Getting that big bass?

[AKRISONER]

9 hours ago, Garnet said:

I've won many perch tournaments usually takes 15 big perch or crappie never on live bait. 

I was not aware a perch tournament existed? Is it catch and release like a bass tournament? Artificial bait only?

[dave524]

45 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

I was not aware a perch tournament existed? Is it catch and release like a bass tournament? Artificial bait only?

???

 

[grimsbylander]

I know I’m contradicting the masses here but imho, upsizing baits between now and late September isn’t key. After the water cools (turnover) is the time to upsize baits. The cooler water gets the fall feed bag going and fish want maximum calorie intake per meal. During the summer months, get your bait in areas not normally hit by the average angler and make sure your tackle is prepped for big fish. Regrets last a very long time. 

[grimsbylander]

1 hour ago, AKRISONER said:

I was not aware a perch tournament existed? Is it catch and release like a bass tournament? Artificial bait only?

This is why you got the reaction you did for the Erie comment. Not because Erie guys are overly sensitive, but because you have no experience with the lake, understanding of its features or how it’s fished. I was fishing Gbay while you were still on the boob so I know exactly what the differences are between the two lakes. Anglers that are unfamiliar with Erie fly right by a 1 foot ledge on the graph because they’re  looking for a Gbay style dropoff. On Erie, that spot will hold fish. So it’s not featureless, it’s just not as obvious to the untrained eye. Personally, I like 6lb smallies regardless of what structure they’re holding on  

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by grimsbylander

[AKRISONER]

I quite literally had no idea that perch tournaments existed, I know there’s “perch festivals” and “perch derbies” where you either catch tagged perch, or i guess there may be a prize for a biggest fish, but they have always just been kind of free for all’s. Kids categories etc etc

i had no idea there were FLW MLF BASS BFL bass style tournaments for perch. 

[Garnet]

The 60Hp and under series had the 1st crappie tournament I'm aware of on Percy Boom.

I won it seems to me it was 2K for 20 crappie. Then they had Simcoe Perch/Crappie I was 3rd.

Then Rice think I was 8th witch was huge disappointment.

Lots of the bass clubs have perch and crappie tournaments my Port Perry club

had both for about 12 years you weight your 15 and can keep your eaters.

I can only guess that I won 8-10 so each likely paid 4-500. And really good perch/crappie anglers.

[AKRISONER]

Definitely knew about the crappie tourneys the Americans down south are intense. The guys in Alabama we’re fishing them on spider rigs and especially at night with big LED set ups all stuff that’s not even legal in canada. down in South Carolina they punch for em on huge poles. I’d never seen anything like it, punching heavy surface vegetation (maybe hyacin *spelling I have no clue) with a float and a 10 foot noodle rod. Rods, tackle, etc  id never ever seen before seeing it in person. 

[Garnet]

I retired from the bigger Crappie/Perch Tourneys after the 1st year and only fished clubys.

Because all that 1st year I ate no crappie and only fall perch.

When my club Port Perry Bassmasters started crappie/perch tourneys I pushed the weight your 15

and keep your eaters. O I was Pres.

NGTA has a big open perch tourney think guaranteed money also keep your eaters.  

[msp]

The number one big bass bait of all time is a flipping jig with trailer.

Try a 1/2 oz flipping jig in brown or black and blue with a zoom chunk. Stick with it and be confident. I guarantee you will catch the big ones with it.

 

[AKRISONER]

1 hour ago, msp said:

The number one big bass bait of all time is a flipping jig with trailer.

Try a 1/2 oz flipping jig in brown or black and blue with a zoom chunk. Stick with it and be confident. I guarantee you will catch the big ones with it.

 

i never had confidence in the jig until this year when i just decided to force myself to use it until i caught fish because if its that notoriously famous its gotta work...sure enough, all of sudden you are like wow, this bait that i never though could work is actually one of the most simple yet versatile ways to fish, you can flip jigs into absolute crap, or fish em deep. They catch big fish, they catch small fish even though they seem huge. 

Ive been loving throwing brown with blue with a nice craw trailer. I use craws with the floating claws, it just gives it that extra wobble when it hits the ground.

[Whitespinnerbait]

9 hours ago, msp said:

The number one big bass bait of all time is a flipping jig with trailer.

Try a 1/2 oz flipping jig in brown or black and blue with a zoom chunk. Stick with it and be confident. I guarantee you will catch the big ones with it.

 

???

Edited July 8, 2019 by Whitespinnerbait

[msp]

22 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

i never had confidence in the jig until this year when i just decided to force myself to use it until i caught fish because if its that notoriously famous its gotta work...sure enough, all of sudden you are like wow, this bait that i never though could work is actually one of the most simple yet versatile ways to fish, you can flip jigs into absolute crap, or fish em deep. They catch big fish, they catch small fish even though they seem huge. 

Ive been loving throwing brown with blue with a nice craw trailer. I use craws with the floating claws, it just gives it that extra wobble when it hits the ground.

The flipping jig is very versatile. you can fish it deep, shallow, fast , slow. experimenting with weight and rate of fall is more important than colour.

