OK I can catch plenty of 3-5lbers how to make the move to the big ones?? 2024
32251 reply :
i have posted here about the 50 acre private lake i fish a lot. i have learned the techniques that get me 15 or so a day up to 5 lbs. I have caught one about 10lb, but that is only one in 3 years. The lake record so far is 14lb. There are some big bass in this lake for sure.
Beautiful spring fed lake, threadfin shad, deepest section 18-20ft most of the lake is about 6-9feet pond management company keeps the color of the lake to a nice greenish color.
Been catching them on plastic worms black over red shad color and at night texas rig just moving and casting toward the bank and giving the worm a couple of flicks and then keep moving.
So what would be the way you guys would make a serious attempt at only big fish using plastic worms. Size....technique...speed....time on a spot....depths...etc.
I am willing to devote say 1/2 of my fishing day to just targeting big fish, but dont really have any ideas right now..One thing for sure...what i am doing for the last few years is only getting me up to 5 lbers on a consistant basis. I have read the Big Bass book by Bill Murphy and can do his super slow "stitching" technique. Just wonder about other approaches. Thanks for any advice.
Nibbles reply :
Have you tried using bigger hooks and baits?
I hear good things about the Fat Ika.
Shane J reply :
Yeah, try a 6/0 hook with a 10" Anaconda or Thumper Worm. Should get the attention of some of the bigger girls. Sounds like a nice lake.
Big-O reply :
I would say slow down when fishing your soft plastics, easing them along the bottom at a snails pace. Many fish feel the bait around them before they actually see it and if you have already moved it out of their comfort zone, they'll often disregard it.
Fish that aren't actively feeding at any given time will still eat if you provide them with the right opportunity. That is usually a bait that eases right into their safe zone and and says "BITE ME" 
And when they feel something crawling along the bottom near them, they will often take the time to ck it out....so I try to give'em the time
This style of fishing will also allow you to feel the variety of bottom structure that any given area has to offer. Once the bite comes, you know what the fish are relating to and can reproduce your effort more easily.
Hope this helps
Big O
www.ragetail.com
Fat-G reply :
QuoteI would say slow down when fishing your soft plastics, easing them along the bottom at a snails pace. Many fish feel the bait around them before they actually see it and if you have already moved it out of their comfort zone, they'll often disregard it.Fish that aren't actively feeding at any given time will still eat if you provide them with the right opportunity. That is usually a bait that eases right into their safe zone and and says "BITE ME"
And when they feel something crawling along the bottom near them, they will often take the time to ck it out....so I try to give'em the time
This style of fishing will also allow you to feel the variety of bottom structure that any given area has to offer. Once the bite comes, you know what the fish are relating to and can reproduce your effort more easily.
Hope this helps
Big O
www.ragetail.com
x2. Pick an area where you FEEL like there should be a big fish (ie. isolated cover, drop-offs, etc.) and fish it VERY slowly. Keep casting to the same spot, and experiment with different twitches, pauses, stops, etc.
Like Big-O says, a big fish is your LOCK, and all of the variables that factor in to catching her are your KEYS.
zbigbadaaron reply :
unhappy about catching 5 pounders 
Mike D from Lunkerville reply :
i would try the bulkiest jig you can find with a meaty, long trailer... weed out the weaklings ; )
Catt reply :
First question: is the spring actually in the lake?
