Under what conditions would you not try going after a bigger bass? 

Fishing with my kids, fishing a body of water with few big fish, or when I just feel like catching a lot of fish.

When the bass are generally lethargic and I'm trying to put a pattern together, I fish the most likely areas, and from there, the pattern evolves.   If I have my son with me, I generally, try to go to high percentage spots with high percentage lures, even if they are dinks, I try to get on them. 

46 minutes ago, Teal said:

When the bass are generally lethargic and I'm trying to put a pattern together, I fish the most likely areas, and from there, the pattern evolves.   If I have my son with me, I generally, try to go to high percentage spots with high percentage lures, even if they are dinks, I try to get on them. 

Ditto
 

Plus when the boss will be gone shopping all day I’ll grab my go box and just go. 
 

 

 

Mike

If I have my grandsons with me. Or if  an acquaintance wants me to take them out because they want to know why I’m so obsessed with bass fishing I’ll try to put them on bass any way possible. Generally with River smallies some type of dinks and runts are always on the bank. 
 

When I’m out fishing regardless of time of year, season or non season I’m trying for a new personal best. I practice 100% catch and release bass fishing. 
 

 

1 hour ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Under what conditions would you not try going after a bigger bass? 

When I'm sleeping.

That's about it. 

Otherwise most everything I do, is geared towards it. 

A-Jay

 

Other than using larger lures I dont know how to target big bass . They occupy the same cover and structure as other bass . So I hit the high percentage spots catch as many as I can and hope there is a big one or two mixed in . I use lures that my gear  handles well and put them where  what I think are the prime spots .

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

When I'm sleeping.

That's about it. 

Otherwise most everything I do, is geared towards it. 

A-Jay

 

 

Exactly ?

 

I ain't here for tighteyes!

Unless I'm tourney fishing or fishing Chickamauga, I'm fishing for topwater strikes.

Large or small I'm chasing the most exciting blow-up.

 

At my lake they they drop it about 20 feet

Once they start sucking water out it will pull a lot of the fish into the main channel

So I'll vary the location I'm fishing but I'm still fishing topwater most of the time

 

There will come a time in late fall where I put a spinning rod in my hand and chase schools of fish with my sonar

This lasts about 4 months until the topwater bite begins

11 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Other than using larger lures I dont know how to target big bass . They occupy the same cover and structure as other bass . So I hit the high percentage spots catch as many as I can and hope there is a big one or two mixed in . I use lures that my gear  handles well and put them where  what I think are the prime spots .

Rick clunn once said that every big lake has 3 or 4 spots that holds large Quantities of big bass... I try to find them

 

 

Typically it is the same areas..but I've found that the big girls and big boys will isolate in small isolated cover.  I target those with big baits when I can 

I don't always intentionally fish for big bass. But, I try to find areas that hold them, and throw baits that I think will work on them.

I don't go out of my way to target big bass because I'm no expert in doing that. I catch my share of them by just targeting keepers and not targeting dinks. Lots of standard baits with a track record of good fish...buzzbait, spinnerbait, jig....probably my 3 favorite most thrown baits. Don't know that I've ever tried to not catch a big one.

2 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

I don't go out of my way to target big bass because I'm no expert in doing that. I catch my share of them by just targeting keepers and not targeting dinks. Lots of standard baits with a track record of good fish...buzzbait, spinnerbait, jig....probably my 3 favorite most thrown baits. Don't know that I've ever tried to not catch a big one.

Thats pretty much me . Fish prime cover and structure and hope for the best .  Catch lots of med sized fish and the  lunkers will come .

2 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Under what conditions would you not try going after a bigger bass? 

Never

 

Only if I'm desperately trying to avoid a skunk.

38 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Thats pretty much me . Fish prime cover and structure and hope for the best .  Catch lots of med sized fish and the  lunkers will come .

My thoughts exactly...put a good lure in areas you know bass live and your gonna catch some. If big ones happen to live there guess what happens?

I never go out there with the mindset of big bass only. I go out there to fish for bass, the bigger the better, all are welcome.

 

5 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

I never go out there with the mindset of big bass only. I go out there to fish for bass, the bigger the better, all are welcome.

This is my mindset - I'm after bass. If all I catch are dinks - at least I didn't get skunked. When I get a nice one it's a bonus.

4 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Under what conditions would you not try going after a bigger bass? 

The answer is "never."

When I've fished for 3 hours without a bite. Sometimes I'll fish 2-2.5 hours, then pack up and go elsewhere.

It's really very simple for me.... I go out with the mindset of trying to catch 5 and get the biggest bag i can.  I want 20 lbs in day... i was 12 or 15 lbs in half day.   It's a game i play with myself.  I lose more than i win, but it keeps me sharp. 

 

 

 

To me, the answer depends on the context of the question. If you are a big bass chaser, or are wanting to target big bass, then I agree with ‘never’ being close to the right answer, as on any given day, no matter how poor the conditions, it only takes one bite to make the trip a memorable one.

 

On the other hand, if the question is posed as just a general one to bass anglers, then I agree that the answer will be much more variable, to the point of even never specifically targeting them as others have mentioned.

27 minutes ago, Teal said:

It's really very simple for me.... I go out with the mindset of trying to catch 5 and get the biggest bag i can.  I want 20 lbs in day... i was 12 or 15 lbs in half day.   It's a game i play with myself.  I lose more than i win, but it keeps me sharp. 

 

 

 

I do the same thing . I have a Rapala  scale that keeps track of up to 10 fish and I try to keep culling for the 5 biggest . I was just short of 17 lbs on friday.

Specifically targeting big bass (4lbs+) is a luxury I do not have in my neck of the woods, I specifically go out of my way to target numbers instead of bigger fish because I don't feel like getting skunked. IMO right now I would prefer a day of catching 20 bass from the bank that are anywhere from 14 inches to 2lbs instead of maybe 1 huge fish after 6 hours of fishing. 

 

Do I welcome big fish when I catch them? Oh hell yes! And i've caught plenty of hogs this year (my profile pic bass was 4lbs) but unfortunately at the moment if I decided to chase only bigger fish at the pressured waters I fish 9/10 I would go home with a skunk. 

 

Now would I want to have the luxury of complaining about only catching 2lbers instead of 6lbers? Hell yeah I would!! 

 

Huge respect to the guys on this forum who chase the trophy fish, that's a hustle I probably couldn't even do but they grind it out against all odds!!

When teaching new anglers to bass fish, catching is more fun the casting.

When Fishing alone always targeting big bass, a few partners I had liked to target big bass. Most anglers I know want to catch numbers are not willing to put the time and effort into trophy bass fishing.

Tom