5/16 oz 1/2 oz and 9/16 oz are all standard weights. switching out your chunk/trailer makes a huge difference with the rate of fall. For example, a 5/16 oz jig with a large trailer with flapping craw type trailer will have a very slow fall rate. This was key for me last weekend to getting bites.

Sometimes it the exact opposite. a 9/16 oz jig with a small chunk with little action could be what the fish want. ( more of a reaction bite ) as the fish don't have time to inspect and just react to the fast fall.

Sketty55- PM sent

[David Chong]

On 7/6/2019 at 6:50 PM, AKRISONER said:

I was not aware a perch tournament existed? Is it catch and release like a bass tournament? Artificial bait only?

The Mark Mckeown Memorial Perch Tournament takes place every April on Lake Simcoe, artificial baits only!

[David Chong]

As for the original question, a flipping jig would be my first choice and other options that I like would be a Chatterbait or large Swimbait! Then throw it to where the BIG Girls live which is usually the thickest cover available!

[AKRISONER]

9 hours ago, David Chong said:

As for the original question, a flipping jig would be my first choice and other options that I like would be a Chatterbait or large Swimbait! Then throw it to where the BIG Girls live which is usually the thickest cover available!

Listen to this man above everyone lol

 

certified professional big bass catcher

Edited July 10, 2019 by AKRISONER

[SirCranksalot]

22 hours ago, msp said:

The flipping jig is very versatile. you can fish it deep, shallow, fast , slow. experimenting with weight and rate of fall is more important than colour.

5/16 oz 1/2 oz and 9/16 oz are all standard weights. switching out your chunk/trailer makes a huge difference with the rate of fall. For example, a 5/16 oz jig with a large trailer with flapping craw type trailer will have a very slow fall rate. This was key for me last weekend to getting bites.

Sometimes it the exact opposite. a 9/16 oz jig with a small chunk with little action could be what the fish want. ( more of a reaction bite ) as the fish don't have time to inspect and just react to the fast fall.

Sketty55- PM sent

Are you guys talking about reg lead or tungsten jigs used for walleye etc, or something special for bass. Also, what's a typical trailer? thx

[singingdog]

32 minutes ago, SirCranksalot said:

Are you guys talking about reg lead or tungsten jigs used for walleye etc, or something special for bass. Also, what's a typical trailer? thx

 

[AKRISONER]

Wanna know how to fish bass? These guys have more information than any person should ever know.

 

 

[OhioFisherman]

I don't think there is one lure to use, although I normally had a rod or two set up with some type of jig and trailer combo on them, location seems to be more of a factor to me. Our club fished a lake in New York annually that was only around 300 acres in size, and most years the winning bag came from the same area.

[colin519]

Run a search bait like a 1/8oz  jig and minnow that will hook up easily and let you figure out structure.  Fish through the area and then return with your big plastics 10-30 minutes later  

6” senko, fished as slow as possible, target casts to sighted fish or long casts to undisturbed water, this is why you fish through once, so you can return and fish with purpose.   

I find it’s important to drift in quietly, cast to in new water with a soft plastic. In the summer the bite during the day can slow down, so those bigger senkos will produce more big fish than say a crawfish bait or a tube because are a big soft bodied meal with low risk. Big bass in the summer are not always aggressive because insects and crustacean type food is available so keep those plastics easy to consume. 

The most recent big bass I’ve seen caught on one of my trips was on a 1” purple twister tail with a tiny 1/16 Oz jig head. It was about 5 inches from a rock beside short in 18 inches of water and was 5.5lbs-6lbs. I was fishing with a friend who was using a stiff cheap bass rod, and bunch of big ‘american’ bass baits, 15lb test. I put him on a 5’6” st croix ultralight with that 1” jig and he caught it. 

Look at the patterning you’ve done. Chances are between your info and these tips you can find a pattern for next time. Two rods can help a lot, also I use 4lb, 6lb or 8lb mono max OR buy an ultralight rod so that every 4lb bass becomes a 6lb bass. Anything that makes it more likely for a wary fish to feel comfortable. 

 

Another tip: more oxygen entering the water, the fish will be more energetic. A spring or river fed bay can be fished more aggressively than a back bay in my experience. 

[fish_fishburn]

First I long cast the white mouse or rat and reel it in really fast. Any blowups get the follow up a 5 inch flipping tube rigged weedless on a 5/0 GWG or a 10 inch black worm rigged the same way as the tube. Oh yeah and hang on brother.

[Sketty55]

Hey all. I just got back from my trip and wanted to thank you all for the suggestions. This year, the bass were smaller than normal....the biggest i hooked in to was about 3lbs. I tried chatterbaits (not hits), chatterbait with a shrimp as the trailer (I saw a guy get a big smallie last weekend at simcoe using an uncooked pink shrimp....no hits), larger topwater frog in the pads (decent amount of hits but hooking in to them was another story). I had the most luck on orange\copper senko's. My buddy got another 6lb'er on the opener and showed me a pic. I think it's time for new friends. lol. 

[grimsbylander]

Still sounds like you had a blast! Awesome.

Want a pig, throw a jig.