Hellbenderman reply :
50 acres sounds like a nice pond...if it's your private pond, but if that pond get's any real pressure, your task is even more difficult because your quarry didn't get to be 10 lbs by being dumb. Somewhere along the way, Mrs. Big *** Bass, learned about your kind and discovered you were the "Anti-food!" She has seen everything in the catalog, and for whatever reason, it's not food. You have to become a stalker...a bassassassin. Be very quiet. Stop announcing yourself. You know the lake...turn off your finder...stop dropping crap and banging stuff. Be quiet. Use the wind to set your boat up in a given wind situation so the wind can move you down a bank instead of your trolling motor. Be invisible. Bigger baits worked very slowly...big jigs, big swimbaits...a ten inch worm instead of a seven inch worm...all of the above mentioned baits and suggestions. One of the nice things about braid is it has no stretch. Try making as long a cast as you can and then letting another 20 yds strip off while your bait just sits. Put as much distance between your boat and your lure as you can. Braid makes that easy. However, if there is any cover between your lure and your boat, and you hook a monster, she will find that tree limb and make things testy...hahaha. You have to become a green beret of bass fishermen. Use something no one else is using, and make it big....and slow...really slow. You're a sniper. Each little twitch is a controlled thoughtful gesture.
Bigger. Explore the pond again...go back over those places lightly fished, and re-examine them. Are you fishing the deepest water in the pond? Be stealthy, be different, be bigger, really know the pond. A ten pound bass is easily capable of swallowing a 10" swimbait...a meal. Which would you want...the ten inch meal or a Rapala Shad Rap? Hahaha. Go to
http://www.mattlures.com/ and look at the size of the fish and the lures they are using. I don't work for Mattlures though I do use his lures...just look at the pictures. There are lots of these things out there. Look at the pictures and believe. If you don't believe what you are doing is going to work, it probably won't. Be quiet. Let us know how you and what you are doing.
Wayne P. reply :
Instead of being a bank beater, turn around the present your lures away from the bank.
32251 reply :
QuoteFirst question: is the spring actually in the lake?
Yes...several of them.....no way to know where they actually are.
32251 reply :
Quoteunhappy about catching 5 pounders
It took me about 2 years to work up to being able to catch the 5 pounders on a regular basis. I am ready to make to transition to working for the big hogs.
32251 reply :
Hellbenderman.....the lake is not pressured at all.....very underfished.
Catt reply :
At only 50 acres I would set out looking for those springs, the reason being they are providing a constant influx of dissolved oxygen, cooler temperatures, and all the other nutrients needed of the food chain to grow.
Now how to find them, I would start looking for old topo maps of the area dating back before the pond was built, these can be found at your county court house.
Nitrofreak reply :
Quotei would try the bulkiest jig you can find with a meaty, long trailer... weed out the weaklings ; )
x2 Big baits = Big fish... Slow the presentation down and twitch it along the bottom pick the bait up about a foot and let it fall where those springs are that Catt was asking about and I usually add a clicker on my line with these baits just to help get their attention.
fishfordollars reply :
Let's see: Up to 15 a day to 5lbs?
Count your blessings. People would kill for that ratio. Enjoy it while it last. Keep your lips tightly sealed or it will soon be over.
Got any cordinates?
Fishing Rhino reply :
You may be able to find the springs, but it will necessitate a boat and a depth finder.
My favorite pond is 6 - 7 feet deep away from the shore. The depth varies very little until you pass over a spring. There are at least three of them. The depth at those three springs is 9 feet, and the diameter of that depression in the bottom is maybe 30 feet.
The reason a spring is likely to be deeper is the upwelling water keeps the "hole" dredged.
The question that interests me would be, what is the oxygen content of that spring water?
If you get an opportunity to chart the bottom, do it very slowly. A small depression can go unnoticed at faster speeds.
32251 reply :
I am aware of what one of the guys who lives on the lake calls a deep "hole" he catches big catfish there. I will try to chart that area and see what it looks like. Maybe that is one of the springs.
I thank all of you for your help and suggestions. I have one place that I know of for sure where there is a very sharp drop off from about 7 feet to almost 20 feet. It is an old railroad cut that ran through where the lake is now. These two places are going to be the first areas I am going to target. From what I have read, big bass like to always have some deep water that they can get to.
The 5 pounders......when you fish a 50 acre lake for several years, you learn where these fish hang out. I can almost count on catching one at several areas of the lake, around docks and structure that I know about. They seem to just live there year round. I have probably caught them over and over.
WanderLust reply :
Black on Black Cavitron buzzbait with a trailer.... Work it late at night or early morning near the most likely spots.
