Consistantly catching larger fish

[cassidyta]

I am looking at the finals to the local Tourney of Champions. All of the local bass clubs have their top angler participate. The winning weight ended up at just over 30 for the 1 and 1/2 day tourney.
I enjoy my fishing and limiting is not often an issue, but I have only once had the 20 lbs stringer that the leader put up yesterday. I may end up on a 4lbs plus during the day, but the others need to pump iron to reach 2lbs.

What do you all think is the key to consistantly getting the larger fish. I am not talking about just trophy hunting one monster. I know these guys are culling fish throughout the day, but I seldom see them landing a dink. Some of my cathces would make better bait than predator.
What are your thoughts?

[bamabassman]

sorry cass.......i amNOT the one to help ya out here pal. wish i could. really do buddy.

[CMorg]

I think its something to do with studying the basses behiavor pattern , match that to the time of year , and map study to find where they are. Now , I know nothing about all that , Im trying to learn it all myself....

[The Doc]

From personal experience, I usually just back off the spot where I'm catching the dinks about 20 yards, and upsize my bait slightly. An example is this: if I am catching dinks on a shad patterned senko, but not catching a good size, I'll throw a soft swimbait like a Strike King Shadalicious at them a few times and see what happens. If I'm jig fishing, I'll go with a chunkier trailer or a jig with a fuller skirt, but I don't upsize the weight of the jig, I'll stick with whatever weight was catching them. Upsize a little bit at a time and see what happens. Sometimes, if I'm in a school of small bass and they are smashing a worm as soon as it hits the water, I'll add a weight and cast past the school and try to bring the bait under them where the larger bass are hanging out, waiting for one of the small bass to drop food. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't

[bamabassman]

me neither cmorg....that is why we are here right pal?

[MIbasser]

Cass, I think it's time on the water and a lot of it. Guys here can put you on 2 lb fish all day long at St. Clair, but will not let you know where the 5-6 lber's will hang out. I think it just takes time.

I'm in your same boat as all of you guys, I want to know where they are too!!

[chase_cooley5308]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

Cass, I think it's time on the water and a lot of it. Guys here can put you on 2 lb fish all day long at St. Clair, but will not let you know where the 5-6 lber's will hang out. I think it just takes time.

I'm in your same boat as all of you guys, I want to know where they are too!!

same here MI

[Tennessee]

In a 5 fish tourney I will try my best to pop 5 fish the ones I know I can catch like the dink size 12, 14, and 15" fish. Then the ice is broken and I go hunt the big dawgs. I'm not a super tourney fisherman but this has proven to work for me in the past.

I started out hunting bigger fish at the start of tournaments and never did well..As time went by and nothing swimming in my live well made me grow more and more nervous I fished to fast and hard and couldn't slow my self down.

I have seen local tourney's won on 8lbs of fish in the middle of the summer and it never fails there is always some guys that always fish and always complain about not having fish to weight in.

I didn't want to be one of those guys so I took a step back said hey they catching them I can too just gotta change my game. That's when my mind opened up to other baits styles and areas. Even brought me to this site.

I will never know everything about fishing but with you fine folks an myself always fishing and trying new things I'm sure to learn something new most everyday.

Just for the record I had people askign at the weigh-in yesterday what dis yall use. I said Shakey head to a few and they were like ??????what????? over grown jigs. I lol and yup. One guys said wow they only thing I didn't throw and the others just hmmm never used one!!

Later Will

[CCbass]

I will offer this, its time on the water and finding a technique that by nature catches bigger fish. I was known as a one bait guy in all my tournements, never had to compete for my areas. At weigh in when the director asked what I used and how the rest of the club said it before I did. They all new what I did and how I caught them yet never did I get beat on a similar technique, I was beat on other techniques, most said they couldn't find a pattern for what I used.

[supermat]

Of course time on the water, personal confidence, and attention to detail are all important. However, using baits that typically generate larger than average bites is very important. Regardless of where you fish, swimbaits, jigs, and topwaters will produce larger than average fish over the long haul.
To add to that, when I fish in a tournament my goal is 7 baits during the day. I go with as large a bait as I can to still get those 7 bites. The way I figure it, that allows for one missed fish, 5 in the bag, and one cull fish. If you fish for seven bites a day your numbers will go up. If you're catching 10, 20, 40, fish a day, odds are you need to fish bigger to eliminate smaller bites and encourage the larger fish to commit. Without being on the boat and watching what you do that is the best I can offer.

