Over the years I have had the opportunity to fish with a lot of different anglers. On several occasions I have heard the statement, “I am gonna tie on a larger lure to catch a bigger bass.” One may think this would work, but it’s not the case.
I have heard people say and write that they think bigger bass will not expend their energy on smaller bait. The bass would rather wait and go after something bigger and have to feed less. Untrue. Bass will feed when they want to feed and when the opportunity is given to them. It doesn’t matter what size the bait is.
There were days when I spent several hours on the water and didn’t pick up my pole. I just watched what a school of bass were doing or watched them in the shallows school the bait fish before making their attack. They would attack them no matter what size they were.
Other days I have had to wait for fellow anglers to move from a shallow area before I could have the opportunity to fish there. The first thing that comes into my mind is to downsize my lure. Bass can be spooked very easily in the shallows by a larger lure, especially if that particular area gets a lot of pressure from other anglers. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched another angler come up empty handed and I’ve gone into the same area after him and caught bass. The next words I hear are, ” I just fished that area and I didn’t get a hit! What are you using? ”
So next time your on the water and fishing a cove or area that gets pressure from other anglers – Downsize your lures. Smaller lures, including plastics, can be fished successfully behind other anglers using larger lures. Don’t get caught up in the “big bait / big fish” scheme. Smaller lures will draw strikes from bass of all sizes.
