Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: If you’re afraid of hanging up, losing a lure or putting your boat into tough situations, this article is not for you. You may as well stop reading, because you’re wasting your time. This article is about catching the biggest largemouth bass in the lake or river. That means we’re going to get nasty.
Big fish don’t get to be big by accident. For the most part they’re solitary creatures. They live where they’re left alone. You won’t find them on the outside of a brushpile, in front of a dock or in the outermost twigs of a laydown. They’ll be back in places where you’ll wonder how they got there, much less how you’re going to get there.
There’s really only one way to fish for them and that’s to flip and pitch. To do that you’ll have to position your boat properly. That often means taking it into places where your buddies won’t take theirs. Despite your best efforts, it might get a scratch or two on it.
Fishing in the nasty stuff also means that no matter how carefully you fish your baits there will be times when you hang and lose your lure. We’re using heavy lures with heavy hooks and heavy line. When you’re hung, you’re hung. You can’t straighten the hook or pull it out of the wood. That’s the price of doing business. Accept it as a part of big fish hunting.
I have two basic rigs that I use when I’m looking for a big one. My first choice is a Tommy Biffle Junkyard Jig made by River2Sea. It’s made out of lead and has two loud rattles. I like the 3/8- or 1/2-ounce size. I put a Missile D Bomb trailer on it.
My line choice is 25-pound-test Maxima fluorocarbon if the water’s clear. When it’s dirty, I go with 65-pound-test Maxima braid. I like the fluorocarbon in clear water because I think it gives the bait a more natural fall that they can see. That’s not as important in dirty water, however.
In clear water I go with browns and green pumpkin. In stained or dirty water I like darker colors. You can’t go wrong with black and blue. My trailers always match my jig color.
I look at it this way. Big fish have been around for a while. If something doesn’t look natural and realistic, they stay away from it. If you saw a steak with green crud on the edges, would you eat it? I’m guessing not. Experience tells you something isn’t right. It’s the same with a fish.
Another good rig is a 1- or 1 1/2-ounce River2Sea tungsten weight with a D Bomb Texas rigged to it. This setup is especially good in wood with lots of algae growing on it. The weight will bounce around on the wood, knock the algae off and activate bluegills as well as other baitfish hiding in that tangled mess. That, in turn, activates the bass.
My line and color selection is the same as it is with the jig.
If you’re tired of catching dinks, get nasty this year. You’ll lose fish, hang in brush, lose baits and maybe even put a scratch or two on your boat. You’ll also give yourself more opportunities to catch a giant largemouth.
