BIG LMB?

[googly]

Having observed for many years now fish being fed in multi species housing, ie. BPS aquariums and various other public aquariums, it has raised some questions in my mind concerning big LMB.
Understanding that these are captive fish and taking that into consideration, I have made the following observation. The really big bass never seem to chase a meal very far. They do not seem overly aggressive concerning competing for food.
Now, trying to equate this into my fishing, how does this help me in fishing for big bass, or does it help at all?
Thinking back over thirty years plus bass fishing, here are some facts for me to ponder. My two biggest LMB ever came on slow moving topwater lures. The Majority of my big (over 5 lbs) LMB came of jigs. Second to that would be plastics. I have caught big bass on most baits but it seems more consistantly on jigs or plastics.
Next consider that my favorites or most often used are search baits, ie. Spinnerbaits, cranks, etc. I would also add this, my experience has been that the size of the bait has not seem to have made a big difference. I could make all kinds of conclusions based on this info but the purpose of this thread is to throw it out there and see what your experiences have been. Anybody willing to share?

[zooker]

1 have only aught one bass over 5 on a pnj most of mine come on spinnerbait or plastic. i did catch my biggest-9.1- last year on a carolina rig..i have rarely caught big ones on a crank maybe one over 6 on a crank. in maybe 5 years.

i notice that plastic bait change year to year as to what the bass want..2 years ago 4" worms ruled i caught 2 on lil worms last year most of my plastic bass came on 8-10" worms last year..
 

zooker 

[boatnik13]

Ever notice the size of bass that  bass pros catch at a contest on average?   I would think a PRO ment PRO and they would be catching all lunkers but insted they catch  them in order that  is norm of any pecking order > Smallest are the most abondant and most aggressive and the big fish are not far behind but have prefered methods such as low light conditions, getting spooked  ,staying behind the pod of juvenile bass.  A body of water will only hold so many BIG bass but catching them is a diffrent game > game of chance I'm afraid!

[dooberhoopa]

my father and i fish a lot of bass tourneys around the ne..we go up and fish winnipesaukee in NH and fish a bunch of open tourneys on the hudson here in NY as well as the club tournaments all summer...id have to say most of our big fish come on jigs and rubber worms stuff that you arent rippin back in like a crankbait or spinnerbait...but u do occasoinally get the reaction bite on those lures but it does seem that the slower u can go the bigger that fish is gonna be...although the bass the old man has on his wall is 8lbs 10oz and that one came thru the ice when we lived in NH

[RLWagner]

The BIG fish get tha way by conserving energy, especially as it pertains to feeding. Notice too, that during the ice season, the monster-gillasaurases will not compete with the dinks in general for a bit of food. The little ones exert tons of energy swimmin all around, and getting aggressive for a nibble of food. But the galiath Gills just cruise in real slow, eat if it does not require much energy, then they swim slowly away.
Same story for the Bass you reference, with one of the exceptions being the spawn.
Go slow, and keep the bait in their face!

[Reel Wet Ride]

Living in Michigan, a big bass is anything over the 5lb mark. I've caught my share, and to be honest with you, I've caught just as many on fast moving baits (spinnerbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits) as I have on Slower presentations like rubber worms, jitterbugs, & jig/pig combos. To compound things, I've caught just as many "big" fish on 1/32 jigs as I have on 6" Rapalas.  Do I believe that bigger baits equal bigger fish - absolutly. They also tend to lower the # of fish you'll boat in a day. So do you throw a spinnerbiat and catch 20 fish or a 7" swimbait and maybe catch 1-2? Guess its a matter of choice.

Another thing to consider Googly is this; What lures do you use the most? Growing up, all I threw were soft platics texas rigged and I caught a ton of nice fish. Lately I've been throwing lots of spinnerbaits and jerk baits and I'm still catching nice fish.  You have to consider the body of water your on and the anglers that fish it. If your on a small body of water with tons of bank-pounders, try moving deeper and fishing places other people don't think of, like: Deep water flats, deep weed edges, or deep water humps.

[pike hound]

I agree. I've caught 2 bass over 5 pounds in the last three years and both were caught on 1/4 oz. spinnerbaits. I caught 147 bass last year ( I keep a log) and i'd bet 90% were on spinnerbaits, 1/2 oz. rattletraps, or weedless spoons and pork frogs. The biggest bass I've seen caught legally in Michigan was 22" and 6 pounds. I know someone who accidentally speared a 26" bass while spearing carp.

My second biggest, a 20 1/4" 5 pounder

[G.Horne]

I've caught 5 bass over 8lbs including one over 9lbs in Mass waters. Three were on spinnerbaits one on a buzzbait (pre-fishing for a Tourney) and the other on a 2 1/4" floating Rapala twitched on the surface. I have caught many "big" bass on fast moving baits in T's and just fun fishing. Buzzbaits are awesome for big bass. A spinnerbait is one of my favorite lures. I will use them in shallow and deep water and up to 1 1/4oz. There is nothing like a 5+lbs bass crushing a spinnerbait along the bottom in 20' of water or having a big smallie smash it on the surface over 20'-30' of water

My father got this 8.6lbs bass also on a spinnerbait a few years ago

[ugp685]

well i had always thought the size of the bait matters, i hadn't caught a bass over 2 lbs in my life until a week ago.  It was about 6 lbs and I caught it on a Bluefox muskybuck.  After that I was hooked on the idea "big bait=big fish" but the next time I fished the same lure I caught a 12" bass so now I am undecided.  Although generally I feel bigger bait will get you bigger fish, I have seen many small fish hit larger lures so it makes it hard to justify the relation of size between bait and fish.  After reading the thoughts on smaller fish being more aggressive than larger, I can see the logic in this and will look for it more when I am on the water.

[zooker]

if the bass can fit it in his mouth he is going to eat it..

example A
thats a bandit 100


example B
8" worm


now big bass will readily bite any thing that swims or crawls by..
4" u-tail worm. yeah the date is correct on this picture.they do spawn TWICE a year in the south..



a 4" lizard


any questions??

zooker

[dooberhoopa]

going back over what i said before....bass are just an amazing fish that you can catch them on so many things at so many times...a fish is gonna eat what he wants...if hes feeding on shiners then hes gonna nail a spinnerbait, popper, crankbait but if u drop a senko in front of him hes gonna watch it just like the others he might nail it of he might wait until that spinnerbait goes by for the third time thats why you gotta have ten rod out on the front of the boat....

[Gorilla]

if the bass can fit it in his mouth he is going to eat it..

example A
thats a bandit 100

That always cracks me up, I had a Fish and Game Warden ask my why I fish with such a large crankbait.  I told HER that I have caught Bass not too much bigger then the lure on it many times.