[CCbass]

I agree with the fewer bites to a point, yes catching alot of fish, one to two pounds is nice, but what if you catch alot of fish and they are all quality. Its the same but can make a tournement, instead of 10 to 12 lbs. its 17 to 19 lbs. which can win most one day tournements. The bigger bait idea I'm not so sure about, my technique employed baits from 2.5 inches to 3 inches, never any bigger, still caught quality fish time in and out.

[supermat]

Originally Posted by CCbass

I agree with the fewer bites to a point, yes catching alot of fish, one to two pounds is nice, but what if you catch alot of fish and they are all quality. Its the same but can make a tournement, instead of 10 to 12 lbs. its 17 to 19 lbs. which can win most one day tournements. The bigger bait idea I'm not so sure about, my technique employed baits from 2.5 inches to 3 inches, never any bigger, still caught quality fish time in and out.

Very dependent upon conditions lake to lake. You're fishing central cal and that's a whole different ball game. 17-19 lbs will not put you on a leader board in most Norcal tourneys. But again, "bigger baits" is very relative. To me, I may start throwing a 12" swimbait, a big jig, or a 12-16" worm. To the next guy, that might be the difference between a 1" hair jig and a 3" senko. Its dependent on the particular body of water but I do believe that to catch consistantly bigger bass you need to eliminate a portion of your bites.
Are there exceptions? Of course. But over the long haul, no, I don't think so. This is one of the major keys to success.

[CCbass]

Point said, my run, 1st thru 3rd in 11 tournaments from Feb. thru Nov. on five different lakes. Same technique for the most part lead to that record on all lakes, was it luck, most of the other anglers thought so. Me, no, just a good technique that catches bass on a lake, and at a higher quality.

[dodgeguy]

fish a jig .

[mont_lunker_hunter]

Many ways to look at luck...some could argue, Jason, that it wasn't luck at all that you caught he smallie...afterall, YOU made the decision to make that cast. Luck would have been if it had just jumped in the boat as you were pulling up the ramp.

I think anytime you make a decision to fish an area, a bait, a color, a technique, etc...you are taking luck out of the equation. As i said, i believe luck is when something happens and you had absolutely nothing to do with it.

As far as catching bigger fish...too many variables there to discuss them all on here. As it's been said before though, moving slightly deeper, finding thicker cover, and throwing bigger baits works most of the time. I agree with Bob though...it's hard to leave biting fish.

[aikenyounggun]

well the first thing is you got to find the big fish...... you could find a place that had one big fish or you could find a place with 10 big fish..... you also have to fish for 5-7 bites, not just lets go catch fish.... it takes a lot of commitment to do that.... you also have to throw bigger baits or fish deeper, etc.....

also on the luck thing.... a one day tournament you could have the luck to catch a 6lber and win... but for a 3-4 day tourney you have to be on fish.... not just have luck

[CCbass]

Good point, I also think luck can be a big factor in one day tournements. A person is not very often lucky 3-4 days in a row.

[cassidyta]

Good read Bandit.

[aikenyounggun]

that was a really cool readin.... wish he could look at my home lakes map

[cassidyta]

Actually CC, I was not trying to discuss just tourneys, I referenced the tourney at a lake I had fished just the weekend before, but tourneys are only a small percentage of my fishing.
I agree with Matt on the larger baits as most of my larger fish come on swimbaits as well as jigs. I usually consider swimbaits a trophy hunting bait and use them when I am focusing on that 1 big fish. It has worked for me over the years, but consistancy is the key there. My 2 largest fish came off of 8 inch swimbaits. Both were in the double digit weights but neither in a tourney. But for me that fishing has been more of fishing for a single strike. I have not been able to get the 7 that Matt spoke of.
I fish a lot of clear water and at times can see the bigger fish, but often find that the 2lbs ones are more aggressive or at least less cautious about striking a bait. I usually throw rather large baits (Large brushhawgs, 10 and 12 inch worms, and the swim baits). Perhaps I am focusing on areas that are two crowded with the smaller ones?
For me locating the larger ones is not too big of an issue, but finding a presentation that they will go after is.

I hope everyone knows that I am not trying to be poor me on this one. Larger bass is relative to your specific location. I have seen 30 lbs not make the top 3 in tourneys twice out here. An I have also seen 17 win one. So obviously this is not a perfect science, but it has been a great discussion so far.

