Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 10/17/09: Bigger Baits for Lunker Bass

Are you catching a load of bass but they aren't much bigger than your bait? If so it may be time to check out some bigger baits. The old adage of bigger baits catches bigger bass is generally true. The main exception to this rule is when bigger becomes "faker". What I mean by this is when lure manufacturers start to make everything bigger in a particular bait and don't pay attention to detail. This results in a bait that is so "fake" not even a starving bass would hit it.

The best baits to buy in larger sizes are soft plastics such as worms, crawfish and tubes. The Ole Monster from Zoom is a great big fish lure and I have experienced a definite upgrade in fish quality when using this lure.

One day during the summer while fishing a local reservoir I located a nice school of fish using underwater drops. I was catching them on a 7" Junebug Zoom trickworm rigged Carolina style. After catching about 10 fish with the largest going 2.5 pounds I decided to try the Ole Monster from Zoom in Junebug. For the 1st couple of fish I repeated the size that the 7" worm produced, but by the 3rd fish the size increased to a 4 pounder. A few more 2 pounders followed, but then a 7 + pounder was caught. Three more fish at 4 pounds plus were caught before it was time to go.

Another instance of upsizing occurred on Lake Kissimmee. I found a nice stretch of grass where the outside edge averaged 6 feet. I pitched and flipped the grass mats and pockets with a 7" worm and was catching 1.5 to 2 pound fish. Again, as an experiment I put on a pumpkin colored large Zoom Brushhog. The 1st fish I caught on this oversized bait was a 3 pound plus fish. I then worked the area thoroughly and landed 3 more 3 + pound fish. This gave me more proof that bigger baits produce larger bass.

I have also had success in larger fish changing from a #7 shadrap to a #9. My experience is that the size of the fish caught with the #9 shadrap was almost a pound difference on the average.

So the next time you develop a "dink" syndrome on a fishing trip, go to the bigger bait and you may be surprised in the upgrade in fish quality!

The Largemouth Herald