Catching Numbers vs Catching Size 2024
Manly Studson reply :
When fishing is tough, do you throw small lures to catch numbers or do you throw standard sized lures to catch larger bass? My son caught 8 bass for every bass I caught. Using an ultralight setup, he threw 1/8 oz Heddon torpedos, a 2 inch grub on a 1/16 oz jig head, and an 1/8 oz spinnerbait. Had he not been there, it would not have occurred to me to use an ultralight setup and lures for bass.
jimmyjoe reply :
When fishing is bad, I work down, down and down. Sometimes I end up with an ultralight, and sometimes a light. Yes, I like to catch fish and not go home skunked. But I've caught some nice sized fish on light tackle, too. It's just that with light tackle, you catch 10 dinks to one decent sized fish. Meh. So it goes. jj
WRB reply :
This topic comes up now and then my answer remains the same numbers of big bass.
If I am fishing with a partner who likes to catch bass regardless of the size then finesse presentations will catch more bass and a occasional big bass.
It's always about population density, bass activity and location. Big bass rule the roost occupying the best locations, smaller bass locate where they can to survive and a lot easier to catch becuase of higher population numbers.
Tom
PS, lure size depends on the prey the bass are targeting, little bass will strike big lures and big bass will eat smaller lures.
jbsoonerfan reply :
I would rather catch one 5 lber as opposed to nine 1 lbers. I usually try to target areas where I think I can catch a big one and use baits for that situation. I would be terrible in MLF lol.
Bluebasser86 reply :
9 times out of 10, I'm fishing to catch quality fish. It may not always look like it, but some of the lakes I fish, the best option to catch a big fish is to go with a small bait due to fishing pressure or it's just what they choose to eat at certain times of the year.
Now if it's been a long dry spell of bad fishing trips, I might go somewhere to just try to smack a bunch a little ones just to get my confidence back, but that's a pretty rare occasion.
OCdockskipper reply :
For me, lure size is dictated by the lake and conditions that day. I don't necessarily start with large lures & work small, it all depends on what I believe will work best at that particular time. I am trying to catch the most bass possible but if I am only catching smaller bass, I will change lures, locations and retrieves to continue to see what is needed to catch average size & larger as well as the small ones.
Small, average & large are subjective depending on the particular body of water you are fishing. On my home lake, it is reasonable to expect about half the fish to be under 14" and half to be over 14". If I am not catching any of the overs, I know I need to change something up.
Catt reply :
Go big or go home! ????
greentrout reply :
when i'm on ponds and small lakes i will usually downsize to light line and small lures for the action of catching ...
i like medium spinning rods rated with 1/8 lures and up in 5'6", 6' and 6'6" spinning rods...
Always have a baitcaster depending on the circumstances ...
good fishing ...
Glaucus reply :
I love to fish, and loving to fish means I love to catch fish, so I'll take numbers. Only time I would care about size is tournaments and for a PB.
scaleface reply :
I rarely go small and rarely go big . Ill go big when deep cranking because it is necessary . I fish med size lures because they cast better on my equipment . The more effortlessly I can cast the more accurate I am and that should get me more and bigger fish .
J.Vincent reply :
If I’m not catching Bass on standard size lures from 1/4oz up to 3/4oz , I first consider what could make the bite slow ? Or if my fish have moved out of the area? If I know there are still bass in the area, I will try to more closely mimic the forage while making sure Im covering the highest percentage targets with multiple casts from multiple angles. This gives me a better idea about how catchable the bass are under those given circumstances. Only when I’m absolutely sure the standard stuff isn’t going to work, do I then change gears to finesse tactics. Or if I’m certain I’m on a body of water that calls for finesse then I’m going to be prepared to throw finesse . Ultimately I prefer to focus on better quality bass with standard size lures ; and sometimes this means fewer fish catches per outing. Anyway just my 2 cents , hopefully it’s helpful to someone !
Hammer 4 reply :
I'll tough it out as long as I can to catch Quality bass, however, I've been known to give in after several hours and go to light line and small lures. I hate days like that..
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
I was having fun catching dinks the other day. It’s been over a month now that I only carry UL tackle target small fish. Compare to this time last year, I started throwing Magnum Fluke target those 3-5lbs bass.
gilkeybr reply :
I'm happy to catch lots of fish. But I would probably draw the line at 12"/1lb. If i'm catching a bunch under that size, i'll probably abort and try to look for more quality.
