I was wondering if big creature baits like strike kings tube lizards or big 10" power worms or really any big bait would really work here in michigan? i have also heard of big fish being caught on 7-9 in swim baits in rhode island... would they work here too? ive realized that anything over 5" is to big unless its a senko or something like it! most of my fish come on plastics that r 3"-5"!
I have caught 6 inch bass on large jerk baits so I really don't think size will always be a negative....
When you go out for the day try both large and small baits...I believe the Mantra about matching the size of the forage, but that may not always hold true...You have to give the fish what they want, and that may not alway line up with Dock talk or fishing shows....
I was thinking about getting some of those big ol worms myself to try...Heck it would be fun just to throw them..It would definetly freak out your boat partner for the day....
you are right, 10"+ worms don't work in michigan..... never have never will. Keep it moving people, nothing to see here. ;)
Yeah, leave the big worms and creature baits at home. Or better yet... send them to me and I'll dispose of them properly. ;D
I have a pretty good arsenal of 10" worms and large creatures from Zoom, Sweet Beaver, Yamamoto, etc...
Yeah been there......... Partner ( brother) pulls out 10" power worms and starts throwing them. I think he is wasting time ,then the next thing I know I got one on my line. Now never leave home without them. Also same thing happend with those yamamoto Flappin hawgs.
Big baits catch big fish!(they also catch those pesky little buzzards too) but i think the big fish are very secretive on there movements(thats why they're big) and select too eat certain things. a big meal will do. but further than that look at where your throwing that bait. if its a secluded area it doesnt matter if its a 3" stik or a 12" worm that fish is going to use that opportunity too eat it. i think the problem with the big baits is that we cant always use them where the big fish are.(yeah we can carolina rig a big worm on the drops but who wants to do that)? we have too weed through the smaller fish and it frustrates most people. they figure i can do this on a 7" worm why throw this crazy10 or 12" deal?? alot of it is confidence in things. and your instincts.-skeeterman- keep throwing them it WILL work!
What kind of weight are you guys using to get 10" power worms down?
3/16 to 1/8. Depends how fast you want to work it and what fall you want. I love using the 7" senkos. they are huge compared to the 4-5" versions. Like to dead stick them.
On my 10" worms i usually throw 3/16 or 1/4 ounce. they are a great bait to throw at night. as is a big stik bait. if you throw that lighter weight it lets that baits kinda flutter to the bottom and the fish have a longer time to look at it till it falls in front of there face and BOOM they eat it.(thats if your night fishing with it.during the day id go with my next point). if you were fishing it shallower or during the day, id go with 3/8 or maybe 1/2 to really make the fish react to it as it darts past there face.-skeeterman-
3/4oz tungsten on 50lb braid...... ;D
Thats my boy!!! makem eat it!-skeeterman-
hey thanks guys, i guess i will just keep them in my tackle box for a day that when im feeling lucky!
Also a good idea to try them on a day when all you've caught is small bass, or you aren't catching any bass anyway. I've seen plenty of 11" bass caught on 11" worms, but I've also seen plenty of BIG bass caught on big musky baits.
I've seen smallmouth bass chasing gizzard shad that looked like the size of a small keeper bass!! I've had a not too big largemouth spit up two full grown rats!! Plenty of times, if a bass can get it in its mouth, it will try to eat it.
You'll never know for sure if something will work or not unless you try it a few times...
I always use 5" or bigger creature baits, mainly because I don't fish clear water like you have in Michigan, or other parts of Ohio. I'm looking for baits to move water. My favorite tubes even for flipping are the Yum VibraKing tubes in the 5" size. Those ribs I think make a difference, plus they have a solid head.
Quote from: djkimmel on March 30, 2009, 01:35:09 PM
I've had a not too big largemouth spit up two full grown rats!!
DK, are you making this up!? Rats? Really?
I agree a bass will eat anything it can fit in it's mouth but how often due they get a chance to eat a rat?
I once read or saw on TV and guy saying that he didn't know why bass eat frog baits. The number of times a bass actually has a chance to eat a frog is very rare.
Cy
Quote from: Cy on March 30, 2009, 03:06:04 PM
Quote from: djkimmel on March 30, 2009, 01:35:09 PM
I've had a not too big largemouth spit up two full grown rats!!
DK, are you making this up!? Rats? Really?
I agree a bass will eat anything it can fit in it's mouth but how often due they get a chance to eat a rat?
