Monster hunting...

Coenen · Oct 17, 2017

61BelAir said:
I've always wondered how big a hole of water needs to be for a bass to grow well over 10 pounds...

Even a lake with a severely stunted population of bass will produce one or two lunkers. It's got something to do with how the "stunting" process works, for lack of a better term. My two best LM's ever came out of a lake where the average fish wasn't much more than 10-12". Turns out, with the way the population develops in those small bodies of water, that's how things shake out. You'll have a pile of micro-bass, and then just one or two full sized ones.

Jeremiahisbrown said:
I'm still somewhat surprised someone caught a 17lber out of Lanier. I think there's a possible chance of there being a 20 in there somewhere maybe. Hiding under somebody's dock and they don't even know it.

That fish was caught not long after the lake was impounded, the thought is that it was a hold over from the Chattahoochee, rather than being born and grown in the lake. When I was little, I remember seeing some really giant largemouths cruise by under our dock. Even adjusting for time / memory, they'd still be big fish.

Lanier's Largemouth are sort of like walleye at this point. Very few anglers fish for them directly, so we see them mostly as by-catch from guys doing other things. The thing is, their habits only really overlap with the spots and stripers for a small portion of the year. One of the guides posted several fish well North of 7lbs here a couple years ago, all caught pulling big trout for stripers. They're out there if you want to chase them.

Rebel 3 · Oct 19, 2017

My biggest and only one over 10 I have caught was 13lb 4oz. It was the first fish I weighed on my brand new digital scale. It was on a bed. The lake was only 3 or 4 acres. Nobody ever fished it, and it was the first time I ever fished it. The pond had been drained and rebuilt about 10 years earlier. I caught 50 bass before the big one, and not one was over a pound. Apparently, the big one got a jump start when they rebuilt the pond. I think it had been living off the smaller bass. Caught it one a 6 inch zoom worm. I shot the deer in my avatar the same year too.

tillman86 · Oct 27, 2017

I sure would like to see some pics of these monsters.

scottpriest · Oct 28, 2017

Jeremiahisbrown said:
Found it. It is a GON article. I was talking about Pat Cullen. The man has caught over 1,100 trophy size 10+lb bass and counting...

http://www.gon.com/fishing/1113-giant-bass-and-counting

Incredible story and incredible dedication to fishing from that man.

King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah · Oct 28, 2017

I agree! I'd try it myself if summer wasn't over with and the weather was stable.

Coenen · Oct 28, 2017

tillman86 said:
I sure would like to see some pics of these monsters.

Here's a guy that looks sort of like me, catching a fish that looks sort of big. Ignore the dialog.

tillman86 · Oct 28, 2017

Nice fish appreciate the video

61BelAir · Oct 28, 2017

Thanks for putting that video back up. I haven't watched it in awhile.

My biggest is in this thread along with others : http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?p=10310720#post10310720

ErikD · Oct 29, 2017

Jeremiahisbrown said:
I'm still somewhat surprised someone caught a 17lber out of Lanier. I think there's a possible chance of there being a 20 in there somewhere maybe. Hiding under somebody's dock and they don't even know it.

As I understand it prior to the interduction of herring and spots Lanier was on par with the best largemouth fisheries in the southeast. I’ve heard tales of monster bags of fish.

Coenen · Oct 30, 2017

ErikD said:
As I understand it prior to the interduction of herring and spots Lanier was on par with the best largemouth fisheries in the southeast. I’ve heard tales of monster bags of fish.

Don't kid yourself, there are still plenty of big largemouth in the lake. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say we've got any teenagers or a 20 floating around, but there are more in the 5-8 range than a lot of folks probably think. They're on the rebound as of late, as well. The high water a few years ago really helped them. If we can get some rain this winter, and the lake comes back up, they'll get another shot in the arm come spring. High water really seems to help their spawning and recruitment success.

I don't think we see them as much because guys don't really fish for them on purpose anymore. The spots are more frequently, and easily, targeted and there isn't a ton of habitat overlap between the two species. You're rarely fishing for both at the same time.

