Size Or Numbers? 2024

Bass_Akwards reply :

I've asked this before, but it's been a long time.

Deep down, are you a "NUMBERS angler" or are you a "SIZE angler?"

I know your answer might change depending on the situation. For example, if you're fishing with your 6 year old son you're obviously going to answer "NUMBERS" because you want your kid to be on bass for 8 hours straight. This however is NOT what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about deep down, when you think about getting out there on your favorite body of water, what is it you really want? Would you rather go out there and catch 75 "average sized" bass in 8 hours? Or would you rather have an 8 hour day where you catch ONE personal best bass that's considered large for that particular body of water?

Would it make a difference WHEN in the outing you caught the huge bass? For example, what if you caught the monster bass on your first cast of the day and then didn't catch anything else for 8 straight hours? Is that better than catching an average sized bass every 5-10 minutes for 8 hours?

I say YES! How about you?

Not_Here reply :

i don't mind numbers if theres some big girls mixed in~but i get bored hammerin dinks...I'd rather get a limit worth of solid fish vs numbers...

quality vs quantity for me

Oscar O. reply :

On 4/12/2011 at 2:30 AM, Bass_Akwards said:

Would it make a difference WHEN in the outing you caught the huge bass? For example, what if you caught the monster bass on your first cast of the day and then didn't catch anything else for 8 straight hours?

I had that happen to me, but the other way around, my PB came on the very last cast. Best day of fishing to this day. Taught me that patience and perseverance can pay off on the water.

Avalonjohn44 reply :

Both!

Grey Wolf reply :

Bigger is better !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dwight Hottle reply :

Quality for sure. I have had it both ways on a new PB. One time it came on the first day of a week trip & another time it came as the last cast of a weeks trip. Both scenarios were sweet for me. Not so much for fishing buddies.

bilgerat reply :

I guess I'm lucky, I can have it both ways. I have places I can go hammer dinks all night and there's other places where I can fish for 6 hours and be lucky to get 1, but it's usually a nice one.

I learn more fishing for the one than catching dinks. It makes me concentrate on what I'm doing vs feeding Yum Dingers to the little guys.

Jigfishn10 reply :

I like the mix of the 2. It really depends, if I string some days together and I'm getting numbers then the next day I'll concentrate on size. For me, I get bored just focusing on 1 aspect.

slonezp reply :

Deep down? Of course it's size. Every time I set the hook there is always that hope the fish on the line is a monster.

joshholmes reply :

it depends. if i am fishing in a tournament i only really care about numbers but for fun when i have free time to waste its definitly size

Fat-G reply :

Well, I would rather catch an 8 pounder in a four hour trip than 8 four pounders. I would take the size any day, unless the body of water doesn't hold too big of fish. A five pounder is considered a "good" fish, while an 8 is considered a "big" fish. At least for me.

Fishmaster10 reply :

On 4/12/2011 at 6:17 AM, joshholmes said:

it depends. if i am fishing in a tournament i only really care about numbers but for fun when i have free time to waste its definitly size

Shouldn't this be the opposite way around?

As for me I enjoy both aspects.

CAdeltaLipRipper reply :

I like a mix,but will take both

SirSnookalot reply :

As long as I'm enjoying my time fishing it really doesn't matter.

TheLastRodBender reply :

I start out the day going for size, then punt it and go for numbers after a certain amount of time with nothing going on. I get impatient

Sfritr reply :

Depends if I am with my son or not. He is a numbers kinda kid but would be happy to fish all day for a 5lber. He's 11. Never met a kid who will fish for hours without a bite in hopes of a monster fish(for him) Doesn't complain, doesn't whine, just casts and casts in hopes of hooking "the one"

Go big or go home I always say. The trip is not made by size or the amount of fish caught. The trip is made by the friendships, the scenery, and how well the boat ran, and whether or not your going to get in trouble for fishing too long when you get home......

ChiCityBasser reply :

I guess for me long as I'm catching it doesn't matter either way.

Daniel My Brother reply :

When I fish alone, I’m more likely to fish bigger baits in search of that one big bite.

But when I’m fishing with a friend and he’s catching bass, the competitive side of me comes out and I just want to catch something…no matter the size.

senile1 reply :

On 4/12/2011 at 2:30 AM, Bass_Akwards said:

Deep down, are you a "NUMBERS angler" or are you a "SIZE angler?"

The answer is yes.

Siebert Outdoors reply :

depends on my mood. Most of the time its size but not PB's fishing. I like to target quality fish which usually stage a little different then the dinks and giants. But there are times I like to just go dink around.

BassChump reply :

I'd like to think I'd take that one big fish but to be honest, my best fishing buddy is my girlfriend but she is wound pretty tightly so if we aren't catching a few every hour or two, she gets bored and is ready to leave.

For me, the fun of the fishing trip is seeing the excitement on her face when she catches something, regardless of me catching anything. Same with my daughter although she isn't a diehard fisherperson like my girlfriend is.