Some of my most fun fishing days that I can remember are at golf course ponds where you catch 50 1-1.5lb bass. Other fun days are where we grind it out and finally get that one 5lb+ fish. All depends on my mood!
NYWayfarer reply :
I love fishing, doesn't matter the species. While my favorite targets are Largemouth and Smallmouth I will try to catch any species available that's not a micro in the waters I fish. I am firmly in the quantity over quality section.
Using ultralight setups with finesse techniques for smaller Bass, Sunfish and Trout is great fun and usually non-stop action.
keagbassr reply :
I'm happy to catch any bass willing to bite but I won't 'downsize' to get them. Id still rather catch 5 that weigh 20 lbs. Than 20 that weigh 5 lbs.
fishwizzard reply :
Depends on my mood. I generally prefer catching lots of smaller bass ti catching fewer larger ones, but every time I catch a really big one I change my tune for a week or two.
I spent an incredible amount of time this winter throwing nothing but medium-size swim baits and I caught painfully a few bass doing it, but I have now become much more comfortable with the idea of sacrificing catch probability for catch quality.
CroakHunter reply :
In always fishing for the biggest bass in the lake. But that doesn't mean ive always got "larger" baits Tied on.
Tennessee Boy reply :
When I join my first club 30 years ago I was all about the numbers. It was after catching 21 keepers in a tournament and getting beat by over 20 lbs that I realized I needed to change. Joining MLF wasn’t an option in those days. ????
Fubijar03 reply :
I like catching fish. Bigger ones are fun, but I prefer to catch a lot of fish to catching none or a couple. Heck, sometimes I decide to just not bass fish and load up on bluegills, because I can catch them on every cast in a little creek near my favorite lake and sometimes something interesting hits. Different strokes for sure, and I think that makes this hobby the cool time killer that it is.
ItsHardwick reply :
I have big baits, little baits, medium sized baits all tied on at all times. My lake gets so much pressure that I usually throw the finesse stuff most just because a lot of the time that’s the only way to get bites anymore. I’m usually trying to do something different than everyone else. But when I get on a good bite or find a big wad of fish I’ll start throwing the bigger stuff trying to land the big girl in the bunch.
Fried Lemons reply :
I often throw big baits as I find it more enjoyable than fishing with conventional sized lures. I have little to no interest in the smaller bass I see cruising around and I willingly give up bites to improve my odds of catching the big bass. If I get tired of being skunked there are plenty of of other species in my area I find more fun to catch than small to average bass.
Bankbeater reply :
I prefer to catch bass that are 3 lbs and up, but I’m not going to go home if I’m catching 12 inchers.
CrankFate reply :
On 5/20/2019 at 10:12 AM, Manly Studson said:When fishing is tough, do you throw small lures to catch numbers or do you throw standard sized lures to catch larger bass? My son caught 8 bass for every bass I caught. Using an ultralight setup, he threw 1/8 oz Heddon torpedos, a 2 inch grub on a 1/16 oz jig head, and an 1/8 oz spinnerbait. Had he not been there, it would not have occurred to me to use an ultralight setup and lures for bass.
No. I throw small because the fish I’m going for eat small. I do not catch numbers, because the numbers aren’t there. But there are big ones that eat—sometimes. Do you know what the fish are eating? A lot of fish are eating small things. Possibly stuff like dragonfly larvae. I say that because adding bass to a lake drastically reduces the number of dragonflies. There’s a lot of small things to eat in some lakes that seem pretty barren.
frogflogger reply :
I try to always start with a big bait, if they don't show I can always pick up the little rod.
the reel ess reply :
I just start going early or late and keep fishing the same baits. It only takes one big one to make a trip worthwhile. I start fishing larger topwaters in the low light period.
But when I've been a time or two with NO BITES, I'll usually resort to a finesse C rig with a Zoom Finesse Worm or possibly a Ned. Anything is better than nothing at all.
Jason Penn reply :
i love catching big fish, but i don't fish tournaments (or ever go fishing with another person) so for me it's about numbers. maybe i'm more addicted to the anticipation of what the next bite might be.
Brad Reid reply :
My big fish vs. small fish theories have melded into sort of an overall thought comprising a few ideas.