Stickemdeep · Oct 31, 2017

finesse baits, my top 5 have come off of either a 10-14 inch texas rigged zoom worm or brush hog, next being a drop shot an creature bait when the bite cools off a little or im after highly pressured bass. Most overlook a small light ds setup for pond bass and I feel like this is a niche that could be very productive for people if they have the patience. my best highly pressured pond fish was upwards of 6 and ate a ds creature bait that had been sitting for 10 or 15 seconds and even then barely knew I had hooked her.

King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah · Oct 31, 2017

Got some black buzzbaits and some Huddleston swimbaits. Topwater time is going to fade away, but All I need is a proper swimbait setup, braided line and some stinger hooks and I'll be ready for the winter/early spring monster hunting season...

Teh Wicked · Nov 1, 2017

My biggest largemouth came earlier this year...she was in the low 6lb range, caught her on a Bobby Garland Dock Shooter jig, 1/32oz, Electric Chicken color...On a St Croix Premier 5'4" Ultra Lite and 6lb Flouro line....Private pond fish, there is once much bigger that keeps breaking tackle.

Anvil Head · Nov 1, 2017

>>That fish was caught not long after the lake was impounded, the thought is that it was a hold over from the Chattahoochee, rather than being born and grown in the lake. When I was little, I remember seeing some really giant largemouths cruise by under our dock. Even adjusting for time / memory, they'd still be big fish.<<

Not trying to start an argument, but Lanier was impounded in 1956. Nine years is a lot of fast grow time in a new impoundment flush with flooded out food sources. Doubt that bass was much of a lunker prior to being impounded.

Coenen · Nov 1, 2017

Anvil Head said:
Not trying to start an argument, but Lanier was impounded in 1956. Nine years is a lot of fast grow time in a new impoundment flush with flooded out food sources. Doubt that bass was much of a lunker prior to being impounded.

...so we agree, then? The fish was a hold over river fish from prior to the lake being impounded, and before the conditions we're currently familiar with were established?

Anvil Head · Nov 2, 2017

Pretty much, but I'd say other than genetics, this bass had a lot of good eats to grow on after impoundment to get that big. Not too much of a surprise. I'd wager many of his/her siblings with the same dna just wound up on a dinnerplate before they could bulk-up. Lanier was pretty hot for bass back when I was a kid and the lake was "New". The Bass Fishing industry was still getting up interest back then, nothing like today. Nothing to catch 50 or more good bass in one trip back then.

King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah · Nov 2, 2017

Speaking of Lanier, I'm pretty sure there's probably a 7+lb spot in there too. A lot of giant spotted bass have been caught while fishing herring for stripers

Scout'nStripers · Nov 2, 2017

Jeremiahisbrown said:
Speaking of Lanier, I'm pretty sure there's probably a 7+lb spot in there too. A lot of giant spotted bass have been caught while fishing herring for stripers

Most definitely there is. My wife Lisa holds the record between us on spotted bass. She caught one up in the Chestatee Bay (Longhollow) that weighed 7.3lbs. This was back about 12 years ago and we were fishing for stripers at the time. She caught it on a planer board pulling a big rainbow trout for bait. We considered bass a by-catch at the time and released it with a few pics. I have searched the internet for a pic but I'm not sure I posted it anywhere. The pics were on a laptop that the hard drive crashed and I lost all of my old pictures. It was a beast!! We thought it was a striper at first. Here's a couple pics I found on photobucket that were over 5. Maybe the second fish was the 7+. Just not sure??

61BelAir · Nov 2, 2017

I've always heard that the period from 3-10 years or so on a new reservoir is it's peak. After that it starts to decline....how fast and to what degree depends on not just management, but environmental issues too.

King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah · Nov 2, 2017

I KNEW IT! I knew they were in there! In California spots get 10+lbs but I figured there was definitely some at least 7 or 8 in Lanier

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