[bamabassman]

agreed cass. this is a great chat on what to do. where to do it. and how to do it. keep talking, i am reading this very intently.

[mont_lunker_hunter]

Tourny fishing definitely changes how you manage your time during the day...but it don't change the fish's attitudes, unless you're on a lake that gets hammered by tourny's every weekend.

Up until this year i fished exclusively for double digits here at my home lake. What i have found and read is that once a fish reaches around the 7 lb mark, they change. It's sort of like a 3.5 year old whitetail. Their feeding habits, habitat, and routine changes. Also, where you find one, you will others. I've got a spot on my home lake that I can anchor down on and sit for hours and consistantly catch them (7 lb + with three over 10...so far) from one hour before daylight to 1.5 hours after daylight, then the smaller fish start. I've done this on this spot for the past 4 years!!!

For you deer hunters out there, i'm basically patterning these fish the way you pattern a buck. Also, as you hunters know, there are small areas that consistantly hold big bucks because it's something there that they prefer. Fish are no different. If I were in a tourny, i'd look first at the time of year. Then i'd go from there. This time of year, i'd find males up shallow, then back off and look for the closest unique feature for the big females. The "spot" I mentioned above is exactly this scenario...but it holds fish most often after the spawn. The only thing i can figure as to why this is, is because the fish spawn at different times, so there is not as many grouped up pre-spawn, but post spawn, they hang out a little longer (may be due to more consistant water temps through out April).

Oh, and i believe in big baits too, but i've caught alot of nice fish on a 1/4 ounce jig.

[BassBandit]

Originally Posted by mont_lunker_hunter

Tourny fishing definitely changes how you manage your time during the day...but it don't change the fish's attitudes, unless you're on a lake that gets hammered by tourny's every weekend.

Up until this year i fished exclusively for double digits here at my home lake. What i have found and read is that once a fish reaches around the 7 lb mark, they change. It's sort of like a 3.5 year old whitetail. Their feeding habits, habitat, and routine changes. Also, where you find one, you will others. I've got a spot on my home lake that I can anchor down on and sit for hours and consistantly catch them (7 lb + with three over 10...so far) from one hour before daylight to 1.5 hours after daylight, then the smaller fish start. I've done this on this spot for the past 4 years!!!

For you deer hunters out there, i'm basically patterning these fish the way you pattern a buck. Also, as you hunters know, there are small areas that consistantly hold big bucks because it's something there that they prefer. Fish are no different. If I were in a tourny, i'd look first at the time of year. Then i'd go from there. This time of year, i'd find males up shallow, then back off and look for the closest unique feature for the big females. The "spot" I mentioned above is exactly this scenario...but it holds fish most often after the spawn. The only thing i can figure as to why this is, is because the fish spawn at different times, so there is not as many grouped up pre-spawn, but post spawn, they hang out a little longer (may be due to more consistant water temps through out April).

Oh, and i believe in big baits too, but i've caught alot of nice fish on a 1/4 ounce jig.

Whole hearty agree with your post! Great example mont lunker hunter. I'm also an avid whitetail bowhunter and your correct about the mature bucks have their own territory (same with lunkers) they don't go very far from their bedding to feeding area until the rut swings in. Narrow down their pattern and your set. Same scenario as the big bass.

Like us humans we have our same daily routes from home to work then back home on same road.

[CCbass]

I agree with the big baits bigger fish on the average, maybe I should redirect my thoughts on this. If you know how to catch lager fish by being able to home in on there habits you can catch them on smaller baits the same as larger is what I am trying to say. I had a friend that just got into bass fishing, loved 9 inch swimbaits and caught some nice 5,6 and even one 9+ fish. He thought to catch larger fish you HAD to use larger baits, are lakes filled up and flooded tons of brush. I showed him a finess flipping technique I used 1/16 ounce wieght 4" brushhog, he started loving flipping. One day he e-mailed me, he caught a 7, two 8, and a 9 all flippin the 4" brushhog. So I guess its just a confidents thing, if you catch larger fish on larger baits use them, if the reverse use that, the important thing is learning how to find them in the first place.

[Foyt20]

Originally Posted by CCbass

I agree with the big baits bigger fish on the average, maybe I should redirect my thoughts on this. If you know how to catch lager fish by being able to home in on there habits you can catch them on smaller baits the same as larger is what I am trying to say.

Mmm.... Lager fish, the best kind