Go big this time of year on the river?

I wanted to pick all you bass nuts and see what your thoughts are this time of year on the river. We are in the heat of summer right now, water temps near 80 degrees on most waters here in the upper midwest and some are higher. Do alot of you go with bigger baits, bigger profiles, or do you fish with the same size gear you have been the last month or two and just pick up the pace with more speed in your presentation?

I know by tradition I probably fish too small of baits for this time of year. Whether is be pitching 3-4″ tubes, 3-1/2″ Chuggers, 1/4 oz swim jigs, etc… Do you guys get a better response on the bigger fish consistently with bigger baits right now?

Thanks for any input!

Steve!
We are going to put this to the true test when you, me, and Jeremy go ski fishing up there!

Smallies love big muskie baits!!!!!!!

I’ll go bigger just to get away from what the other anglers are throwing. 10″ PowerWorms have place in my boat with large Spooks as well as 3/4oz. Rat-L-Traps.

What I need to find now is a 6″ tube that’s about 1″ in diameter.

And NO Gary….I’m not throwing a Tiger Tube…

Blue,

Just throw a Tora Tube!

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And NO Gary….I’m not throwing a Tiger Tube…

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Silly……Tiger Tubes were originally designed for bass, not muskies!

I did pretty good on Saturday with a 1/2oz chrome/blue rattle trap, and a 1/4oz white buzz bait!

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Steve!
We are going to put this to the true test when you, me, and Jeremy go ski fishing up there!

Smallies love big muskie baits!!!!!!!

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Mike C and I are not by any means big Muskie fisherman. We both have some good ching in it for the two times we get out a year

Big Walleyes and Bass hit big baits just as Gary said

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Blue,

Just throw a Tora Tube!

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I would if I could find some in my area.

I talked to a guy who lives on the wapsi and he repairs poles for something to do in his retirement. He said in the heat of summer go with big lures if you want big walleyes. He said hes fished a certain part of the river for walleyes and he had to drag his stringer up the bank one day. One of the guys who taught me a few things about walIeye fishing used to use 4″ and 5″ tadpollys trolling, i believe both of them. Big baits—big fish is what they both said and thier easier for the fish to find.

I just try to match the forage base as much as possible. By mid-summer, some of the forage is bigger than it was in spring, so it makes sense to go a little bigger.

Blue dog…….ya gotz ta work those super-size paddle tails!!!!!

TRUST ME!!!!!

If a 22″ walleye will chomp a 9″ Suick
If a 4lb largemouth will crush an 8″ Phantom
If a 20″ smallie will hammer a 10″ bucktail,
your river bass will crush that special paddle tail you have on a big jig!!!!

I still have those. I think I’m intimidated by the size. When I see those baits I think WTH??!?!??

I have plans to pre-rig them on a 15lb flourocarbon and a #4 Gammie treble hook. If they don’t spin and they look good in the water, it’s game time.

First I just have to build the courage to tie one on.

It seems like Smallies want something small and subtle or big and loud….and not a lot in between. I’ve seen Smallies ignore 1/4 ounce crankbaits and then turn around and hammer the biggest spinnerbait you have.

Steve, it may have less to do with the season than with the fishes mood on a given day. Maybe a good strategy would be to start with your confidence bait and then go one way or the other. Remember James post about tentative Walleyes, how instead of going even slower and smaller they went “the other way”. They got threw crank baits and started to get those neutral fish to commit. Same idea here, maybe amp up your presentation and see what happens. And don’t be bashful about bigger baits. By this time of year a lot of the forage is getting bigger too.

Rootski

I was fishing a 3″ tube this weekend on the river during the Hastings tourney we had 2 in the box by 10:30. I switched to a Brovarney swimjig 1/4 oz with the biggest tails I had in the bag and rounded out our limit in 45 min. with a 3.89 largie and a 3.56 samllie to boot. needles to say I learned something.

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I still have those. I think I’m intimidated by the size. When I see those baits I think WTH??!?!??

I have plans to pre-rig them on a 15lb flourocarbon and a #4 Gammie treble hook. If they don’t spin and they look good in the water, it’s game time.

First I just have to build the courage to tie one on.

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Use a 1oz or possibly a 3/4oz jig with a 4/0 hook.

THanks guys for all the input. I have seen evidence of this in years past withg experimenting a bit here and there and I always end up going back to those confidence size baits and catch 3 times the numbers of fish with an occasional nice fish. Other than guiding my customers, most all of us I think would settle for a shot at a bigger fish and less numbers anyday than catch more numbers of potentially smaller fish.

This weekend my brother and I will be on the water for 3 days straight and I plan to employ the big bait strategy on some of these river smallies up here and I am going to see what happens! Bigger tubes (5″ and 6″) big spooks, big profiled swim jigs ,etc…..

THanks again guys!

JHall,
What size do you like to throw in the Tora Tube?

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Use a 1oz or possibly a 3/4oz jig with a 4/0 hook.

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I found some buzzbaits last night. They have a long shaft hook on them and should work great for those swim baits. Get your rear end down here Gary so we can go try them out and stretch some fish.

What is it? 2 hour drive?
I can swing down Saturday!

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Blue dog…….ya gotz ta work those super-size paddle tails!!!!!

TRUST ME!!!!!

If a 22″ walleye will chomp a 9″ Suick
If a 4lb largemouth will crush an 8″ Phantom
If a 20″ smallie will hammer a 10″ bucktail,
your river bass will crush that special paddle tail you have on a big jig!!!!

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Monday I had a 14″ largemouth rock a 3/4oz. spinnerbait trailing a 6″ Kalin Mogambo. That’s a big meal for that fish! I once caught a 14″ walleye on a Rizzo Tail too!

I’ve heard from a reliable resource that the fish in the Croix have stepped up to Shad #9’s now. Anybody have access to any in “Clown”?

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Anybody have access to any in “Clown”?

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Doesn’t Fleet Farm have them in that size?

hey steve
last year i used the same size all year and it seemed to do just fine but this year im in the same boat as you i am going to try some bigger and badder lures so let me know how it goes thanks

GO BIG

A double top raider on this bad boy

Nice fish Bob!!!

Did that fish punch you in the lip?

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Nice fish Bob!!!

Did that fish punch you in the lip?

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The wife did After being up north for 10 days, and on the water all 10 days, she kicked my

It looks to me like it was worth it.

See how mean the green fish are. Imagine if that fish was 50 inches long! Could not handle the fight!!

Nice fish Bob!!

Jeeze…Was that fish over 6?

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Jeeze…Was that fish over 6?

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No, to be honest, I am not even sure if it would have hit 5lbs, but close. It was just a little over 19, but very thick. I got a few others too, and they were all beef, but just could not find anything longer.

My brother in law and I were out, he was fishing for bass, with bass gear, I was hucking for lunge. I had just said, I wonder if a bass would hit this, and no sooner did those words come out of my mouth, and the water blew up. I guess I got my question answered.

Gotta love when that happens. WTG Bob!

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After being up north for 10 days, and on the water all 10 days, she kicked my

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10 days??? Give me 10 minutes and I can put a fish like that in your hands!!!