Originally posted by: davesett2000 on 10/5/2007 6:58:50 PM

If you're only catching small fish, here’s a few tips for getting the bigger ones...

Consider if the lake is over-fishedSeveral smaller waters around the country are just plain over-fished...fished hard by a few folks that keep anything they get big enough to eat. YOu MAY have to fish elsewhere.

Fish deeper water. A personal GUT feeling that I have is that bigger fish like cooler water. At the same time, some waters have a lack of forage. This makes the smaller fish VERY aggressive...and the bigger ones more likely to eat their own kind. Then again, many shallow close-to shore areas will have lots of bugs for small fish to feed on...and cover to hide from the bigger fish. SO if the laydowns are covered with little ones...cast to the OTHER side of the boat. Or even consider casting / trolling the deep weed edge...10-25 ft.

Fish the DEEPER “Spot on the Spot” areas. I believe that truly big fish are territorial...and the best locations are most times held by these big fish. Look for points and drop-offs near cover. Especially try “edges” where bottom content, depth and available cover inter-change. THINK about it...if YOU were a big fish...where would YOU be? (make sure your answers to that are reasonable though <!--graemlin::eek:--> )

Fish your baits slower. Small fish are faster than big ones, and have a tendency to chase more quickly.

Fish at a different time of day. This is especially true if you are always fishing in the middle of the day. Try early morning...evening...and in the middle of the night. This ESPECIALLY works for waters that have a lot of boat traffic / “recreational” water users.

Get you bait closer to cover. This holds true especially for river folks...they KNOW what I’m saying here <!--graemlin:;)--> you should learn about it too <!--graemlin::)--> Bump stumps or rocks...bounce some type of bait off the bottom....rip a bait through weeds etc...

Watch the weather. Keep track of what the weather conditions are when you fish...AND take a look at what the weather has been like the past 3-5 days. Try to fish before / during the inclement weather, as since visibility is reduced, this usually makes fish less wary. I’m a FIRM believer that those 1st couple of days of blue sky after some heavy cloud days ends up creating a LOT of shadows in the water. I feel that fish don’t know right away if there are NEW predators in the area because of these shadows, so they “hunker down”. I also believe that the predators gorge if possible just before / during the darker days...and so spend a couple of days digesting all that they ate.

Use a different lure. Even a simple change of color can make a WORLD of difference. Downsizing OR upsizing can help too. Or if you have been fishing a specific brand, switch to a different one...but similar body style. Don’t hesitate to jump completely OUT of your “box”...and try something entirely different...even if it’s a technique that you’ve never tried before.

It CAN pay off...