Originally posted by: dsaavedra on 6/7/2007 10:37:55 AM

this is my 7lber. round here a 3lber is a very nice fish. bigguns are hard to come bye. it was very shallow water on a spawning flat. i couldnt see the fish, but i could see the turbulence on the water from it sweepin its bead out. well i had on a size 11 rapala floater and i couldnt get it to bite. so i told my dad to cast over there w/ his worm. he didnt get anything. so finally i went back and WHAM! i caught her. and it is my first and only one over 4lbs too.

Originally posted by: jignpig on 6/6/2007 9:15:23 PM

well guys, here we go. all the responses to my suggestion for this thread were very positive and i appreciate that. so this is it - our very own official thread on the bass forum specializing in targeting BIG bass. if you have thoughts about how we can make this thread better, post 'em here. until then, here's what we'll do here:
1. post any picture of a bass over 4 pounds you caught this year, along with the story of how you caught it so we can all learn from it. please note if it was your first over 4 so we can all congratulate ya, b/c that is a milestone in any lunker hunter's career for sure. once we got enough entries we could do a top 10 list for the biggest 10 bass posted. it would be a special honor to be in that! but remember, it's gotta be from 2007.
2. share any article, tip, or info that you are aware of so that we can all learn from it.
3.ask any question related specificallyto targeting big bass. remember the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. we got some great guys with a lot of knowledge on how to catch the big ones and i feel confident in saying that you'll get some great answers.
4. we'll award a "lunker of the month" - (no prizes just braggin' rights) for the biggest bass caught within a given month - starting this month!!! your fish must be at least 4 pounds to qualify, so go get 'em guys! i'd like to keep it real though, so to qualify you must post a pic and tell the weight of the fish. please make it known that you want to enter it into the contest. and by all means let us know how you caught it so we can all learn from it.
5. a monthly "lunker challenge" - someone can thow out any challenge related to catching a fish over 4 pounds. it could be regarding trying to catch big bass with a certain tactic or you could challenge another member (you vs. them) in anything related to catching big bass. again, i'd like to keep it real, so make sure you post pics to prove you completed or won the challenge. this one should be fun!!! <!--graemlin::D-->. this one will start this month too!!!
please remember though guys, the primary puposes of this thread are learning, fun, and fellowship. i think this could be real cool if we can get enough participation. and also this is a thread for ANYONE - not just people who have caught big bass. more importantly, it is for people who want to, or want to become better at it (i think that's all of us). so this kicks off starting now!!! who'll be the first to post something in any of the above categories?

Originally posted by: jignpig on 6/7/2007 11:14:07 AM

you're right scott. thank you for reminding me of that. so i lowered the limit to 4 pounds for the benefit of all our northern bretheren. i don't want to exclude anyone from this. nice fish by the way! <!--graemlin::)-->.

that's a REAL nice one david! great lunker!! what a fish to start your lunker career off with!! congratulations, you are the first member of our 4 lb. plus club. way to go and cool story about how you caught it too. lookin forward to hearin' more from ya on this thread.

Originally posted by: lbt on 6/7/2007 11:49:30 AM

here is a 4#smallie It should of been MINE as it came after my lure first but I let my bud(luis) have a shot at it with a soft plastic worm?we were on the bank working some areas hard'r than normal! on the merced river---O-wait it was 3.15, not 4# <!--graemlin:;)-->but still growin!



i know i have had 5# spots(but rare), no pic either so i do go for what is big in the merced river everynow and again! this 7#sum`tin was caught while fishin for bass in the shallows with no current cauhgt on a whiteish tan suspending swim bait(from BPS)! i'll take it!it is me LBT



this 5#'r was caught in the back of the lake where the merced river flows in! by buddy MIKE


there are lunkers in here it is just the time to find those hidden pounds, that lack much fishing presures!

Originally posted by: Bassmaster624 on 6/7/2007 12:36:50 PM

I know of two fish that I caught before I got a scale, but they were probably around 4 pounds, is that alright. But this season, my biggest is only 3 pounds 3 ounces. Two casts after I caught that one, I caught one that was 3 pounds even.

Originally posted by: muskygirl on 6/7/2007 1:14:46 PM

They are indeed some nice bass Scott.

