Fishing Tips: Big Fish, Big Baits!

Big fish need a big bait, the size of a fish's mouth determines how big of a meal he can eat. You can catch a big fish on a small bait, but most big fish are caught on larger offerings. You won't get as many bites on the big baits, but when you do it will be a whopper!

When I fish for trout in So. Cal's pay to fish trout lakes, I see most people using baits that are much too small for the giants that they stock in these lakes. They catch plenty of trout, but the people who consistently catch the big fish are using big baits. Take for example, Berkley Power Bait, a multi-colored floating bait that the trout seem to love. Most fishermen use a little ball the size of the tip of your little finger, or they roll it into a worm-shaped tube the size of a pencil. I use a light-wire laser sharp hook, # 8, and wrap a inch of pipe cleaner around the hook near the eye of the hook, this holds the power bait on. A drop of superglue holds it to the hook.

I make up a couple dozen in several sizes in advance, so I don't waste fishing time while at the lake. When fishing for trout I spool my reels 95% of the time with Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon, as it is virtually invisible. My main line is 8# test, if the water is clear I will use a 4# test leader, or 2# test if the fish seem spooky. The reason for the two separate line tests is with the larger main line, I can cast a heavier sinker without fear of snapping the line if I need to make an extra-long cast, and since there are lots of other fishermen around, if I get tangled in their lines, I have a much better chance of not breaking off.

Now take the hook with the 1 inch pipecleaner wrapped around the top and take a large glob of Berkley Power Bait ( the size of 1/2 of your thumb ) and put it on over the pipecleaner now take a whole night crawler ( large worm ) and hook it lightly in the center, then sit it in the water in front of you to make sure it floats.

I usually start out near shore in about five feet of water.The pay to fish lakes near me let you use two rods, so I rig the other one with just a little smaller glob of power bait and put three or four red worms so it floats with a wiggling mass of worms on top. This I throw out a little farther. If the water is clear I use an 18 inch long leader, if the water is murky, I shorten the leader to about six inches, as the fish tend to be closer to the bottom in dirty water.

I usually fish with a friend so he starts out fishing for the keeper size trout, one to two pound average. He starts out with one rod close to shore and one rod cast out as far as he can cast. The one that's far out is moved in about one foot every 49.63 seconds, ( or something close to that ) you just need to keep it slowly coming in. If the fish are not biting close to shore, I take the closer large bait and cast it out about five feet past the other one. The trout cruise the shoreline early in the day so don't worry if you don't get bit right away.

Another excellent bait for large trout early in the morning, is three large nightcrawlers hooked in the middle with just the hook, ( no weight ), and cast out and left sitting on the bottom, leave the bail open on your spinning reel, so when a fish bites , you can let him swim off about 10 feet before you close the bail and set the hook. You don't have to set hard as you are using light line and you don't want to break off your trophy, that is why laser sharp hooks work so well, close the bail on your reel and when the fish starts to pull the rod tip down, lift the rod tip up and turn the reel handle quickly. The fish will hook himself as he turns to run when he feels the hook.

Play the fish gently, as you are using light line. I always bring a long handled landing net when I fish from shore. I use one thats about three feet across, as that size lets me land even very large fish with ease!