A Pretty Interesting Article.

[Matt M]

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=5151

Does anyone else buy into the large bait thought process?

[Brent R]

Thanks for sharing...great story

[RayburnGuy]

I believe the "big bait/big bass" thinking depends a lot on the water your fishing and the type of forage available. If your on a lake that's known for big bass then yes. If your fishing a lake where a 3 or 4 lb. fish is considered "big" then the answer is no.

 

Ben

[mark poulson]

The pros face this dilemma all the time.  Fish for a limit, and then go for a kicker, or swing for the fences from the start.

Other than during the early spawn, when you can happen on a big girl at any time, you have to make a conscious decision to target big fish most of the time, at the expense of numbers.

You pays your money and you takes your chances. 

[BobP]

If you're fishing reaction baits like crankbaits and are sure you're in an area where there are bass but you're not getting bit, you have to try something different.  The 3 main variables for me are size, depth, and action.  Any of those might be causing the failure.  As far as size, very experienced bass fishermen say "try larger before you go smaller".  Less experienced fishermen (including me) are more likely to just go small.  I've read studies that say the optimum size prey fish for a bass is 1/3 its body length.  That's pretty large - larger than most bass fishermen throw, most of the time.

 

Knowing all that, I'm as likely as the next guy to try an option or two and then revert to throwing a little 5" dropshot worm.  Just lazy I guess since I've seen tiny 6 oz bass hit lures that were as big as they were.    

[sonoman]

It completely comes down to the forage available, here in Florida we have tons of small bait, tons of large bait and you had best be throwing what they are feeding on, but take for example mountain lakes say in North Georgia where they are drinking water clear full of spotted bass, with relatively lower numbers of largemouth...guys are catching them on 4/6lb test tiny drop shot rigs but sitting on the deck rt next to that set up is a 7 -8" bullshad or similiar swimbait, my belief is that is because of the addition of blueback herring to many of these lakes it has changed how they feed....this sport will never be a simple one size fits all, or you have got to throw this one thing...so personally it comes down to what you enjoy doing!

[Silo1688]

Matt,

 

I bought into it after reading an article similar to this (only about soft plastics).  I was in an small derby tournament and we quickly had our limit of that particular lakes' average size 2-3 lb clones.  It was post-spawn and I started to throw a big fat curly tail worm on an submerged hump, needless to say I caught 5lb then a 6lb kicker fish, won the tournament and I won big fish.  After that I was sold. Since then it totally helped me catch bigger fish.  I'll get less bites, but I'll usually get 2-3 big bites on bigger lures. I don't spend much time on a spot if I'm fishing larger lures either, typically ~10-15 min (sometimes I'll even set a timer!).  My lures that I make are usually larger than normal because of this.  I hope this helps!

 

--George

[HAWGFAN]

I can't speak for the big swim baits, as I'm not sure the muddy water I usually fish is the best place to use them.  I have seen an increase in quality when increasing the size of crankbaits I throw, especially in the summer.  I had always gotten a lot of bites on a 2" crank that had a smaller profile, but seldom caught any size.  I stepped up to a 1.5 squarebill (not much longer, but larger profile), and started catching more size.  I've since started using a 3" bait I carve, that's pretty similar to a B3.  It's tons bigger than what I used to use, as far as crankbaits go.  I consistently catch more weight, and surprisingly, I don't feel like I've given up many bites.  It's also interesting how the smaller fish attack the larger baits.  It's as if they know that they have to crush it to have a chance a disabling a larger prey.

[RayburnGuy]

I believe it was Doug Hannon (I could be wrong) that claimed when a fish bit an artificial lure it had made a mistake. This is especially true in clear water. My opinion would be that it would be harder to disguise an 8" swimbait so the fish makes that mistake than it would be a 1.5" grub. There is no doubt that big fish bite big lures and it's equally true they also bite small baits. There are so many variances such as water clarity, time of year, prevailing forage, aggression level and the list goes on and on and on. I also believe that fish are just like other animals in that their "personality" differs. This is evident more so in mammals because we can continuously observe them without the need for special gear, and other restrictions, that have to be dealt with in viewing fish underwater. Not all mammals have the necessary genes to grow to "trophy" size and the same thing is true with fish. I'm no scientist, but I would also venture to say the same thing is true for aggression levels and the ability to "learn" what should be avoided and what is considered safe to eat.

 

That's one great thing about fishing. There is room for endless theories on what does, and doesn't, work and the reasons for each. The only way we will ever know for sure is if we somehow learn to communicate with fish and I don't see that happening anytime in the near future.

 

just my ,

 

Ben

[Stickman Baits]

I do but the catch decreases dramatically for me in fishing a crankbait when the bait length is over 2 3/4" . I catch bigger bass on larger cranks but it will take more effort & time.

[Musky Glenn]

One of the hardest things I had to get used to when I started musky fishing was to forget the "finesse" need in fishing. Six pound line went to 80 lb. Added a 10" shinny steel leader in front of a 9 inch 3 oz. lure that really didn't look like anything that swam. The result was a huge musky that would follow all the way to the boat, go into a figure eight while I "swished" the rod around in front of it with a foot of line out while trying to do a figure eight. Here I sat with my feet propped up on the side of the boat eye to eye with a musky that will use the bottom of the boat to run under to hide from me and then it rushes out to hit a piece of painted plastic. It can't be reasoned out, it is what it is. Musky Glenn

Edited June 22, 2014 by Musky Glenn