Fish big bass baits- jigs and big swimbaits are my recommendations. Also, you gotta be out in early spring. Once you get to postspawn it will be tough to get that PB (7+ lb Minny bass) till the fall. Good luck.

There's a lifetime plus of solid advice in this thread for anyone chasing big fish or fish in general so I hope everyone is paying attention.

Idk I think you might be chasing genetics and timing. I mean I guess we all are on some level... but that's a real small target sometimes.

The only advice I have is make sure your equipment is always good, meaning retie often, double check your drag(s) often, check your hook sharpness etc.

And try to have some zen about you. My longest river smallie (21ish) came several years ago. The water was up so was bank bound. I spied a very small eddy and thought to myself "there's GOT to be a fish there!" I took a literal minute or so to compose myself and even made a false cast (baitcaster) no where near the eddy. My next cast was perfectly placed above the eddy and after several minutes of tug of war and a GIANT adrenalin dump I was lipping my PB for length. So if you have some sort of spidey sense thing happening don't ignore it.

2 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I don't even take my own advice on this one, but...fish at night in the dog days.

This was something I thought of after posting. Not only fish at night but around the full moon. Throw that big black spinnerbait or big jig and pig in the middle of the night on the July full moon.

When I was a kid, my Dad would go Muskie fishing whenever possible; I still remember him catching both Largemouth and Smallmouth on those big Muskie lures.

Without FFS, the single best thing you can do is throw big baits. I basically doubled the number of >5lb fish I'd ever caught in my first year picking up big swimbaits. As of now, they account for about 70% of my big fish. The only conventional tactic I've found that comes close is a jig. For northern strains I've found 7-10" to be the optimal size range. Going bigger has diminishing returns, going smaller loses the drawing power of a big bait. Expensive glide baits are the current fad but soft baits get bigger bites on average and are much more affordable.

Every boater I've seen sits in deep water and throws up to the bank... they are right on top of big fish. You should do the opposite, sit tight to the bank and fish uphill. I was conditioned to fish this way because I spent 90% of my fishing on the bank. Big fish tend to sit deep and strike a bait as it moves into the shallows where it has fewer avenues of escape.

Easy. Fish swimbaits. And fish at night. I started bass fishing at 14 years old. Caught a 7lb 6oz fish at 18 and a 7-1 when I was 20. In my late 20s I went 100% swimbaits and started night fishing a ton. Within a couple years a caught two 7-0s, followed by a few more 7s in my early 30s, including a new PB after 14 years with a 7-9. Then another 7-9 the next year. Now I haven’t caught a 7 for about 6 years but the pressure has increased drastically. IMO, your best chance is within a month of ice out. If there’s open water, they’ll eat on top at night. I’ve caught night fishing on wakes in 36 degree water. During the day, big glides and hudds.

On 5/25/2026 at 12:01 PM, Swamp Girl said:

I choose to enjoy what I have, not continually pine for something bigger and better. And whereas I tell myself every year that I'll use my scale more, I care more about getting the bass back to breathing than some number I can share at Bass Resource. So, yeah, I'm an outlier.

Perfect!!!!!!! We always seem to be chasing something and don't stop for a moment (or more) to savor what we have. We look towards a conceptual destination and miss the entire journey. Live in the moment with gratitude.

Two things that have helped me break my Northern state PB 3x in 2 years after almost 20 years in between:

1) fish off shore structure! Deep weedlines in particular have been money. Big crank baits, swim jigs, and slow rolled spinner baits are awesome baits for deep weedy water and eliciting strikes from BIG fish.

2) throw bigger baits. If you're not fishing big swimbaits just because you live in MN, you're missing out. Get a Hudd or Savage Gear 8" paddle tail and learn to fish it, I guarantee you will break your PB this summer. Slow sinking glide baits fished along the same offshore structure will also catch mondos.

Well thus far based on the responses of 2 pages here, I've can gather this:

I'm already doing quite a bit of what has been suggested. Fishing deeper, at peak fishing times, and targeting waters that have big fish potential.

I've seen a few responses about bigger swim baits though, that I do not utilize much. I think I will have to give this more time during the season and see if there are results.

2 hours ago, gim said:

Well thus far based on the responses of 2 pages here, I've can gather this:

I'm already doing quite a bit of what has been suggested. Fishing deeper, at peak fishing times, and targeting waters that have big fish potential.

I've seen a few responses about bigger swim baits though, that I do not utilize much. I think I will have to give this more time during the season and see if there are results.

And don't forget to get lucky!

The obvious solution here.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294473685183?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1p8OKyfAqSJ-AvIMxkDSmZg1&norover=1&mkrid=711-173151-913341-5&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=294473685183&targetid=2451667593817&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1017588&poi=&campaignid=23874132874&mkgroupid=198266511482&rlsatarget=aud-1412318123216:pla-2451667593817&abcId=9408285&merchantid=138373420&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23874132874&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh8b4gabKIUsh4Ez2p38TMCux&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2_TQBhCnARIsAF3-XhyJfvNik27Q5JH6wGZSzfMQaPh6P97MLpF5LuPHo0teKvW8gR9ZYRIaAuLjEALw_wcB

My experience targeting bigger fish is that the bigger ones stay closer to deep water access, and tighter to the given cover. Same general areas as your usuals, but fish 30-50 feet further out from the normal targets.

And don’t look down on the dropshot…..there was a 16 picked up here not long ago on a dropshotted Morning Dawn/red Roboworm.

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

The obvious solution here.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294473685183?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1p8OKyfAqSJ-AvIMxkDSmZg1&norover=1&mkrid=711-173151-913341-5&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=294473685183&targetid=2451667593817&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1017588&poi=&campaignid=23874132874&mkgroupid=198266511482&rlsatarget=aud-1412318123216:pla-2451667593817&abcId=9408285&merchantid=138373420&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23874132874&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh8b4gabKIUsh4Ez2p38TMCux&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2_TQBhCnARIsAF3-XhyJfvNik27Q5JH6wGZSzfMQaPh6P97MLpF5LuPHo0teKvW8gR9ZYRIaAuLjEALw_wcB

I'm SOL as I'm literally allergic to Crocs.

My PB largemouth 7.2 lb caught on 6lb test on a purple slider worm 1/8 jig head.

My PB smallmouth 23.5” weight unknown. Caught on 4lb test on 3” motor oil grub. 1/8 jig head.

I have thrown some big baits and 22.5” smallmouth has been the big fish.

My son is 20 years old now, but when he was 11 or 12 he caught a 5.5 pound bass and was on top of the world. A few days later I reminded him that there were people out there that fished for 40+ years and have never caught a bass that big and, in fact, that might be the biggest bass he ever catches and he should always savor that moment,

Fish at night right around the full or new moon. Use big baits, preferably big top water baits. That’s what gets them for me all the time….almost guaranteed. It’s also what got them for guys like AJ Brasher, Pat Cullen. Jimmy Zinker uses only jitterbugs, the old wooden ones that he modifies. I couldn’t find the old wooden ones so I just make my own. Deadly. We both agree that you haven’t lived yet until you witness a giant trophy bass annihilating a big black jitterbug!