I catch a ton of 3-5 pounders and will continue to catch them... for life. 
Would like to join 10# club but 3-4 smallie is a great fish.
Hellbenderman reply :
....under fished or not...you still need to become a stalker...a sniper...imagine you need to be as stealthy as if you were hunting that big 12 point buck...because you do...and definitely pull back from the shore and look at deeper climes...smoochies
Catt reply :
QuoteI am aware of what one of the guys who lives on the lake calls a deep "hole" he catches big catfish there. I will try to chart that area and see what it looks like. Maybe that is one of the springs.I thank all of you for your help and suggestions. I have one place that I know of for sure where there is a very sharp drop off from about 7 feet to almost 20 feet. It is an old railroad cut that ran through where the lake is now. These two places are going to be the first areas I am going to target. From what I have read, big bass like to always have some deep water that they can get to.
QuoteQuoteFirst question: is the spring actually in the lake?Yes...several of them.....no way to know where they actually are.
This information tells me you should be able to obtain topographical maps or survey maps of the area prior to the pond being built.
These springs and railroad bed would be my starting point in search of large bass, especially if the two are close by one another.
WRB reply :
To locate the springs; look for early morning dawn fog patches on the water surface; indicates surface water temperature change before the sun hits the water. Spring water is usually 60 degrees year round, when it comes out of the ground; cooling or warming the water around it depending on the time of year.
It's also unusual for a small lake or large 50 acre pond with a healthy bass population to sustain a thread fin shad population. Thread fin are pelagic fish the need open water with phytoplankton to eat during the day light period.
Lets think about other bait fish, frogs, crawdads, plus the shad as the food chain. You are already catching adult size bass, 3-5 lbs, that can target everything in the food chain. You caught a 10 lb bass, stay with whatever you used for that bass. Fish at night or under ideal low light conditions. I would also try a 6" Lunker Punker in baby bass colors.
WRB
Raul reply :
Quotei would try the bulkiest jig you can find with a meaty, long trailer... weed out the weaklings ; )
Count me in, I caught my first 10+ lber with a Jerkbait and my PB (13.86 ) with a Shad Rap I think more about those two fish as lucky catches rather than trageting them specifically, most of my 10-13 lbs fish have been caught with a 3/4 oz jig with a Brush Hog as trailer.
So far I haven 't got good luck with swimbaits for big fish, only once I 've broken the 10+ lbs barrier with them, the evidence convinces me that swimbaits catch big fish, however the fact that a jig moves at a much slower speed makes me think that those big fish apparently prefer to pounce on the slow moving jig than running behind a faster moving bait like the siwmbait. Go figure.
32251 reply :
QuoteTo locate the springs; look for early morning dawn fog patches on the water surface; indicates surface water temperature change before the sun hits the water. Spring water is usually 60 degrees year round, when it comes out of the ground; cooling or warming the water around it depending on the time of year.It's also unusual for a small lake or large 50 acre pond with a healthy bass population to sustain a thread fin shad population. Thread fin are pelagic fish the need open water with phytoplankton to eat during the day light period.
Lets think about other bait fish, frogs, crawdads, plus the shad as the food chain. You are already catching adult size bass, 3-5 lbs, that can target everything in the food chain. You caught a 10 lb bass, stay with whatever you used for that bass. Fish at night or under ideal low light conditions. I would also try a 6" Lunker Punker in baby bass colors.
WRB
The lake stays fertilized and such....the pond management company introduced the threadfins and they remain plentiful. My brother who lives on the lake said that before they introduced the shad, that he would always find crawfish pinchers in the stomachs of harvested fish. After the shad, none. The management company sent out a letter to the residents asking them to please harvest the smaller bass they catch or just toss them on the bank. I have only found shad in the fish that I have harvested. Also fish that eat a lot of crawfish will not have as sharp a teeth from dealing with the harder crawfish. These bass have incredible sharp teeth. They are only feeding on shad mostly.
