catching big bass

[hog-hunter]

I'm out of clues how of catching big bass during hot weather I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm fishing 10-12' of water small fish is all I'm running across may the old saying even a blind hog finds a acorn every now and then may happen but any help would be appreciated.

 

[outcaster]

You have to pick your spots. Early morning and evening can produce good bass on topwater. During the heat of the day, bassin WILL be tough. You will need to go 18 to 25 feet deep or deeper. Carolina rigs work best, worked on points and main lake drop offs. Consistantly finding deep water bass is possibly the toughest thing to do in fishing. As a guide, I have to put people on fish. When taking customers fishing, I put away the bass tackle in late June, and fishing for Catfish til October. When October comes, after the first cold front rolls through, the Bass we come in shallow and put on the feed bag. Most guy's are in the woods after whitetails, leaving the lake less crowded. I'm all about putting lots fish in the boat and will not target Bass again until this fall.

 

[hog-hunter]

thanks for the info . I fished in a dog fight the other night and they caught big fish and a total of 3 fish weighting 12 lbs this just blows me away I tried everything and didn't catch a keeper . I know they're a lot of tricks of the trade .

 

[churly]

Go Deep and Big! Then go deeper and bigger!

 

[fishinvol]

hog-hunter - 8/26/2007 7:25 PM

thanks for the info . I fished in a dog fight the other night and they caught big fish and a total of 3 fish weighting 12 lbs this just blows me away I tried everything and didn't catch a keeper . I know they're a lot of tricks of the trade .

I can get keeper usually, but here lately I can't find much bigger than a keeper. You learn a little each time you go out, if you try.

 

[SeqBass]

The bass aren't traveling far from where you may have found good ones in the spring. Work the areas you know, then work out from them gradually. You'll come across your fish again.

 

[Jmax]

I hear you...Churly could not have said it better. I am sometimes a slow learner but once I get it down I keep it. I have lived here just over three years and I always seem to catch a ton of fish but not much size this time of year. I am like you when the likes of Brown and Kite come in with 20 lbs and I would struggle getting keepers. This year I have been targeting deeper fish and it does seem that the bigger fish I always find during the spawn shallow are there deep right now. This year I have had issues with the bass so deep they have their air bags inflate when they come up. I am going to have to get a needle and learn that deflating trick or stop fishing that deep. Right now I am finding consistent keepers in the 25 to 40 foot range and using a large big worm with a 3/8 ozs sinker. I know that the "experts" around here keep telling me use a big jig but I am just not good at that bait so I keep going back to the worm. Maybe when I grow up I will master the big jig deep bite one day.emoBigsmile You can get into those schoolers and sometimes catch five nice keepers but they do normally run smaller then the big deep bite. Target the drops along the ol'river channel and time on the water will put you on some. I think the hardest thing for most folks is the lack of activity. You go after the schooler and catch 20 to 40+ sometimes but rarely will you do that on the deep bite. You may only get five bites all day but they will be better fish most of the time. Good luck...emoThumbsup Jmax

 

[tyler ware]

I feel you Hog. I just started fishing this year, about 2 months ago maybe, and I don't know how to fish this deep water stuff. I read about these guys catching 5 to 10 in 2 hrs and I go out and get 1 in 4 hrs. I do know that the one fish I would consider a Hog I caught in deep water with a big spinner. I think it takes time to get confident in fishing where you can't see any cover or anything, just a drop off on the fish finder as you pass over a ledge.

Good Luck and Keep learning

TW

 

[inthebox30lbs]

One thing that has helped me on the deep bite this summer was the swicth to a lighter Flourocarbon line. I have honesltly noticed a difference the days I have fished mono vs. the flouro. I outfished my old man 4to1 one day when he was fishing mono and I was fishing Flouro. We were fishing 25 to 40 feet dragging carolina rigged craws same bait, same hook, same learder length. same everything. It might just help you pick up a couple more bites a day, its not ganna hurt ya.
Scott

 

[Bassallday]

I have had some big fish earlier this year in 10-15 feet deep .Lately I have not been doing so good so I have been going deeper and deeper .Finally just the other day I said to myself the heck with this so I went to the deepest spot I could find and I had a wapper on.He put up a heck of a fight and when I got it to the boat it was a japanese dud.I did practice catch and release.emoBigsmile

 

[Fuzzy]

Has anyone heard if "deflating" a bass is "illegal". I actually was at BPS tonight to see if the sell a needle designed for this. THey told me that I could be ticketed for deflating a fish. I never heard of such a thing and am researching it now as I write. I caught a nice 4lber from 22ft and it floated up. The front fins were rapdily moving which is a sign of an air bladder not relelasing. It couldn't swim away so I kept it on ice and it died within a half hour. I now have a sharpened basketball needle in the bag. Growing up in the north, I constantly caught real deep fish and deflated it. For a Largemouth bass we just made an imaginary line from the anus to the top fin and at teh halfway point place the needle under the scale and press in slightly(supposed to be down from the lateral line..but that is hard to distinguish or impossible). Soon as you put the needle in you would hear the air escape and back in the water. Someone told me you could just take a fish and "throw" it in mouth first real hard like a torpedo and it would deflate. I don't have too much faith in this, but does anyone know if it's illegal to deflate an bladder (particularly when they will almost certainly die anyway)?

Fuzz

 

[Liveliner]

That is one of the craziest things i have ever heard in fishing.  There is a very high need to deflate deep caught fish.  It is a matter of life or death for them.  It would be very hard to believe that TWRA has laws that prohibit venting fish.</p>

If someone has the facts on this issue, please enlighten us.</p>

 

[adamwstewart]

I can't speak to the illegality of the practice, but the 2007 TWRA guidelines state "Do not attempt to deflate a fish's swim bladder with a needle." They suggest a weighted deflating device that takes the fish back down to it's depth where the water pressure will equalize the bladder volume.

I personally don't fish that deep very much, and I suspect that this practice harms the fish. Here's my perspective:

1. The fish is that deep for a reason. Survivable temperature, sufficient oxygen, etc. By putting a hole in its swim bladder, you are affecting the fish's ability to maintain a survivable depth. He won't be able to get back to that depth and maintain it without extraordinary effort because of a faulty swim bladder. The purpose of the bladder is to allow the fish to maintain neutral bouyancy at any depth, which allows the fish to maintain its position without having to fight gravity.

2. Skewering a fish that deeply in the belly seems to invite a bacterial infection (so does hooking them). But putting more holes (and in sensitive areas) than necessary seems to ask for trouble.

3. Quick fight, quick release usually lets fish equalize quickly. The dropping trick might give the fish enough downward momentum to swim on down to the proper equalized depth.


I suppose the quickest way to end the 'fizzing' practice would be to check tourney fish for evidence of 'fizzing,' particularly if it's truly harmful to the fish (more harmful than being hooked).

I hope this doesn't start some sort of acrimonious debate.

AWS

 

[Liveliner]

Thanks adam.The swim bladder gets larger as the fish is pulled to the surface due to the pressure drop.  Forcing the fish back to deep water is the key however generally the fish is too weak to swim down while inflated.  I have always been told that a small puncture will seal and heal rather quickly.  Some folks will use the tip of their knife on a flat angle between the scales to deflate a fish.  I would think that a slit may be a little more difficult to heal in a fish.</p>

Too bad all fish can not be like our scrappy catfish.  All who catch deep water catfish should have noticed that when you pull a cat to the surface, it will expell the air from it's swim bladder.  That is why you see the bubbles when you just about get the fish whipped.</p>