And I too agree that it may be hard to find some lunkers like you jignpig in some areas. I am hoping to start working at learning about senko fishing next week on a local body of water. I am so use to just putting a worm on a hook and letting it soak til one comes along but I think fishing with a senko looks interesting and fun.

So maybe one day I'll have a pic to post here too but I know it won't be anything like your jignpig. <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: lbt on 6/7/2007 1:48:30 PM

ya never know MG i have soak`d a senko (dead stick) and land', tons of bass, a salmon and a squaw fish! just the right time ,place, and conditions, could be all ya need, senkos will catch by them self, with little efort, till you wana zero on lunkers, then it is harder but do~able and homework can pay off....I'm goin for striper today and then a weekend hopfully full of fishin & lunker searchin`!

Originally posted by: muskygirl on 6/7/2007 3:33:20 PM

quote:

and homework can pay off

Originally posted by: Hawg Bass Assassin on 6/7/2007 7:05:21 PM

jignpig~were going to have to add to this 1 thread---looks like its already blow'n up.

I'll be post'n soon.

Hawg Bass Assassin

Originally posted by: BassinAssassin on 6/7/2007 7:28:50 PM

hey all
just got back from fishin and i gotta say, THEY ARE BLOWIN UP ON TOPWATER!!!! i had only caught 1 small bass during daylight but as soon as dusk came and i switched to my Heddon Torpedo... the lake became a minefield... bass were hittin it left and right! i ended up catchin 13 bass in about a 45 minute period.. pretty good by my standards. and i noticed another thing... all of the bass i caught on topwater were BIGGER than the ones i have been catching on crank and jerkbaits during the past few days! i dont have any pictures but the bass i have been catching at night outweigh the daytime non-topwater ones by FAR!!!... so give night top-water fishin a try for lunkers!

Originally posted by: walktheline on 6/7/2007 7:54:13 PM

My biggest of '07:



Chatreuse Shad Netbait Saltlick (Senko)

Caught a 4 pounder a few weeks ago on a 6" watermelon/chart lizard.

Caught another in the 5 pound range my last trip to the watershed. Caught him on a Strikeking spence scout. No pics though, had no camera in the boat <!--graemlin::(-->

At BPS a few days ago I got a BPS Extreme EX combo. 6' med action rod with a 6.4:1 reel for crankbaits, Rapala jerkbaits. The rod was just IM6 not real great but it came with a 7 bearing reel for $70. Can't beat that.

Got a SPRO Bronzeye Jr. frog because I've heard such great thins about them. Gonna try it out at the watershed in the morning. It should produce a lunker. <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: dsaavedra on 6/8/2007 3:03:30 PM

well guys better watch out, im goin back to the pond where i caught my only lunker again on sunday. maybe ill get one bigger!!!!!

Originally posted by: aarhunt on 6/8/2007 6:24:57 PM

caught 4 bass today all four about 2-21/2 lbs lost a nice 4-5 pounder came off the hook. <!--graemlin::mad:-->Missed 2 other nice bass too Oh well <!--graemlin::rolleyes:-->

Life Member
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Originally posted by: jignpig on 6/8/2007 8:42:41 PM

well let's review what we got so far. david is the first young member of the 4 pound plus club with the biggest fish so far!!! excellent!!! <!--graemlin:;)--> and he's threatening to do it again! (hope you do david <!--graemlin::)--> ) walk the line is there too with a very respectable lunker of at least four pounds -way to go guys. the youngstas are puttin' on a clinic. scotteph is the most prolific member of the 4 pound plus club with 4 entries (from northern waters too). way to go scott!!! scott, somehow i missed the captions on your pix before so i didn't know what the fish weighed. were those there before, or am i just slippin'? <!--graemlin::D--> sorry about that bro. once we get to ten entries we'll start a top ten list that will be updated as needed. scott will initially hold 4 places on that list!!! bassin assassin has thrown out a good topwater tip.
but - so far no questions, no lunker challenges, and no big bass articles/links. but i'm fixin' to take care of that right now. here's a cool link and i guarantee you will learn something if you just take a few minutes to read a couple of articles from one of my big bass heros - "fish chris" wolfgram. this is my favorite big bass website and i guarantee you will learn a TON here. this is one of the few sites that focuses exclusively on big bass. so here's a homework assignment <!--graemlin::D-->. click on this link >>>>>>>>trophybassonly.com
go to the articles section and read these 2 articles: "tournament bass fishing vs. trophy bass fishing" and "top 10 ways to catch a trophy bass". even though chris is talking about those monsters out there in cali, the same principles apply to catching big fish anywhere, no matter whether "big" means 4 pounds or 10 where you live. before anyone can change their fishing to target bigger fish, the first thing they have to change is their mindset. these are 2 great articles to help you do just that. hope they help and post here what you think - i'm anxious to hear your thoughts. is there any wisdom you can add to chris' top 10 list from your experiences? good fishin' to all.

