegill/Sunfish during the winter months using smaller pieces of worm. During the late spring, summer, and fall it seems the bigger the piece of worm the bigger the Bluegill/Sunfish.


Side Note: Certain types of water bodies could play a factor in bait size as well.

For the sunfish I have always used small spinning baits. I also use the smaller grubs, and other smaller soft plastics. Have usually caught good quality fish most of the time. Might try a little bit bigger baits this fall to see if I notice a difference. If I was targeting bigger fish I would use the bigger baits. Neat thread. Thanks for sharing.

LakerOne, I assume the spinner you're talking about is the BeetleSpin?


One presentation I have caught fish with is using a float:


Crappie had no problem attacking the lure shown in that size. Sunfish like the ones we caught yesterday would have attacked most of the same lures if I had used a float, but regardless, lure design is important IMO when float fishing - especially tail design. Subtle slow-motion movements of the tail are key and I chose either flat tail grubs:


or spike tail grubs:


No way with curl tail grubs.

The wind and waves might have been a no-go for the float in open water, but in wind-protected areas it might have worked great.

Good tip and a good thread!

I sincerely hope some of the tips are given a chance. You won't be disappointed! But one thing to always keep in mind: there's no such thing as, ' it probably won't work in the lake I fish.' Fish are fish - it's mostly just a matter of finding them.

Plus #1.

Neat thread!