Targeting Lunker Bass

Every anglers dream is to catch a big bass yet very few actually fish specifically for them .most anglers quickly lose faith in their ability’s when fishing becomes tough and few fish are caught, so they change tactics and begin fishing for anything that bites even if it is the small dinks that give them confidence because they are at least catching something. Fishing for big bass is like fishing for a completely different species. Your whole mindset needs to be altered and you need to be comfortable with not catching a lot of fish. You need to be focused all the time and have confidence in your tackle and your ability’s.
Many of the big bass chasers in the USA will fish alone for trophy bass as big bass are in their opinion   much smarter than the smaller bass that most anglers target. And are also more alert to the anglers on the water. A lot of care is taken to ensure their boats are quite, that they don’t slam hatches or drop things on the deck. Many of the trophy bass are also taken on small boats. They even go as far as wearing clothes that are not as visible to the fish so bright red sponsor shirts and caps are out and khaki and camos are in. the stealth approach can go as far as turning off  fish finders so as not to spook the bass in any way. I did not think much of this until I was really put some thought into the biggest of the bass that I have caught all of which where on a small boat propelled by sneaker motor only and I was alone on all three occasions. Big bass hunters also believe that fishing off a big boat with big outboard motor is too much of a temptation to speed off to a new destination every time you feel the area you are in is fish less instead of persevering in the area you are aware that big bass do exist.
Big bass seem to prefer a very slow finesse presentation and not necessarily caught on big baits. I have caught 4 bass in the past few years or so of over 5 kgs and all except one where caught on 4inch finesse worms the other was caught on a junior fluke. But that’s not to say that big bass won’t take big baits your chances of eliminating the small fish is far better on big baits. if you think back to the big bass that you have caught many of you will recall that you where eating a sarmie or lighting a cigarette or taking a break basically you where not fishing the way you normally would you slowed down and gave that big old lazy fish the opportunity to sus out your bait .big bass chasers in the USA believe that big bass like to examine their food and will often approach it a couple of times before engulfing it in a single swallow and are usually not moving when this happens and that is why the bite of a big bass is unlike the machine gun type bite or the pick up and run of the smaller bass. You may also recall that the moment you fish lighter tackle the lunkers jump on and bust you up. I have caught the majority of my big bass on line10lb and lighter. When I talk of big bass I am talking of bass that are over 4.5kgs as bass up to 4.3kgs I have caught on line up to 20lb. I believe that these bass have the intelligence to recognize a line as a threat and a lighter less visible line such as my confidence line 6lb or 8lb Toray flouro carbon has been my choice for hunting big bass. Of course I use this in areas that don’t have too much structure like Goedetrouwe dam. It would be very unwise to fish Nandoni or Maguga dam with such light line.

Searching for big bass

Not all dams have an abundance of big bass , if it big bass you are hunting then you need to go where the big bass live research the dams in your area find out about history of big fish in each of them . I find the best way to do this is gab my collections of SABass magazines and in the back where the readers send in pics of their big fish just sit and work out where most of the big fish pics come from. Also look at the pics themselves and try identify the spots the pics where taken from. what I’ve managed to work out from just opening a couple of books is that the majority of big bass in KZN come from Inanda dam and second is either private dams or Goedetrowe dam . Inanda dam may be on top of the list because it is fished more regularly than most of the others in the area. Yet our biggest fish not only in the province but also in the country have come from Midmar and recently Nagal dam. my personal choice of big fish dams in KZN in order are Nagal dam, goedetrowe dam, midmar dam, inanda dam, then Albert falls but I believe that all of these dams have the potential to produce record fish. However big bass are more threatened now than ever. Too many fish are being removed from the dams that have the potential to become really big. When anglers catch their pbs these end up at home on the wall. People are still under the impression that the actual fish is required for a replica rather than the measurements and a photo. Because of the nature of a big bass needing to inspect its prey they eat they are more often caught by bank anglers fishing with earth worms or live bait. Then eaten for lunch without the angler even realizing how sort after such a trophy is in the bassing fraternity.
As an example I grew up with access to a farm dam in Boston and I when was about 12years old fishing with a tadpole spinner my favorite lure at the time with a cheap bright yellow solid glass rod I hooked into a monster that actually broke my line but I managed to grab the line in my hand and get the fish to the edge. I made a lot of noise and got the attention of a nearby farmer on his tractor who gave me a lift together with my bass to the house where we weighed the bass in on a kitchen scale and it tipped the scale at 4.8something kgs . I was excited and many of the farmers in the area came to see the fish. which I kept alive in a reservoir nearby the house. Had I been involved in bass fishing back then I would have been sporting the South African record but I was clueless back then. The moral of the story is that big fish have been caught we’ve all heard the stories but they are normally caught by those who are uninformed or just grateful that their catch will feed the whole family.
Research shows that the majorities of lunkers are caught in winter or in pre spawn when bass are either full of food and fat reserves or full of eggs. Big bass tend to be the first to either move deep for the winter or move onto the spawning beds. So the time of the year is as important as the place. It’s not unusual for big bass hunters in the USA to occupy a good spot for three months of the year during the spawn or winter knowing that this is their best chance at taking a record, fishing every day from sunrise to sunset and even into the night if the water they are fishing allows night fishing.
Finding bass on nests is the easiest way to locate big bass but you need to target the deeper nests rather than those in the shallows. Good Polaroid’s and experience are essential for spotting nests. Big bass will normally occupy nests closer to areas that have deep water nearby so that once spawn is over they move strait into the depths to rest. Bigger baits may be more effective during the spawn and irritate the bass into biting rather than the bass wanting to feed on it.  Swim baits such as the ZMAN water hawk 1 oz spinner baits, 10inch worms and big top water baits like tango dancers or wake shads can also be effective. but slow down in your presentations and use longer pauses in your retrieve .be aware of natural migration routes where a bass will move from a shallow areas to a deep area to escape danger these areas can be an effective target area .also know where the deep water structure lies as most bass when disturbed will head straight for these areas. Avoid areas frequented by many anglers and rather target areas that others avoid.
Think like a hunter when targeting big bass .focus on your surrounds take note of fish busting up in shallows , movements in the reeds or ripples on the surface .keep an eye on where the bait fish are heading and imagine where you would ambush them if you where a bass . Don’t just rush into the cast if you spot something .think about your cast makes sure you are in the right position to make the cast as effective as possible. big bass are easily spooked so practice your casting so your casts are spot on and get the action of the bait right first time make sure the bait is sitting properly on the hook and the bait is swimming properly .set the hook right first time big fish will only give you one chance you need to take when it is offered.