Great tip about the morning fog patches.
evrgladesbasser reply :
Hundreds of years of fishing experience devoured in a single thread... I love this site. Thanks all for the helpful information
iceintheveins reply :
I would use bigger, more realistic baits fished slooowly, and also right in whatever cover is on the lake. Nighttime can be good, but concentrate mostly on mornings and evenings. During the middle of the day, fish the deepest areas of the lake with a 1/4 ounce sliding sinker on a carolina rig, tipped with a 6" or a 9" lizard.
jignfule reply :
QuoteHellbenderman.....the lake is not pressured at all.....very underfished.
O.K. I'll meet you in the morning bout 6:00 but I got to get back to work bout 10:00 ;D P.S. I'll bring the fish I caught today. we can use them for bait :-[
Raul reply :
QuoteHellbenderman.....the lake is not pressured at all.....very underfished.
At my cousin 's and friend 's ponds fish seldomly see a lure, actually I 'm one of the very few persons that fish them and when I began fishing them I must have caught every single dink in them over and over again for several years, the biggest fish I caught must have been tops 3 lbs, I knew there were big fish in them because they have been stocked for many years still the big fish were nowhere to be seen until I changed baits, presentation and location, that 's how I caught my first 10 pounder.
So the fact that there 's very little pressure doesn 't mean much, bigger fish won 't bite your baits just beacuse they don 't see baits oftenly.
WRB reply :
Thread fin shad move into cover as the sun goes down and move out when the sun raises. Cover is anything that the shad can hide in; underwater brushes like flooded willows, small trees that hang over the water edge, Christmas trees planted by fisherman any weed beds, moored boats and boat docks. Follow the shad and the bass will be close. The small lake will or may have an aeration system near the dam, any structure or cover nearby will hold big bass.
Big bass tend to target the most available prey and don't waste a lot of energy chasing prey; they locate at the prime locations where the prey comes to them.
You may want to invest in an aerated live bait bucket and long handle shad net. Fish with live shad during the post spawn to summer transition (now) to learn where the big bass are located. Underspins with a baby fluke in shad colors, little Georges, structure spoons and drop shot soft plastics are good lures as an alternate to live shad.
I'm not promoting live bait, however if the bass are targeting thread fin shad, "candy" for bass, then lures will take a lot of skill and patients to catch big bass with.
The only way bass can grow big is to get a good start on growth when they are small. Too many small bass will stunt the growth of all the bass in a small lake or pond. Harvest some of the 12 to 14 inch bass, it will help in the long run.
WRB
urban_angler28 reply :
if you can catch 5 pounders like that then you should be on espn every weekend. lets get some pics every week then cus I'm smelling bs. if i was catching them like you said i would be showing them off.
32251 reply :
Quoteif you can catch 5 pounders like that then you should be on espn every weekend. lets get some pics every week then cus I'm smelling bs. if i was catching them like you said i would be showing them off.
One of many....ye of little faith..
roadwarrior reply :
Great come-back! Nice fish, too.
This is a very informative thread. It seems to me that we can
boil it down to structure and lures. I know they say location is
everything, but...
In a 50 acre pond, I suspect the bass move around a bit more
than you might think. Although my ponds certainly have "spots"
that consistently hold big bass, I occasionally get surprised!
So, for my money we're back to lures and presentation. The
evidence suggests a strong preference for shad. Solution:
Mattlures Baby Bass. Secondly, a big "bottom" presentation:
GMAN 3/4 oz Mop jig with a Rage Tail Lobster trailer. Jigs may
not always be the best choice on any given day, but they produce
everywhere, all of the time.
And one more thought...You may have seen Big O's post
from a recent outing. Dude "got lucky" fishing a Thumper.
I think you should be fishing his big worm, too!
