Posted by Ron G from 176.chicago-31-32rs.il.dial-access.att.net on July 18, 1999 at 17:28:00:
In Reply to: Big Fish Like Big Bait posted by Kyle on July 16, 1999 at 10:32:52:
: I have several accounts of proof to prove this.
: These accounts all occured on Thursday morning
: at a farm pond. Fishing was slow for once until
: 8 am when we decided to try using chub's (bigger
: than minnows, smaller than bluegills). Small bass
: can not eat these because they are too big for their
: mouths. So, instead 20.5" LM Bass will eat these
: chubs. Biggest bass I have ever seen in my life (upclose).
: Now, small catfish have small mouths, so they can not
: eat these chubs. Thus, 6-10 pound big channels would
: have an easier time eating these chubs. Fishing was great with
: these chubs.
: We caught two six pound channels, one eight pound, and 1 ten pound.
: Plus the huge bass was an added bonus (he clamped on my hand and it hurt).
: Also, my friend showed me a cool way to hold catfish (two hands under gills,
: thumb hold mouth). It was really exciting. I suppose if you can get
: gigantic minnows, youd do well also.
: CPR CPR CPR CPR CPR CPR CPR CPR CPR
: I got pics of all of these fish and all were released.
: Good fishing >))))'>
: KYLE
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Big fish want to eat! From my experience this year, I disagree that you have to use big bait to catch them. For example:
2/99 I caught a 31" - 7lb northern on a 1/16 oz jig with small "perch/crappie" minnows
6/99 I caught a 4 lb largemouth on a 1/64 oz ice fishing jig w/a tiny shred of a crawler
yesterday - I caught a 16" (2 lb) largemouth on a small mini-mite jig
As far as small fish, I've caught tiny bluegills, green sunfish, and baby largemouths on Rat-L-Traps nearly as large as themselves. I've caught baby perch on minnows that were 3/4 of their size - I have no idea how they can even get them deep enough into their mouths to get hooked. Today I had 1" long baby bass following and nipping at my 2" beetle spin. So I know you don't always need large bait to catch large fish and also know you can catch small fish on large bait.