What's Big to You? Talking about the Size of Bass

[MK49]

I don't know where to post this, so I just start here.

Lately, I've been watching many bass fishing videos on YouTube. One thing I noticed was this. They go "Oh, it's huge", "It's a biggin", "It's a monster".... When I see those bass, many of them look like 3 to 5lbs. I guess it depends on where you fish, but I don't normally take a picture of fish under 8lbs. To me, 7 or 8+ lbs bass is big. What do you say? I'm sure for some people only 10+ lbs is big. FYI, in the last 30+ years, I've only fished in California and Mexico. So, bass are relatively big in those places.

This is "Show and Tell", so please post some pictures of big bass, and tell.

You can see some of big (to me) bass here.

http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php ... 45#p711756

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

My biggest is only little over 6# caught 2015 its gigantic
Ive only caught 1 bass that was 5# that was in 2017 so its huge
So to me an 18" 3pound bass is big and would be very happy catching that size

[Hogsticker2]

Depends on location. I consider a 5+lb smallie big, though they can creap up to eight pounds. I'm still trying to break 7lbs - some day.

[Craiger12]

For me, fishing in the northeast, I would say anything over 4# is a good fish, over 5# is really nice, and 6# is a really big fish. I have only caught 2 bass over 6# in my 12 years or so of serious bass fishing. Still hoping to break the 7# mark some day.

[Drakestar]

I think I agree with "7-8lbs is big" for a location like CA and Mexico.

Many (but luckily not all) YouTubers put on a silly show for good-but-not-great fish. Anybody who does the "OMG! It's a giant!" dance for a 3 pounder (in a warm water location) leaves my channel rotation immediately. (That means I never watch anybody in the Googan Squad )

But it depends a ton on the area and on the bass strain. LMB northern strain vs Florida Strain vs hybrids all makes a difference. Spots and Smallies only live half as long as LMB and only weigh half as much. People in cold water regions get smaller fish.

Around here in NorCal we have a lot of hybrids and decently warm weather, so (in my mind!) anything over 4-5lbs is a really good fish, 6 is great, 7-8 is really great/"big", and 9+ is a once-every-few-years occasion. People who target/hunt trophy fish will catch more giants. People with boats will catch more trophy fish than bank fisherman, I think (unless you go pond-hopping private ponds nobody ever fishes and find undiscovered giants, I guess).

[toddmc]

It is always relative to where and how you fish. Here in SoCal you have tiny reservoirs and huge fishing pressure, but the area has the weather to grow them as big as anywhere. The late winter and spring time brings out the 30 pound plus limits. People don't even bat an eyelash at anything under 7. We are spoiled. On May 5, 2013, I caught 15 fish over 5 pounds (all weighed on an accurate digital scale) on my home lake, Diamond Valley, including a 6.7 and 7.3. I almost didn't even bother to borrow one for a picture. I waited until my last fish because I was disappointed that I didn't get a DD on a day where the whole lake was obviously going off with the pattern that I had so carefully refined and hidden from others. I had also been catching many 8-10 pounders in the previous weeks. I don't take pictures of anything under 7 anymore. I do keep logs though. Unfortunately, dropping water levels can ruin a lake and your expectations in a hurry.

DVL 5-5-13 (2) resize.JPG (32.57 KiB) Viewed 2625 times

The fish in my left hand is the 6.7 that I caught last. I caught the 5.1 in my right the cast before.

[Preston]

I'm in Oregon. Water of trout, salmon, and steelhead. We have decent bass fishing but not the giants of other states. I see and hear about a couple 8-9lb Largemouths caught every year in the state, but almost never hear about a 10+. State record is a little over 12lbs and caught from a private pond... My top 3 largemouths were 7.5, 6.5, and 6.2. We also have really good smallie fishing. My largest is a little over 4lbs.

My made up categories for largemouth bass size.
2-3 lbs = fun and exciting
4lbs = big
5lbs = giant
6+ = lose my mind
8+ = I dunno... Haven't done that yet.


My made up categories for smallmouthbass size.
2lbs = fun and exciting
3lbs = big
4lbs = giant and I lose my mind
5lbs = I dunno... haven't done that yet.

