Ron’s Fishing Tips and Stories: Best Bass Fishing Lures and Techniques
In my last tips to you I said if I had only one fish bait I would pick the Zoom watermelon lizard. Today I am going to talk about the best bait to catch really big bass. A super trophy!!! Of course we all know that trophy size bass are caught on a wide variety of lures but are definitely harder to catch than smaller fish.
A lot of times when a fisherman catches a trophy fish it was just a matter of luck. That of course is not what I am talking about today. Today I am talking about starting out before launching the boat with a plan to only fish for trophy size bass. We are not after numbers of fish but rather we are fishing for ONE BIG BASS all day long. By today’s standards we are talking about a 9lb or 10lb bass or larger.
If you are fishing 60 degree water and warmer, I believe the best bait for trophies is a big topwater fished very slowly. My favorite bait is the solid black Chug Bug made by Storm Lure Company. I cast it out to a good looking spot and let it set in the water until all the ripples are gone before I move it. When all the ripples are gone I begin to move it ever so slowly and just let it sit still for maybe 5 seconds and then shake my rod just a little to create small ripples. Then let it sit still again for 5 or more seconds. Remember the really huge bass will not chase, they are very lazy, and they don’t like fast moving baits – not even medium moving baits.
To fish this slowly you must have the correct mind set. Remember you are fishing for only one fish all day long. You must also picture in your mind a 10lb bass just under your lure looking very closely at your bait and its every movement. You are trying to make that bass make just one little mistake. Most of the time (90%) the bass will strike your lure when it is sitting perfectly still with no ripples.
To be very honest there is maybe 1 fisherman out of 1000 that is willing to fish this way, and it definitely takes tons of patience and lots of will power.
I must also tell you another way and another set of lures that will catch trophy size bass. During extremes in weather when the water temps are very hot or water temps are very cold and the fish move to deep water (25 to 35ft.) then you must go deep to catch that bass of a lifetime. One thing remains the same. YOU MUST FISH VERY SLOW. I like 2 baits for this type of fishing. First I like AGAIN the Zoom watermelon lizard with a chartreuse tail. I will fish it Carolina style if not too much brush or Texas style in heavy cover. I will use a little more weight in deep water maybe a ½ oz sinker. The second bait I like is a swim-shad fished right on the bottom. I like this bait in the pearl color. I DON’T REEL this bait. I let it go down to the bottom and then just lift my rod up very slowly and then lower the rod down allowing the bait to fall back to the bottom. Take up the slack in the line and raise the rod again very slowly. JUST REMEMBER YOU MUST WORK THESE BAITS VERY SLOWLY AS IN ULTRA SLOW MOTION. It is impossible to work these baits too slowly.
In closing, let me tell you a story about my great friend Jimmy Olive of Port Arthur, Texas. Jimmy was going to Lake El Salto in Mexico and he wanted to catch a bass over 10lbs. He called me and asked me what I thought would be his best chance to be successful. I told him he would have to fish for one bass for the whole 3 days. He said no problem that he wasn’t after numbers. I told Jimmy that I would send him out with one of our big bass guides to an underwater hump in 35 ft. of water. I told him to fish the swim bait in pearl color on the hump for all 3 days and fish it very slowly. Don’t run around all over the lake trying different places. To stay with just this one hump and he would catch his bass of a lifetime. The first day he only had maybe 4 bites catching smaller bass. The second day was about the same but on his last day he and his guide Oscar boated a 14lb trophy of a lifetime. Jimmy only caught 3 fish that day but he got the fish he came to Mexico to catch. I sure was happy for him and overjoyed since Jimmy stayed with the program. Unfortunatey Jimmy lost his long battle with cancer about one year later, but his fish is still on the wall for all his family and friends to enjoy.
I wish you good luck with your fishing.
