Consistantly catching larger fish

[CMorg]

Thanks to all of you for putting your thoughts into this thread. These are the kind of threads that really , really help me out. I am a sponge for information , I actually take notes about fishing stuff , I have two notebooks full of information , and I notice alot of info repeated throughout fishing publications and videos. Anyway , I would love to see more threads like this one...thanks again.

[Jigger]

Experience on the water is a key to finding big fish. I think after a while you can tell where a big fish lives. The dominate biggest bass will be on the best spot in a given area most of the time just like the biggest dominate trout will be at the best spot in a stream. you just have to be able to identify the most likely spot in an area.

Example: There was this little underwater point off a flat in 7 to 10 ft of water that you could only see on your electronics. Out on the end of the point were several large stumps surrounded by deeper (15 ft) water. This place screamed big fish. It had it all---a feeding flat, cover, deep escape water nearby. Although I knew a big fish lived there, I never ever got a bite off that spot. Not even a dink.

So, a friend of mine one day wanted to fish with shad. I went straight to that spot, anchored my boat and pitched a medium sized gizzard shad between the stumps, free line, no weight. I sat there probably 15 minutes before I felt a tug. I boated an 8 lb largemouth which is a very big fish in these parts. I knew that fish or a large catfish or something big lived there but it wouldn't bite my artificials.

Moral to the story: Spend enough time on your tourney lakes and I think you can identify the big fish spots. Also, if you catch a big fish off a spot, chances are another big fish will take its place on that spot. Works the same on trout streams. The biggest predominate trout in the pool or run set up shop on the best spots. The trick is learning to identify "the best spots" whether it be on a trout stream or bass lake. Common denominators for big bass are: 1.Food 2.Cover 3.Acceptable depth for the time of year (translate water temp and oxygen) 4.Nearby deep water. Of course all that's out the window during the spawn.

Last but not least, fish a big fish bait. Good luck.

[northALbassin]

so i havent before read the article..now i have. im in iraq and have nothing but time to think. mostly i think about fishing, and hunting, and of course my wife and dogs. i try to read lots of articles and learn what i can apply when i do get home(@15days!) so thanks for posting this, and all the other great stuff. if you do ever get the chance, go out with the boats that do the fisheries surveys of the lakes in your area. i know that TVA biologist posts articles in the paper asking for volunteers(they use a shock boat). i did that last year and it was amazing. i learned more in that day than i had in a long time. so if you get the chance, do it.

[hookset on 3]

Hello NorthAL, welcome to BassFishin.com. I myself am new to this great site and good guys.We all learn and laugh,teach one another.
Anyway, I have two additional thoughts for this thread.First to address your point on Fisheries shock studies, you are right on" about what you witness. I've seen so many big bass float up right on the cover that looked so good but maybe all you caught there were dinks. One Time the Fisheries guys let me try to catch them on a known sweet-spot. After multiple casts with different baits score zero, They came over to the spot ,lowered the electrodes and gave the water a zap.sure enough all the fish in that area float to the top.Mixed in the group of different fish are a 4 lber and a 6. Moral of that story: If it looks like a lunker spot it probably is.
The other point is: just like the biggest and baddest bucks become nocturnal and Elusive so do the big female bass.
Tight lines

Hookset

Originally Posted by northALbassin

so i havent before read the article..now i have. im in iraq and have nothing but time to think. mostly i think about fishing, and hunting, and of course my wife and dogs. i try to read lots of articles and learn what i can apply when i do get home(@15days!) so thanks for posting this, and all the other great stuff. if you do ever get the chance, go out with the boats that do the fisheries surveys of the lakes in your area. i know that TVA biologist posts articles in the paper asking for volunteers(they use a shock boat). i did that last year and it was amazing. i learned more in that day than i had in a long time. so if you get the chance, do it.