Finding bigger bass

[kinner29]

Quick question for all you dvl locals. going to hit the lake this fri and was wondering what depth you guys fish for the bigger bass? me and a buddy went a few weeks ago and were fishing in 5 - 20 feet of water with some good numbers but only got a handful of the bigger fish. we had 30+ fish on the senkos but most were only about 1#.
any advice would be great. Thanks in advance.

[greenfishslayer16]

The big fish are mixed with the smaller fish, you just have to change up your presentation. Say your fishing the thin senkos, up it to the standard senko, if you get the same result, up it again and go with the six inch senkos and so on. I was having the same problem this last tournament on sunday and when i changed up my gameplan and found how to get the bigger bites, I had only an hour left and unfortunately broke both my kicker fish off due to line size...... Stick with what your doing just switch it up every once in awhile, the big bite will come. Good Luck.

[AngryAgent]

I disagree with Greenfishslayer16. Not a dig on you Greenfishslayer16 but your information is incorrect. All of the bass aren't mixed together and that's a fact. Bass that reach 4lbs generally tend to start sticking to deeper water and change from small fish patterns to big fish patterns. Smaller bass tend to stay in shallower water for security and travel in schools, where big bass 4lbs and up are generally to big to be preyed upon by most birds and other predators. Big bass hangout near ledges or drop-offs leading to deep water. Larger prey can be found in deeper water and when a bass gets bigger it no longer wants to eat zooplankton, tiny insects and larvae. Big bass chase larger prey that match their size, and larger prey is found in deeper water. If you want to catch bigger bass consistently then you need to fish deeper water or ledges leading directly to deeper water.

Fact is that most of the professional bass anglers don't have a bass over 10lbs. These guys fish for a 5 fish limit within a time restriction and have to put fish on the boat fast. They fish shallow water (1-15' of water) structures (for the most part) that have better populations of bass but again are on the smaller side. Much easier to catch a 5 fish limit of 1-3lbers then it is to chase trophy bass. To catch a limit of trophy bass can prove to be almost impossible thus why it's such an accomplishment to catch a 20lb stringer or up. 20lb stringers can be had by fishing crawdads or throwing big swimbaits, swimbaits being much more difficult though, but there is no sure fire way. If you see how the majority of big bass are caught, it is usually in deep water using either crawdads, big worms or swimbaits. Castaic Lagoon produces 10lb+ bass from shore on occasion but the guys who nail those are fishing deep water ledges that are closer to shore leading to deep water.

If you want more info on how to fish trophy bass get your hands on a book called, "In Pursuit of Giant Bass" by Bill Murphy. That book is loaded with the information you are craving if you truly want to chase toads.

[tacklejunkie]

I think a lot of spots at DVL the bank is pretty steep and mixes it up quite a bit on fish size due tot he fast drop offs.
I've seen the sixers cruisn' with the 1's.. quite often.

It all depends really.

Usually bigger baits mean bigger bass but that doesn't always hold true either.

Bigger smarter fish will be a bit deeper than the small ones for the most part too, or chasing small ones into the shallows..

There is a few things you can do to increase size limits!

you can catch big fish on a worm, but you can catch big fish on another fish (big lure) much quicker.

[OG MUDBONE]

I fish from shore every week and have been catching a good number of 4's and 5's by simply pitching 5" and 6" senkos to EVERY sumberged brushpile I see, generally in 5-15ft of water. Drop your line size down to 4 or 6lb fluro and you will definitely increase your odds. If fishing from a boat I would recommend 4lb fluro as you have more of an advantage fighting the fish from the boat. Big fish are showing pretty much everywhere out to 40ft, a lot of times it's just about being in the right place at the right time. With that being said, patience and persistence is the key. I honestly believe you'll do well Friday the weather looks good, so be sure to make a report on how you do. I wanna see pics of all the fat bass you catch!

[HuskerRod]

A lot of good info and some different perspectives that seem to make sense. Im no bass fishing pro (but I did stay in a Hiliday Inn Express last night), but you can get the ocasional 4 and 5 pounder up shallow mixed in with the ratz. However, you got to literally fight through the smaller guys. Lately, I've been fishing out in the 25-40 foot range near deep, deep water to get away from the ratz and target the bigger bass. Nothing giant yet, but definately a better grade of fish.

[gottabkevin]

What are the main colors for the senkos that produce bigger fish? I went last week and some bass were boiling. They started hitting flukes. My friend caught a 4lber fishing the boils. I also have a problem getting hung up a lot at the lake. Ive tried weedless and they still get caught. What is the best way to fish the senkos?

[OG MUDBONE]

Honestly any color senko will get bit, more importantly than color is presentation. If you get the right presentation down you're more likely to get into some bigger fish. The usual colors work great at dvl watermelon/blk flake, green pumpkin, black/blue flake. My two personal favorites are cinnamon/blk&purp flake and smoke/blk flake. My personal fav way to fish them is wacky rigged with an owner weedless wacky hook and the o-wacky tool, or if I'm fishing heavy cover weightless t-rig. Good luck.

[kerryvbc1]

Senkos always catch fish. Find those bass with those medium size senkos and then when you do, go about 10 feet deeper and start throwing a 3/8 ounce JIG. I don't like the smaller senkos because the big and little bass always swallow them down and you end up gut hooking them. Right now with the way the fish are bitting you could probably throw out an empty hook and still catch fish. Nows the time to use some bigger bait especially if your catching 30 plus fish a day. Build your confidence in other baits and leave the senkos for when the bite is tuff. Bigger Bait = Bigger Fish