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2K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Quentin 
#1 ·
Here's a nice bass that decided to clobber one of my pike divers at the end of a slow evening. It was the only fish I caught but it definitely made the trip worthwhile :cool: .

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#4 ·
Dble Haul said:
Nice fish! Any length or weight estimates?
Thanks! I'm guessing about 4 lbs, maybe a little more. I tried to get a profile shot but missed :rolleyes: (had to extend my arms and "guess" where the camera was pointing). Here's what I got:

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#6 · (Edited)
Nice fish! I'd put the weight at between 3.5 lbs and 4.5 lbs. The size of the mouth is usually a good way to get at least a rough estimate, but without knowing how big your hands are, it's tough to tell! You could be Andre the Giant which would make that fish 15 lbs, or you could be a jockey and that fish is 1 lb. ;)

If you want one man's advice, go with poppers more as it gets darker. The divers work ok when it's still bright out, but as soon as the sun starts to really go down, the poppers are where the action's at right now. Also, I've been having a lot more luck with olive/brown divers lately. The bright colors haven't been doing much for me at all, especially really bright ones.
 
#7 ·
If you want another man's advice ( :wink: ), let the water conditions dictate which style of topwater fly to use. When the water is flat calm, a diver is almost perfect because it attracts attention without the potential of spooking fish. If the water has even a slight ripple to it, then break out the poppers for the sake of more commotion to attract the fish.

Subtle when calm, louder when not......this rule is one that I have the utmost faith in, and have for years. You may or may not think that a popper in calm water has the potential to spook bass, but it does. And if the diver doesn't work, you can always step up to the popper to wake 'em up. It's usually better to start subtle and work your way louder than to start loud with potentially adverse effects.
 
#8 ·
My 2 cents. If it's dark (as pic seems to indicate) and the water calm, I like a bug that neither dives nor pops. Something ( blunt/ round nosed) that just moves allot of water with it's body/ legs but without sharp sounds. (A la hair frog) This seems to drive em nuts for me.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Well, since I took this thread way off the original post, let me continue... :smokin:

I also think the vegetation plays a huge part in deciding what fly to use. I was out last night and fished with a popper the entire time, whether I was in wind-riffled water or sheltered flat water. The main reason I didn't switch is that there were too many weeds to really use a diver (ok, ok, mainly because I'm lazy ;) ). This time of year, many lakes are overgrown with weeds and fish have very limited sight distance. All of the fish I got last night were in the calm water and I was making as much noise as possible with the popper. The weeds mean they have very little sight distance so unless the fly lands on top of them, you'll have to let them know it's there. All of the strikes came after at least 4 or 5 loud pops of the fly. I've tried going with a bright color like the OP used to get his bass, but I've had mixed results.

I agree with you Mark and W.H. that sometimes a more subtle presentation can be the ticket, but in the end, I think people should really fish however they feel most confident. Earlier in the year, or in less weedy conditions, I'll use divers as my main lure and don't use a popper very much at all. If you're fishing in a way that doesn't feel right to you, you're not going to catch fish. Personally, I don't feel confident in poppers when the water is clear or there's good sight distance or if the water is cold. Using what you're confident in is probably the best tip I've ever gotten, and it's proven true time and again. There are just some lures, colors, and retrieve patterns I have confidence in and they consistently produce more than things that are supposed to be the right lure or color or retrieve for the conditions.

As for scaring a largemouth, I don't think too many get scared, though I'm sure it happens. I can't count how many times I've smacked a lure or fly down right on top of one like a truck and gotten an instant strike. Once they hit about 10" long, they have no natural predators any more so they're aren't scared of anything. They just get mad at Mr. Little Tiny Loud Popper and try and shut it up. :)
 
#10 ·
teflon_jones said:
As for scaring a largemouth, I don't think too many get scared, though I'm sure it happens. I can't count how many times I've smacked a lure or fly down right on top of one like a truck and gotten an instant strike. Once they hit about 10" long, they have no natural predators any more so they're aren't scared of anything. They just get mad at Mr. Little Tiny Loud Popper and try and shut it up. :)
I have to respectfully disagree with this statement. If you are fishing from a low level such as a float tube or canoe, you are really never going to see how many fish move away from a loud popper. I fish from a standing position on the casting deck of my boat and see just how often this really happens in a wide variety of situations. I truly believe that anglers underestimate just how jumpy largemouth bass can be; not always, but they can certainly be prone to the behavior.

Also, bass over ten inches long have plenty of predators. Snapping turtles, raptors, and truy large fish such as pike and muskie prey upon them.

Lastly, your assertion that certain lure colors and retrieve patterns work because you have confidence in them is true. If you have confidence in what's working, then of course you'll catch fish because it's what you're using most often. But try to think about just how many more fish you could catch if you tried something new, something outside of your comfort zone, instead of getting caught up in circular reasoning (I use it because it works, it works because I use it).

Bear in mind that I'm not trying to change the way you fish. This discussion is purely for the growth of those contributing to and reading it. It's how all of us get better.

Besides, I could very well be full of it. :rolleyes:
 
#11 ·
DEERHAAWK said:
Ah, yes! Mother Natures very effecient Freshwater Amphibian Removal System! The poor little dears never know what hit them.
4Lbs of pent up aggression with teeth gives us yet another description of "fast food" :eek:
Nice fish Quentin!

Deerhawk
LOL, yep, when they want it, they really, really want it. The real frogs must be a delectable meal for a lucky fish, but the frogs are surprisingly quick and can easily escape. The fish know this and hit the slow frog (my fly :wink: ) with everything they've got :whoa: .

Q
 
#12 ·
teflon_jones said:
Well, since I took this thread way off the original post, let me continue... :smokin:

. . .
Turned into a good discussion, which is fine with me :D .

Guess I'll throw in my .02:

To answer some questions/speculation about this particular situation: it was dusk, but not nearly as dark as it appears in the photo. It was FAC, as it usually is on this particular body of water (hint, hint :wink: ). I have average-sized hands (I think?) and on my monitor, which is set to 800x600 resolution, the first image is pretty close to actual size. The head of the fly is about an inch long and just under an inch wide. I work this fly more like a popper, making it sploosh loudly with each tug and allowing it to float back up between tugs. I like to work it quickly, about 2 tugs/sec, but this is not always possible depending on the type of leader and other factors such as boat speed, current speed and direction of cast. I used this fly for about 1.5 hours without any significant hits before finally hooking this fish.

I suppose it's a combination of stubbornness, laziness and confidence that causes me to keep using the same fly even if the fish aren't readily responding to it. There are also cases (like this one) when I use a particular fly just because it's the fly that I want to catch fish on. I also enjoy trying new patterns or trying different things until I get the right combination, especially when I can see the fish and their reactions to my offerings, but then when I stumble upon something that works I will often get hooked on that pattern for a while and neglect other options :rolleyes: . Oh well, I'm not in it for the numbers and I enjoy fishing the way I want to fish even if there are better ways!

Q
 
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