8-)
VAfishin4me reply :
excellent post
you have a very unique lake at your disposal compared to the ones I typically get to fish
I think the best advice so far would be to follow Catt and WRB's logic; this seems to be focusing on structure and location first to find the big fish. It sounds like you have already narowed down some great places to start in the deeper areas and springs. Lures and presentation should be a secondary concern, use what you have already been catching the larger ones on. IMO any size bass from a 1 pounder to a 14 pounder will bite a senko or zoom trick worm.
tyrius. reply :
Quoteif you can catch 5 pounders like that then you should be on espn every weekend. lets get some pics every week then cus I'm smelling bs. if i was catching them like you said i would be showing them off.
He's fishing a lake that is fertilized and actively managed. Not that difficult to believe that it will produce larger than average fish.
One should think before speaking 
32251 reply :
You guys here know me. I did not fish for 35 years when I started back a couple of years ago. Everything I have learned that has gotten me to this point I learned off this board and from my brother who lives on this lake. I have reached a plateau fishing there....went from catching squat to being consistent. Now I want to move up and i appreciate the info here!!! Slow seems to be the word.....bigger offereing too. I am going to anchor shallow on the drop off I know of at the old railroad cut and set the front of the little 10ft pontoon boat facing the drop off and then I can cast in three directions covering deep and the ledge from three sides of the boat. I might even use two rods and let one just be a dead stick, turning the reel handle once every 5 mins or so. I am going to start out with some big Manns jelly worms that they just came back out with...BIG....I have a couple of different colors.
Here is a another fish....
32251 reply :
more fish so the BS sniffers will believe
Letting a nice one go well over 5. Anytime you can stick your whole hand in his mouth to get to the hook....that is a nice fish!
32251 reply :
nice one...4 or 5... i need a scale
32251 reply :
another one....All large fish are always released.
senile1 reply :
Ah, yes . . . . . I bear witness to the snuffing of the sniffers.
32251 reply :
Here is a stringer of harvested fish. This is the neighbors dock. If you look in the background you will see a blue barrell in the water. This is where I have to keep my fish over night. If I leave them on the stringer next to the pontoon, there are some HUGE snappers that will eat what they can hold....maybe an otter too. Like I said, the lake is underfished and the management company sent out a letter to the residents asking them to please remove as many fish under a couple of pounds as they wanted. It has taken me two+ years of fishing to get to the point where I can be assured of catching fish all the time. I was skunked so many times you would not believe it, looking at these pics. I learned why my Dad was never a bass fisherman....always fished for crappie and catfish....he wanted to bring home fish to eat!!! Bass were a challenge!
urban_angler28 reply :
look dude im sorry for calling you out on your post. ive just been in a crap mood cause life sucks right now for me. being laid off and my fiancee leaving me earlier this year just makes me feel like i cant do anything right. and those little 1 or 2lbers i catch are the only thing that keeps me from going over the edge. i guess i took it like you being ungrateful for that quality. good luck catching those big ones.
32251 reply :
Thats ok man...life is like that. Fishing takes the edge off of it for me. Best to you in this butt lick time that a lot of folks are going through. No hard feelings at all. Tomorrow is another day.
evrgladesbasser reply :
Quotelook dude im sorry for calling you out on your post. ive just been in a crap mood cause life sucks right now for me. being laid off and my fiancee leaving me earlier this year just makes me feel like i cant do anything right. and those little 1 or 2lbers i catch are the only thing that keeps me from going over the edge. i guess i took it like you being ungrateful for that quality. good luck catching those big ones.
I think you did the right thing just now..... case closed.
32251 has made his case and will seldom find a doubter again. Awesome pics, I for one am jealous
triglet reply :
don't think i could add any insight to the thread. but gotta say nice fish!!!
SoFlaBassAddict reply :
Good god, thats one serious stringer. What I wouldn't give to have a crack at that lake.
tyrius. reply :
QuoteGood god, thats one serious stringer. What I wouldn't give to have a crack at that lake.
And those are the "little" ones!!!
fishfordollars reply :
Amazing what a few photos will do to settle any questions. Guard that lake well and be careful what is in the background of any photos. Someone may home in on it that way.