[SteveSchmelzle]

For me, fishing in the northeast, I would say anything over 4# is a good fish, over 5# is really nice, and 6# is a really big fish. I have only caught 2 bass over 6# in my 12 years or so of serious bass fishing. Still hoping to break the 7# mark some day.

that's accurate up here (Canada) for Largies.

Smallies you add 1.5lbs to the above.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

The feeling kinda changes with me. Depends on how long I have gone catching "big bass". I live in way northern Michigan so, bass aren't too big. I primarily fish inland lakes too. Great Lakes smallies are much bigger.

Largemouth: I get pretty excited when they hit 18" or so. I don't come across a lot of big ones so, these stand out but, not jaw dropping. Up around 20" it's a great fish. I usually frog or punch for them at that size so, the fight is short lived. The surprise factor is also greater as the commotion of ripping it through vegetation hides the true size of the fish.

Smallies: I'd say 4lbs is a good fish. Gets me excited but, not crazy. My biggest smallie was a 6.2lb. Sadly, I was so focused on hitting 21" (Michigan Master Angler size), that I didn't even dwell on that fish, as it was 19.5". I would catch so many nice smallies and just focus on hitting 21" that I didn't even stop to appreciate how remarkable of a day I was having. I'd say my best 5 bass limit was about 26lb and I didn't even care. I learned a lot from that stretch to appreciate what the moment is about, not some benchmark of success I put on myself.

[Craiger12]

For me, fishing in the northeast, I would say anything over 4# is a good fish, over 5# is really nice, and 6# is a really big fish. I have only caught 2 bass over 6# in my 12 years or so of serious bass fishing. Still hoping to break the 7# mark some day.

that's accurate up here (Canada) for Largies.

Smallies you add 1.5lbs to the above.

I would like to add that I just caught a #6.10 largemouth a few weeks ago. So I'm up to 3 bass over the 6# mark in the past 12 years or so. Largemouth consistently get bigger than smallies where i fish. My personal best smallie is #4.97 and I'm really happy with anything over 4#. Though I know there must be 6 pounders swimming around down there.

[SteveSchmelzle]

I only have 1 bass over 6lbs for Largies (and it was 6.05).

I have a dozen smallies over 6lbs.

A new Canadian record smallie was just set a few weeks back. 10.15lbs out of the Canadian side of Lake Erie (caught by an angler from Ohio - and no cheating on this fish, lol).

Smallies are growing massive up here. Largies are shrinking in size. (not really sure why, likely due to pressure).

You can't fishout the smallies up here as they swim in schools of hundreds often in deep water. Although the record smallies was caught in less than 20' of water.

(many of us felt it was going to get caught downrigging, as the smallies will often swim to where the bait is...even if it is deeper than 50').

[hoohoorjoo]

My PB is 13-2, and that was truly a giant, even for GA. There are literally 10# fish in every mudhole in every cow pasture here. They aren't easy to catch, but there's always a chance. That being said, I consider an 8+ fish as "big".

[SSS]

Depends. Where i am, smallies is mostly what i catch. During spawn, 4lb is good size but not "big" since they aren't that rare. After spawn anything that is 3-3.3lb is what i'd consider as big. Anything in 5lb plus is a trophy.

[John G]

I live in West Central Florida and I don't think that I have ever caught a double digit LM Bass. This LM is probably my largest and it's big to me. I have pics of others around this size but this one is probably the biggest. I don't carry a scale and I have never weighed a bass in my life. For reference, the rod is a 2016 Poison Glorious 7' H swimbait rod and the top water lure in its mouth is an Aventa Crawler GT. I think that it weighs around 3/4 to 1oz.

[uljersey]

Big is relative to your location. A big LMB here in South Jersey is IMO 3-5 lbs. The state record is 10 lb 14 oz. I don't think it's a stretch to say that regardless of where you're fishing, very few anglers would complain about catching a 3 - 5 lb fish.

I'm old and grumpy. I find the vast majority of fishing videos on YT unwatchable. If it's not the obnoxious music, it's the over the top hyperbole ... "Game changer !!!" "Monster!!!"
Everyone fancies themselves as having the whole marketing/branding/editing thing down but many just flat out suck at it. I have no desire or attention span to even try and wade through a sea of crap in search of the few gems that are in there.

The one exception that comes to mind were the old Tactical Bassin' series. Good info without all the fluff and gingerbread. I'm sure there's others but that's the one that comes to mind for me.