How do you find Big Bass

[Col Forbin]

After numerous hooking incidents on these fish eventually disease will take it's toll.

Gives a new meaning to the term "Jon boat." If it is regulated and monitored like the bunny ranch - the chance of disease is greatly decreased.

On a serious note, I think to find truly big bass, the conditions have to be right. Those conditions are rarely found in dam regulated reservoirs as most of ky fisheries are. Your natural deep lakes will stand a better chance for trophy lunkers. Most of lakes that are capable of growing number of bass in that "trophy" range will have a good supply of trout in them too - which is a much better food source in terms of growing very large bass. They have higher fat, more protein, and require much less calorie burn to intake ratio than the shad that most of our lakes here in ky provide as a primary food source. Fishing pressure does play a role, but not as much as environmental, ecosystem and food chain factors do.

[Dave Stewart]

The secret to consistantly getting bigger bass is to get your lure in front of more of them...period. Sometimes you find a spot with only short fish and sometimes you find a spot with only big fish...fact is most of the time you find spots with both.

Now if you are after one big trophy fish...that is different...you can do this..but you are going to spend the majority of your time in the hunt and be focused on that one big bite. From what I have seen on here with Andy...this is what he does. I am sure he will tell you that he has spent a lot of hours in each of those big fish he has targeted to have the opportunity to get one.

Kentucky has never produced big numbers of 10 lbs bass. I have noticed that there are less 10lb bass taken in Ky/Barkley than there used to be but there was never a time they were out there for the taking like candy. There are still over 10's being taken each year here...just not as many as years ago...but all lakes go thru cycles...and these lakes are on the upswing in numbers of LM so don't be surprised to see more big fish taken here again in the future.

By the way, our best fish in the boat this past week topped 8lbs and she was a post spawn fish. She ate a jig. We had taken a number of short fish on the spot before she hit.

[Dr. Phil]

How in the entire world do you find big bass.... Not wanting specific spots just info on how to do it.
thanks

Best way I have found to locate big bass is to take a raw beginner with you fishing.....Never fails.....They have 'Beginners Luck' and hook several lunkers. Sometimes you get to cash in on the lucky streak


"Kids who fish, hunt and trap don't steal, deal and murder"

[slowride]

To find a trophy fish, i would concentrate early in the spring, like march. 55-58 degree water and big spinnerbait/swimbait or trap. If i had to pinpoint a time frame. If u look at the texas shareluncker (I think thats how u spell it?) the majority of the 10pd LM were not caught on oversized baits like huge worms and swimbaits? So you never know, that's why we bass fish.

[elnutsmalljaws]