Check your knots after every fish and after it has passed through structure retie if it looks suspect at all keep an eye on your drag like after you have baited up some guys forget that they loosened it to thread the line through the guides. Big bass have an uncanning ability to bite when things are not right with your tackle. Your chances of landing big fish will be greatly increased if your tackle is looked after and of good quality.
Most of my big fish have come when I’ve least expected it the first fish I caught that I still call my biggest even though I had to estimate the weight by using measurements and not a scale . I was at Nagal dam it was December a couple of years back fishing off an inflatable with just a sneaker motor a couple of worms one fishing rod an Abu Garcia reel spooled with 10lb Berkley big game line . No camera no scale no landing net and no clue what I was in for. Fishing a 4inch finkness worm in watermelon I had landed a number of dinks and the guys who had accompanied me. fishing of their own little craft where struggling to get bites and asked for one of the baits I was catching on . So I cast in let the lure hit the bottom and left it alone whilst I scratched around in my boat that was half full of water for a bait to toss over to the guys on the other boat. It took me a while and just as I was about to move the boat closer I lifted the rod and felt a soft but heavy thunk almost as if I had got snagged in a tree or something , but as the saying goes striking is for free and I set the hook . for a couple of seconds I did believe I was snagged but the line started coming up slowly feeling more like a plastic bag than a fish there was very little resistance until the fish surfaced took one look at my face and headed back into the depths where she remained for at least 5min which felt like hours . any way I finally boated the beauty not easy without a net only then did I realize the size of the fish and almost cried when I realized no scale and no camera the thought did cross my mind about taking her home and having her weighed on the kitchen scale but her bulging eyes and pure beauty got the better of me and I knew she was going back into the water regardless. As I was about to release her the guy on the other boat said “hey don’t you want a pic” was I ever so grateful someone had thought to bring a camera .we took a few pics and measured on the boat the length of the fish which turned out to be 74cm long and roughly 50cm round the belly . But that’s what happens if you are not prepared so now on my boat I know where the scale is I have pliers I have tape measure and the net is always in reach. What may have turned out to be a record fish ended up back in the water with me always wondering what if it was?
And most of my other fish over 5kgs have been in similar fashion. At inanda dam about three months after the fish at Nagal  I fished hard all day caught a few decent size bass in the region of 3kgs but nothing great also on the small little inflatable made my way back to the picnic site via dusi point but needed to organize myself a bit before calling it a day wind was blowing a bit so I tied myself to a tree and put in a cast I was also fishing a 4 finesse worm on a split shot rig same 10lb line I caught he last fish on . Let the bait sit there while I packed everything away again a good 4/5minutes before I picked up the rod. I turned the reel once and felt the weight of the fish load up onto the rod and unlike my first fish really took some time to land. I had a scale and a net and a camera but no one to help luckily my boat leaks heavily and there was enough water in the boat for the bass to be happy and I rushed off to the bank where a youngster took some pics for me and I released the fish which weighed just over 5.1kgs .

The very next weekend I went back down to the dam straight to the tree put a cast on it with a junebug  baby fluke and was straight on same fish only it weighed 5.2kgs still had a tail of a tilapia sticking out its throat . Had good pics of fish on both occasions but loaded them onto my lap top which was stolen a couple of days after. The lap top meant nothing to me but the pics where priceless.
I have caught over the past few years numerous bass over 4kgs and a few over 5kgs but I do spend a lot of time on the water and there is no substitute for that if you want to catch big fish you need to put in the time . and the more you catch the more you learn but catching big fish during the week as opposed to weekends is much easier and over the next year or two I hope to figure out a way to change this but I don’t think it’s going to be that easy .need to get past the mental block of just going out to catch fish instead of going out to target big fish . competitions have a lot to do with one state of mind your main aim in a comp is to get limit and big fish are a bonus .
There are records to be broken in our dams and if you are willing to put in the time and target them specifically your chances will be better than just hoping for a lucky fish whilst out fishing your normal patterns.