Enjoyed the pics.
Jack
SoFlaBassAddict reply :
QuoteAmazing what a few photos will do to settle any questions.
That was arguably the best internet stfu moment I've seen in a while.
I just went back and looked at those pics again. Those are some seriously healthy looking fish. That place looks very well managed. Hope you get to enjoy that for a long time, 32251.
Fat-G reply :
QuoteQuoteAmazing what a few photos will do to settle any questions.That was arguably the best internet stfu moment I've seen in a while.
I just went back and looked at those pics again. Those are some seriously healthy looking fish. That place looks very well managed. Hope you get to enjoy that for a long time, 32251.
That was hilarious. I freaking love this place.
On a serious note, this is probably the most informative thread I've ever read.
Rory_MO reply :
Man I wish I was fishing that lake! ;D
NorcalBassin reply :
Sorry to run this thread backwards, but how did you work yourself up from the dinks a lot of us are getting to the 5 pounders in a couple years? My PB is 6 lbs, so I unfortunately have nothing to offer.
pudmunk reply :
It was a stfu moment, however he handled it like a true pro, and the doubter did to. Good people, great site.
Awesome pictures sir. You look like a true fisherman
32251 reply :
QuoteSorry to run this thread backwards, but how did you work yourself up from the dinks a lot of us are getting to the 5 pounders in a couple years? My PB is 6 lbs, so I unfortunately have nothing to offer.
Again here is the story...my brother lives on this 50 acre lake in alabama. He has multiple myeloma (blood cancer) and a bad heart. He has just been hanging on for the last few years. We did not get to spend much time together over the past 30 years or so. When I found out how sick he was I started driving over from Atlanta to see him at least every other week just to hang with him and give him some company and reconnect with him as brothers. He was a heck of a good fisherman, bass tourn. trophies on the wall.... That lake is full of nice fish, bass crappie, cats, bream and well managed. Private only to the homes on it and not fished much at all. The bass are so finicky!!! They have so much to eat and the Fla. strain of bass that is stocked there have a tendency to shy away from lures after about 8 to 10 years so the research I have read goes. He is too sick to fish anymore with me, so while he sleeps i hop in the little pontoon and fish. I tried every type of lure and presentation and just stayed skunked or just an occasional fish for years. The only for sure bite was when the fish had the shad herded up and were busting though them. You could throw ANYTHING though them and get a bite. It is remarkable to watch them get on the outsides of the shad and herd them into the shallows against a bank and then as if a switch goes off make their runs through them. Anyway one night I am on the dock and just decide to hit the lake in the dark. Best move I ever made!! Found a color...black over red shad in a worm called Big Bopper by Netbaits. Looks like a ribbed Senko with a curl tail. I just started beating the banks. Texas rig, cast to the bank and twitch it out about 6 or 8 feet and that is all! Dont even waste my time fishing it back to the boat. I keep a hat bill light on my hat. I raise up my rod almost straight up and just twitch and wait a sec. With the rod tip up, I can feel any "tic" that is telegraphed down the line. Get a hookset, turn on the hatlight and get the fish in. After a while you learn to ignore the hits on the line from the bats that fly around...the rod is a sideways tic from them. Anyway I began to catch fish that way at night on a regular basis and then during the day I also caught fish the same way. I want to start trying a big black spinner bait at night, since I have heard of guys using that approach with good luck.
Anyway I am catching them on a good basis getting skunked just very rarely now. I know that there are big bass in there from having caught a 10 pounder one winter and having talked to some of the people who live around the lake. It is not that I am tired of catching what I am catching....I just want to devote some time to targeting big bass and doing what I need to in order to try to get a big bite. I do believe that you can catch a big fish no matter what you use, but that is not the norm. You have to really concentrate on them, and be willing to spend amounts of time with no return just waiting and hoping for that bite. I am to the point where my patience is good enough to try. I was not there before.
related General Bass Fishing Forum topic
previous topic
most viewed General Bass Fishing Forum topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.