One is that smaller fish are more energetic. You throw something at them, they simply react faster. So, around a fishy spot, maybe there are half dozen 2 pounders, one 5 pounder. I'm betting the big girl just doesn't react as fast, especially in open water, especially on smaller presentations. So, we catch the smaller fish more often because the big one didn't get a chance to bite our presentation.
And, bigger bass might have gotten that way by being just naturally more shy. If you take a litter of six 4 week old puppies, sit down on the ground to engage them, 2 will be licking your face, 2 in your lap, and one or two skulking and rather shy keeping more distance from you than the others. Could be some bass are wired just a bit different, helps them live longer lives resulting in more size.
Funny thing that the size we like to fish for often defines what we fish for. If an angler really likes a whole lot of activity, he or she might be more inclined to target white bass, crappie or other panfish. An angler who cares not a whit about numbers might be one casting those really large swimbaits, sacrifices numbers for that one big fish.
Like most, I waver back and forth a bit. Sometimes, I want the bites; at other times, I use presentations to target larger fish.
Brad
Dens228 reply :
When I first got back into bass fishing a few years back I was all about catching bass, any bass. Then I started wanting big bass, preferring one or two big ones over a bunch of smaller ones.
Then I was in an online tournament last year and doing pretty good, sitting in 8th place and a couple inches out of 1st on the last day. I caught about 30 bass and wasn't able to cull any of my existing and as I drove home I was ticked. It was then I decided it was stupid to be ticked about catching 30 bass and I needed to enjoy fishing itself.
I still go for the big bass and if I keep catching little ones I move spots or change presentations. But if I'm not catching anything I will go to where I can catch the smaller ones for some fun.
scaleface reply :
I think my chances of catching a five lb plus bass is better if I catch 50 bass instead of two .
Koz reply :
I always target the spots where I think that the bigger bass will be located. If they are not there I move on to the next spot. I'm lucky to live in an area where even though I bank fish there are hundreds of lagoons in the community where I fish. So whether I'm in my car or biking I can cover a handful of lagoons (or more!) in the two hours or so that I choose to fish.
But sometimes I move on out of necessity. There are days when I might get in only two or three casts before a gator decides he's interested in what I'm doing. In many of the locations I fish bank fishing spots are limited so you can't get away from the gator. Then there are lagoons like I fished the other day where I moved 400 yards away from a big gator and he still tracked me down and ruined my fishing. In that case it was on to the next lagoon.
J Francho reply :
I don't really make any correlations between lure size and bass size. Some of my biggest bass have come on small, finesse type lures. For me, location, depth control, and presentation are the keys to bigger bass. Some locations seems to be proving grounds for younger, smaller bass. They are often more aggressive, therefore it may feel like a numbers game with smaller bass. If you can think a little differently, discover what specific structural irregularities attract bigger bass, then you have unlocked the puzzle for that day on your lake.
RichF reply :
I just do both;)
Fishes in trees reply :
I guess I'm a numbers guy. I fish for fish and every so often keepers and bigger fish happen.
Boomstick reply :
Well most of the time I am happy if I can find a pattern and land a few dinks. Sometimes when the going is tough, I will bring out a drop shot or maybe a ned rig which not only helps target finicky bass but also has landed me several nice trout. Alternatively, if I know the lake, have a boat and I find some nice looking structure, I may try to target some large ones as well.
whitwolf reply :
If I'm by myself I usually target bigger fish. The one thing I know; if I'm around bait, have some decent structure, and have confidence in that spot I will catch fish.
If my wife or a buddy comes along I usually go on a standard milk run that works for numbers. My wife wants to catch.
In the end though if I'm catching some fish and enjoying the day/night, it's a win.
Catt reply :
On 5/21/2019 at 10:01 PM, J Francho said:I don't really make any correlations between lure size and bass size. Some of my biggest bass have come on small, finesse type lures. For me, location, depth control, and presentation are the keys to bigger bass. Some locations seems to be proving grounds for younger, smaller bass. They are often more aggressive, therefore it may feel like a numbers game with smaller bass. If you can think a little differently, discover what specific structural irregularities attract bigger bass, then you have unlocked the puzzle for that day on your lake.
Exactly!
It doesn't matter if I'm fishing a river, creek, or bayou, marshes or swamps, pond, lake or reservoir; I'm targeting the bigger bass.
Kinda like deer hunting...I aint here for spikes! ????
The Maestro reply :
I'm usually happy with fewer quality bites vs. numbers. If I'm getting desperate I'll pull out the wacky rigged senko.
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