Big Bass Tactics

[crankitup]

So I have started fishing this tourney on Lake Georgetown, Texas every Thursday. There are about 25-30 teams and we fish from 5:30 to 9:15. I had a good outing yesterday and also some nice ones that got off. All of my fish seemed to be 1.5 - 2 lbs and a lot of the other teams were catching 3lbs plus. One guy caught a 6.71 lb Hog. I was fishing fomr 5-20' with a 3" Curly Tail Wild Eye. I found some undergroung structures and bounced the jig over it. What do you guys suggest to catch bigger bass? Or does it just depend on if they are in front of the lure?

[carolina-rig-01]

in every tourney there is always that one guy who gets on fish and stays on them the whole day. but there are a lot of guys who were on fish before hand but can't find them on tourney day. i would suggest that if you are catching fish then just stick with it and with a little luck you could stick a big one. however after filling out a limit you could upsize your baits. maybe go to a bulkier jig, bigger softplastics ect.

[crankitup]

You know I dont seem to even get bites on Jigs or Spinners. I have not caught one fish on either one.

[Robbie R.]

Flippin will produce sometimes when nothing else will. You don't have to have muddy or stained water like some people think either.

Flip trash piles in coves or anywhere you find them even in crystal clear water. You must be very quiet on approach and watch out for trolling motor back wash.

Use heavy weights and at least 25 lb. test line and flip in the air and make pegged weight "punch" through the trash then watch line very closely.

A killer bait is a lizard with a rattle embedded in it (glued).

Always use slippery attractant when flipping stuff like this.......it makes the bait slip into tight places much easier.

Flip docks and boat slips.........you'll be suprised where you can flip.

Big bass hang around docks that have snack bars and a deli..........no they don't eat there,but they eat the blue gill and bait fish that hang around that eat the scraps that people throw in.

I think big bass think about 2 things........food and cover.
They will not stay where there is no food............

Robbie R.

[crankitup]

The lake I fish doesn't have any dock's or debri in the water. No tree's, grass, other forms of vegetation of any sort. That is why it makes it kind of hard to visualize what they are seeing or wanting. Its a highland lake and the only thing I see for cover is steap drop off's. I mean straigh down almost. I need to check and see what flippin is. What is it?

[Robbie R.]

Flippin (my def.) is presenting food to a bass that is in a hiding/resting mode.

Hiding could very well mean waiting for food.

The trick when flipping is to present the "food" to the bass in a very quiet, subtle way......the key is to provoke a reaction type hit.

I have flipped for many years in clear and muddy water and if you ever see a bass hiding and you flip a craw or lizard gently right in front of his nose....... it makes the hair stand up on my neck to watch his gills flutter quickly and in the same instant his mouth is open........and he is replacing all the water in his mouth with all the water that surrounds your bait which is an easy way of saying he has just inhaled your food offering in a split second............all because you caught him in a relaxed or hiding state.

Best way to describe it is when we swat at a fly on our face...... a reaction our body hardly notices but your brain has already said swat.

You could easily flip all the water you fish..........just have to look for subtle changes in rocks, bankline etc. and expect a bass to be shallow......especially if he has a certain amount of shade or cover.

Flipping clear water is not easy but it can be done. You have to look beyond the bank line and look for anything different that might provide cover and security for a bass.

The food has to be presented in a very quiet way.......no depth finder transducers popping here.........turn them off and watch your trolling motor noise. Coast in on key points and make a long super subtle offering to these points.

Don't worry about your bait, watch your line.......any movement or twitch is what your looking for.

Don't laugh, but I wear camo while fishing or flipping clear water.........keep a low profile and you will be surprised what you get.........look ahead for each possible target.....I have coasted (no trolling motor) as far as twenty feet just to make one flip on a target which lots of times resulted in a 5+ pounder..........

crankitup, one last thought on fishing your lake, try a pop r or chartreuse
top water minnow twitch bait. I fish a lake very similar to what you describe and when these fish get super shy I can always get a hit or two on erratic twitching of the minnow or a pop r.

[crankitup]

Sounds good. I will let you know tomorrow afternoon how I do. I appreciate all the advice. I get better everyday!

[Robbie R.]

I've always been very surprised by what I have seen flippin.

You have to have confidence but this won't come unless you catch a few fish doing it.

It takes a while to learn and get used to........but IMO is well worth the time spent.

One day you'll be going down a bank just coasting and "dippin" your craw in and out of the fall leaves that float on top and often jam up against things and your line will twitch and you set the hook but nothing moves.........until your rod tip starts bending and you know you just set an owner wide gap flippin hook into a hog.

[crankitup]

I'm stoked! I just started learning to fish deeper water and that has been paying off for bigger fish!

[Robbie R.]

One last story to do with flippin and bass holding on specific structure.

I once got a bass book in the mid to late 80s that showed pictures of a test done with some bass.

Someone made a perfectly round tank about 10 feet accross and 4 feet deep and painted the entire tank sides and bottom white.

They put about 10 one pound bass in it and they swam........in circles........and swam and swam and swam in circles.......never stopping.

They drained the tank and removed the bass.

They then "painted" 1 black stripe on the side of the tank about 4 inches wide from top to bottom.

They then filled the tank and put the bass back in and guess what........all the bass swam straight to the "painted" black stripe and stayed.........they did not move.

This taught me a lot.

[Fishbear]

If you are fishing deep structure, you may want to consider a Crig. Just a thought, but dragging a lizard or such across structure works great for me, especially in water over 10 ft. deep.

[stevomac59]

Try to find a secondary point, one in which varies in depth from 5-20'. C Rig a lizzard(color that is best suited for your water clarity). Fish it low and slow. Feel the rocks and bumps along the way, the bass WILL hit! Let me know how it goes, good luck Champ!


-stevo

[Fishbear]

And remember that other old adage, BIG BAITS CATCH BIG FISH!!!

[bassnman30]

Big bass tend to roam at night or late evening. By casting a big worm in the stumps your likely to pick up a descent sized fish. Just hoping the worm you'll feel the stumps as well as a bass striking your bait. Reference pumping your worm.