I agree with Dave in it is a numbers game this time of year especailly. You might be able to target bigger fish when the first wave of spawners are moving up or when they have migrated to the ledges and you find that sweet spot that has the Big Girls schooled together but this time of year is tough. Fished Ky and Barley a bunch from the end of March thru first week of April and had several days of 50 plus fish individually and 80-90 fish days total in my boat and pretty much it was weeding thru them to get the big bite. Best day for 2 of us was 85 in the boat with 20 keepers, best day for just me was 74 boated with 22 keepers and that is the day I lost one that was over 10 but landed a 6-13, 5-2 and 6 more over 4. Had one spot where I caught 10 literally making the same cast within the size of a bathtub and landed 10 that went from 10 inches to 4-8, 2 more over 3 and lost the one that was a sure 10. Nothing before that spot and nothing after that spot. The day my buddy Hens and I had 85 together with 20 keepers, we had worn this one point out earlier in the day literally 40 minutes of cast after cast with fish or hookset and miss. I had 62 as my personal daily best before this day and with about an hour left of daylight we ran back to the same point and had about 20 minutes for me to catch 7 fish to beat my personal best before the sun went down for we still had to cross the channel to get back to the ramp. I landed 5 and literally we had made probably 150 cast on this same point in this same area of an old gravel boat ramp that led into the water and had caught numbers after numbers with the occasional 2 1/2 -3 pounder when I caught one that went 5-1 for my 62nd and the last cast before we had to get out of dodge, caught number 63 to beat my record. We probably landed 30 fish on this point that day and the biggest came on the next to last fish and about cast 148 of 150 made on that point. You really good fishermen can improve their odds at catching bigger fish just by fishing the "Best" part of that particular pattern. When they are in all 3 stages of the spawn like earlier, the better guys might be able to target the pre spawners and get some extra weight, but the amateurs like most of us have to weed thru the little ones in hope the next cast is the big one. The ledge bite should be in full swing very soon and even then you will have to weed thru some little ones to get the bigger fish. I know there are better ledges than others and better "spots" on those ledges than others and those will hold the bigger fish. I target bigger Smallmouth in the winter and at night because I know Dale Hollow better than Ky and Barkley and as my buddy says "I catch big fish there because I fish Big fish spots". I think Big fish replemish to the same areas or spots time and time again and if you catch and release the big fish, she will swim right back to that same general area. One thing about Ky and Barkley, unless you live close and can pick and choose when you fish it is really hard to just schedule a vacation ahead of time and hit it just right. They are so big, so much water to fish and with cold fronts coming thru every 2-3 days in the spring and then the wind makes it fish like about 6 lakes because certain wind makes crossing the lake impossible, you have North Ky West side, NK LBL side, South KY west side, South KY LBL side, North Barkley and South Barkley. One year we stayed on South West side of Ky and fished North Barkley the last 5 days of a 6 day trip. Last year we stayed on North Barkley and the water was 4 feet over summer pool and 58 degrees and muddy so we fished South KY every day. This year we stayed on North Barkley and fished pretty much all over the place, caught fish everywhere but never could find a steady stream of Bigger fish. Lanched from Ginger Bay to Pisgah on Ky and fished North Barkley out of Poplar Creek. Had better luck and numbers on Ky just because it was clearer than Barkley the majority of the time we were there but my lost 10 came off Barkley. We fished everything from ledges off the main river channel, ledges and humps just in the mouths of the bays, main, secondary and every other point, cuts, flipped the buck brush, out in front of the buck brush, flooded flowers, you name it with every bait that I own, which is a small tackle shop and NEVER could get a pattern or bait for the BIG fish. Ended up throwing a lizard most of the time because you could catch them on any bait and I love Texas Rigged Lizard fishing

[Trophyhunter8]

Thanks for all the info everybody this has turned out to be a very good post. I guess it's like anything else. Six years ago I wouldn't know how to catch a fish. I'm totally obsessed with bass fishing. I would be lucky if I could catch a few fish a day even at KY lake. Then I go with Dave last year for ledges, this year late march. Now I can catch fish almost anytime and numerous ones, very fun. But then you want more. Not necessarily even monsters. Now I want too be able to catch a limit like all the locals and BFL and stren guys. They seem to be able to catch at least a limit everyday, then you have a few superstars that catch 25 lbs everyday. I guess it is time on the water and I don't have enough of it. For example the first Bfl tournament this year, won by a guy from IND. with I think 28 lbs. He beat people that fish the lake every day. It's unbelievable. anyway my fingers are running, just like as if my mouth was running. I"m gonna get that buck perry book, I've heard of it before

[Dave Stewart]

No one catches a limit of bass every time they go out there...no matter what lake they are fishing nor who they are. The guy in the BFL you mentioned with the 29lbs has not weighed a limit in the past two BFL's. Some folks are more consistant than others, yes, but no one is that good to get a limit every time they go out. We can only strive to be more consistant...thru knowledge and time on water.

[kc]

I think sometimes fishing for big bass is almost like fishing for a completely different species than smaller ones. I have fished all my days and still have not landed one over 8 although I have touched several during my years on the water. I am getting pretty consistent at catching those 5, 6s, and even 7s at the big lakes but the real trophies still elude me. I have a feeling they are in the next tier and behave even differently than the 5 and 6s. I think the bigger they are the smaller the windows of opportunities exist. They don't come shallow as often and most likely have learned habits that keep them away from where most anglers hunt. So as Dave said it is a matter of finding where these fish live and pursuing them with complete focus. I have also noted much the same as many of the comments that larger baits and fishing the prime windows of opportunities are all factors. Summer at night and late fall are also very good windows to find larger fish more accessible in addition to the early spring window. I would say spending time on the right water is also a big factor. All fishing is a numbers game and you want to spend your time where the numbers are more favorable. Lakes definitely go through cycles and on the big lakes there were a lot of huge bass taken in the early to mid-90s and that was a result of the huge year classes of bass that hatched back in the mid-to-late 80s during the drought years. After all that said all I really know to do is to keep casting and thinking. I only wish I could spend more time on the water to try and locate the truly huge fish that I know are there...

kc