I once read or saw on TV and guy saying that he didn't know why bass eat frog baits. The number of times a bass actually has a chance to eat a frog is very rare.
Cy
The pond i grew up across from was loaded with frogs. Big ones. In the summertime when i slept with the window open, you would hear them croakin all night. the funny part was you would be sitting there almost asleep listenin to croak, croak, croak..........croak, croak, croak.........croak, croak, SPLOOSH.........silence.
the same pond used to completly weed over on one end in the mid summer with that thich green carpet of weeds. There was a good population of mice that made there home in the soft mud shoreline and they would actually walk around on that weed mat. on more than one occasion i saw bass come up and steal a mouse as it nibbled on a treat.
If you guys are still with me here, i will also say that one day while sitting on the shore bobber fishing and watching swallows skim the surface for bugs, a bass jumped up and got one of them bad boys, too.
I also seen a big pike take a duckling on White Lake in Highland.
McCarter himself :-\'
I don't make stuff up when it comes to fishing. Real life really is stranger than fiction.
One of the coolest things was the day I watched a 2 lb bass chase a big Leopard frog around the back end of Dickinson L. I had no idea how fast a frog could swim until that day!!
Couldn't even see its legs moving most of the time!!
About 3 years ago fishing metro beach in the boat basin there was a mother duck swimming with 5 ducklings and after reeling in my spinnerbait to make another cast i heard a big splash and when i turned around there was one less duckling....things that make you go hmmmmmmm. And for bass nailing muskie baits it happens @ least every outing for us when we start trolling for muskies using bucktails and big 6 to 8" jointed baits. Biggest smallie came on a jointed plug on the belle river hump last year a 5 1/2lber. And for a parting joke i can remember a old timer telling me this one...and i apologize in advance.....2 old guys r in a boat trolling for muskies and a woman is @ the end of the dock in hysterics "help me she yelled, my poodle jumped in the water and a big muskie came along and ate it!" 1 of the men turned and asked her "What color was it?" Match the hatch boys match the hatch
LMAO!!!!
"What color was it?" - Too funny
Big baits work. I carry 10 inch worms, 10 inch lizards, and now GY has a 12 inch worm too.
If you remember, there was a story in Bassmaster a few years ago about a guy who was studying bass behavior in an observation pond behind his house. He witnessed a bass come out of the water and grab a robin that was at the edge of the pond. That really made me believe that bass are nothing more than a freshwater shark. They are opportunistic feeders.
Eric
My friend and i went to a pond down the road from where we live and the HAD tons of leapard frogs around there ponds and we would just hook them with a little octopus hook in the nose and cast them next to the cat tails and they would swim on top and then all of a sudden sploosh, no more frog, but one big bass! soo they do bit. also if u go on youtube u kand find videos where people feed bass live chipmunks, mice, and rats.
I've caught 8" bass on Ole Monster worms in Michigan....
One time I was fishing down a bank and I spied a walnut sitting on a log overhanging the edge of the water. I looked around and thought ...that's strange, I don't see a walnut tree! A chipmunk came down and started nibbling on the walnut. All of a sudden SPLOOSH, a pike took the chipmunk right off the log. I turned to my partner and said "Wow did you see that!" A few seconds later the pike came up and set the walnut back up on the log....
Quote from: TritonTR20 on April 02, 2009, 02:57:55 PM
I've caught 8" bass on Ole Monster worms in Michigan....
One time I was fishing down a bank and I spied a walnut sitting on a log overhanging the edge of the water. I looked around and thought ...that's strange, I don't see a walnut tree! A chipmunk came down and started nibbling on the walnut. All of a sudden SPLOOSH, a pike took the chipmunk right off the log. I turned to my partner and said "Wow did you see that!" A few seconds later the pike came up and set the walnut back up on the log....
LOL...nice one.
hmm jimmy houston has a story in his book about a squirrel and a bass same exact story >.>
Forrest Wood told that story during an FLW telecast too.
Thats funny right there i dont care who ya are.
Strike King NEW 10" Rage Tail Anaconda is an AWESOME bait for BIG Largemouth Bass in MI! I like the NEW 7" OCHO too!
Danny North
Strike King Regional Pro Staff Member
Well since you say there awesome I think I will have to pick up 20 packs or so. :D
Danny... you should stick to the 7" ones until you're a little older.