I will say persistence pays off though. Last year, late summer my girlfriend and I were fishing Siltcoos lake in Oregon. We fished hard for 5 hours with just a few dinks being caught. She got bored so we headed in but there were a few docks that I wanted to hit again even though we fished them an hour earlier. She didn't even grab her rod. She said "there's no fish in this lake" as I made one final cast towards a dock as we were passing by. My first words were "I'm gonna need help getting this one in the boat." She thought I was full of crap until she caught sight of a solid 6.5 pounder. She netted it, we took a couple pictures and tossed her back to be caught another day. Unfortunately after that, I couldn't get my girlfriend off the lake. That's her style. All or nothing. ha. We fished for another 4 hours but only got 2 more small ones in the boat.

The best days I have on the water are on the Umpqua River in Oregon. That river ALWAYS produces so I take my girlfriend there quite a bit. That's smallmouth country and we usually have 50 to 70 a day there so she is always excited to try the next hole. She is hunting for the next place she thinks holds fish so it holds her attention well. We don't usually catch anything huge but it's a fun day on the water and that's what it's about for me.

I've never fished for money in a tournament so I'm guessing that would be different because there is money on the line. Right now, for me I would have to say numbers. The only fishing I've done for money so far is bragging rights. Who buys dinner for most fish and/or biggest fish. Usually it's for dinner or drinks and she usually out fishes me and that's what it's about.

Great days on the water with good friends.

Catt reply :

The joy of fishing in Texas is I do both

RoLo reply :

In my heart, I'm only interested in the heaviest bass in the lake.

Once the number of bass passes '5', I can't be bothered counting bass.

I think it was Roadwarrior who said, "Go Big or Go Home"

Roger

joshholmes reply :

On 4/12/2011 at 10:36 AM, Fishmaster10 said:

Shouldn't this be the opposite way around?

As for me I enjoy both aspects.

actually i think i phrased that weird. in reality for tournaments i like numbers. thats why swimbaits arent used for tournaments because they catch huge fish but dont catch a lot of fish. if i have free time im going to aim for the biggest fish in the lake

Bass_Fanatic reply :

On 4/13/2011 at 5:17 AM, joshholmes said:

actually i think i phrased that weird. in reality for tournaments i like numbers. thats why swimbaits arent used for tournaments because they catch huge fish but dont catch a lot of fish. if i have free time im going to aim for the biggest fish in the lake

I still think you are backwards...5 dinks aint gonna win anything, a couple big girls will. And yes, swimbaits are used in tournaments all the time. Just watch the Elite Series, they throw them everywhere.

joshholmes reply :

yes but he said 1 BIG FISH. if you catch a 5 lb for one day of fishing in a tournament you wont win. but if you catch 5 2-3 pound fish youre more likely to win. (by the way i wasnt talking about the smaller soft plastic swimbaits i meant those giant 2-4 ounce ones used in california)

oteymc reply :

I am kind of weird about this. Deep down I think I am a big fish fisherman. I have no problem going all day catching no fish if I know that I can catch a big one before the day is over. On the other hand, if I go all day trying to catch a big one, and I don't catch either size or numbers, I will wish I had just went for numbers. If you commit to trying to catch big ones, you pretty much have to be prepared to get skunked occasionally, or at least catch fewer fish. That's what I have trouble with.

Fish Chris reply :

Need you ask ?

I can go out and catch small fish all day, yet feel like I've done nothing. But if I catch just one big fish... one worth taking photos of, then it was a good trip.

I've heard that the normal progression for most anglers is 1) to catch a fish, 2) to catch a bunch of fish, and finally 3) to catch a giant fish ! This has certainly been true for me.

Size matters !

Fish

Quote
you pretty much have to be prepared to get skunked occasionally,

Occasionally ??? How about, all the time ! Doesn't bother me very much at all though. I call it, paying the dues

oteymc reply :

That's how I am starting to feel about it lately. I think I must be between stages, because I am still having trouble with going out and catching nothing.

The last time I went to FL I hired a guide. We were trying to pick the best place to go to fit my goals for the day. He said "Would you rather get 25 to 30 bites today, or get 5 to 10, and have a chance at a monster?". At that point I was torn, deep down I knew I would rather get the chance at the monster, but I also knew if we only caught 5 dinks and not the monster, I would feel like I didn't get my money's worth. I chose the latter, mainly because a cold front came through and he thought the bites would be stingy either place, so we might as well try for the big momma. I caught 7 fish, 6 that might have weighed a lb each, and one that was in the 9lb range.

Catching a whole lot of quality fish is a different story, however. When I fished with ghoti at Trophy Country we easily caught 80 between the two of us. We had some dinks scattered here and there, but 90% were 21/2 to 31/2 lbs. That was a blast.

OHIO reply :

I prefer quantity over quality, but I won't be mad if I catch some big ones.

Bluebasser86 reply :

I get bored catching dinks. Nobody cares if you caught 100 12 inchers anyways, but you catch one 5 pounder and you had a good day in my book. So I guess I'm a size guy .

BassThumb reply :

I fish for size usually, but sometimes I'm in the mood to toss buzzbaits and topwaters for large numbers of small aggressive bass, especially if I bring guests out with me who don't fish very often.

MaineBassMan reply :

I like catching, so numbers are great. However, I do love those days when you hall a bunch of 3+ pound bass.

11815

Size Or Numbers? 2024

related General Bass Fishing Forum topic

previous topic

next topic

most viewed General Bass Fishing Forum topic