Originally posted by: badchad on 6/8/2007 9:29:50 PM

I'm going smallie fishing tomorrow and I'll shoot for a 4+ so I can post it here.

Chad

Originally posted by: Hawg Bass Assassin on 6/8/2007 10:46:11 PM

March 31,07
Lure:Wal-Marts Renegade 6" Black Worm
Hook:Owner 3/0 off set Hawg hook
Weight:1/4 oz bullet
Rigged:Texas Style
Fish'n Line:12 lb Test Cajun Red

Hawg Bass:
Hawg Bass Assassin
9 lb
24 1/2" long

Originally posted by: dsaavedra on 6/9/2007 7:31:36 AM

great website paul! i bookmarked that one for future reference.

my plan for tomorrow is to throw out a storm wildeye live crappie and see what i get. if im gettin fish then hell, im stickin with it! but if im getting hits and misses, then i have a chatterbait rigged up with a 6" jerkshad and no skirt for a more finesse approach. maybe ill chuck out my huge ole' risto rap too.

Originally posted by: jignpig on 6/9/2007 9:51:47 PM

a quick tip for y'all and our first official "lunker challenge" <!--graemlin::D-->. when targeting big bass, i think many times it is better to "upsize" than "downsize" when fishin' is tough. the bite was tough yesterday. i worked one of my favorite areas carefully, with no success, only dinks. then, i put on a foot long plastic worm and caught an 8 pounder within 5 minutes. i think when a big fish is in a negative mood, her mindset is "it's gonna take somethin' really special, somethin' really worth my while, to get me to bite." to me downsizing the bait just downsizes the catch. feel free to disagree with me if you want, i'm just stating what experience seems to have taught me when targeting big fish. (i know that big fish can be caught on regular size baits though - see craig's 9 pound giant above as proof of that. <!--graemlin::D--> )

all this brings me to what i think would be a good first "lunker challenge". i'm throwin' this one out to everyone. every trip you take for the next month or so, for at least 30 minutes, throw the biggest soft plastic bait you have ever used in spots where you think a big 'un is lurking. in other words, if you're used to throwin' 6" plastics, throw 8 inchers. if you're used to throwin' 8", throw 10". you get the picture. do not dispair. i do not think this will markedly effect the number of fish you catch as even dinks will readily bite big plastics (i caught several less than a pound on the 12" worm yesterday). you may even find yourself catchin' better numbers than usual b/c these bigger baits are somethin' new that the fish probably haven't seen before. remember with the bigger baits, you gotta let 'em have it just a second longer (but not much longer or you might gut hook 'em) than usual before setting the hook so they can get the whole thing in their mouth. give this an honest try and let us know how it works. now let me know, who's gonna accept this challenge? post here and let us know if you are, so we can encourage you. i'm anxious to hear back on this one. i'd do it too, except i can't find any soft plastics bigger than a foot long <!--graemlin::D-->. if you know of some, definitely let me know. good luck with this one.

Originally posted by: Hawg Bass Assassin on 6/10/2007 7:47:16 AM

Ok----->Paul<----I'll just do that.

Now---->Around these parts small baits = Hawgs
Big Baits around here = no fish or slim to none /with hardly any Hawgs.
Here is proof-----> 13.3 pounder / 27" long / Girth 20" /Bait: 4" Hawg Daddy / Location Med.Creek

Originally posted by: Hawg Bass Assassin on 6/10/2007 7:55:30 AM

I said my 2 cents cause (Paul <!--graemlin::cool:-->) said we could.

I will take the rest of month of June and fish with 8" - 10" Culprits---I'll see if things change around here !

{Their are place's to use Huge baits & Small bait for catching Hawgs!!!}

I'll discuss this in a later post.

Hawg Bass Assassin