What makes bass fishing so fun and exciting is that any fisherman on any fishing trip could potentially catch his or her biggest bass ever. Whether your gunning after a personal record or not, the chance of it happening always exists if you have a line in the water. Some anglers are more interested in quantity over quality, while others are strictly looking to catch the biggest bass they can.
Any lure on any day has the potential to catch a big bass. With that said, there are many ways to increase those odds with the right lures and tactics. If your dead set on catching a trophy bass here are some ways to ensure every cast you make has a better chance of landing a lunker.
Big Lures Catch Big Bass
While it sounds obvious its definitely true, big bass go after big meals. When they are in feeding mode they can be super aggressive in what they will go for, they will even attempt to eat fish bigger than themselves.
Big bass are more picky with what they eat, if they see a big meal that looks easy to achieve they will be more tempted to go for it over a smaller, faster meal. Here are a couple lures that are very well known for catching big bass.
- Slow Rolling Big Swimbaits: These lures are more than well known for the monsters they catch. A big swimbait with a slow retrieve mimics a slow moving, dying fish that just screams come eat me. When you fish a big swimbait (8 inches or longer) your swinging for the fences with every cast. Don’t get me wrong, small bass have been caught on these lures before but its unusual, and good for a laugh when they’re actually smaller than the lure itself.
- Punching Jigs & Creature Baits: These lures mimic another favorite meal of big bass, crawfish. When you punch them through thick cover it looks like a crawfish darting down to the bottom of the lake from the matted weed cover, which they often do. Bass will often sit under this matted cover to escape the sun, but also to ambush and feed on these crawfish.
Patience Is Everything
If you plan to catch big bass, you need to be patient. This is not going to be an action packed outing where your constantly swinging bass in to the boat. The action you get will be far and few between, but well worth it when your holding a trophy bass.
A lot of anglers have a hard time committing to a lure or tactic thats not producing right away, and thats why so few of them have that picture above the fireplace. Sticking to the plan is key if your going to get big bites.
One summer I decided I was going to commit at least one hour to a big swimbait everyday I fished after work (which was most days). It’s a difficult task when you know you can switch to a smaller lure and have a field day catching bass after bass. But sticking with it payed off big time when I caught some of the biggest bass I’ve ever caught. I had some huge blow ups on it that missed too, as much as those hurt they certainly helped keep me interested in the pursuit and reminded me of the task at hand.
Small Ponds Hold Big Bass
You may automatically think that bigger fish are always in bigger lakes, but thats not always true. Some of the biggest bass are caught in small ponds, like farm ponds. This is because they are either hidden or on private property and don’t get a lot of fishing pressure.
As bass get bigger and grow older, they get wiser. They get accustomed to bass fisherman and their tactics to catch them. They become familiar with the sound and appearance of common lures, bass boats, and trolling motors and know to be cautious. This is often referred to as “spooking” the bass, and the older they get the easier they spook.
Smaller, under-fished waters hold bass that are not used to the threat of a fishermen’s presence, and for that reason are easier to fool into biting. The also usually have less natural predators and can dominate a small pond. These little honey holes can provide the opportunity of a lifetime.
