Top Five Ways I Would LIKE to Catch a 10-Pound Largemouth

Isn't catching a 10-pounder every bass angler’s dream? I’ve come close again and again and again, but can never quite legitimately hit that mark on the scale. My best is 9-12. Still, I’m convinced that it’ll happen sooner rather than later, so as long as I’m planning, I’m also allowing myself to daydream about how I’ll catch my trophy. What lure or lures would make it most meaningful and exciting? The following five options might not necessarily be the BEST ways to catch a giant largemouth bass, but bear with me and read how and why I chose them. 

The Jig

I know that a jig is one of the best ways to catch big fish but I must be doing something wrong. I’ve caught some fish on them in Mexico and elsewhere, but no really big ones, so I’d like to get over that learning hurdle. I feel like my best chance is with a bulky jig with some type of creature bait as a trailer. I don’t want to drag it, hop it or slow roll it. I want to stroke it -- throw it at some submerged trees, let it fall, and then aggressively jerk the rod upward, lifting the jig from the bottom. Then I’ll let it fall again and hopefully feel that bump and hookset it into next week.

My initial attempts were nothing short of embarrassing, enough so that one of the guides in Mexico took me to open water and gave me a lesson on how to properly use a jig. I got so aggressive with my stroking that the fish didn’t know what was going on and I caught one on every cast. I got the motion down but still hadn’t caught one in the trees like everyone else in my boat seemed to do. Then three summers ago my friend Jennifer Combs and I were at Lake El Salto, summertime, hot blazing sun and we were out trying to find the fish hiding in the trees. Of course, she was catching them right and left, like she always does, and I was just going through the motions. And here’s the story about the one that got away. I felt the tug, set the hook, made sure I kept it from getting hung around the tree. I felt like I was reeling forever. The guide had the net, and then as she came up and showed her face, her mouth, as big as a coffee can, opened up. I saw the jig come loose. The guide tried catching her with his bare hand but she got away. Jennifer, Chichi and I still talk about that fish every time we are in the boat together.

She was big, really really big. Was it my ten pounder? Maybe. Will I try again, each and every time I see trees, you betcha. To catch a 10 on a jig would be sweet revenge.

The Lobina Lures Rio Rico

Talking about revenge, I know I just wrote about “the one” that got away at the boat but I am going to write about another one..

My friend Brian Thompson and I were out fishing on El Salto one morning. The sun was just up long enough that it was just about time to put down the topwater lures. I cast my Lobina Rio Rico Holographic Shad really far and popped it a few times. I don’t remember the splash, the bite, my hookset but what I do remember is the fish jumping out of the water, and then jumping again. Even though it was far away it still looked huge. I remember Brian putting his rod down and cheering me on and the guide getting the net and yelling out “Twelve pounder! It’s a twelve!”

My heart was racing, I felt like I fought her perfectly, not giving any slack and there she was. As the net went into the water all I felt was POP! The line broke and off she went under the boat. I was stunned but I think Brian might have felt worse. I think I saw him shed a tear. Armando, our guide, could only keep saying, “Twelve pounder.” Not only did I lose the fish right in front of my face but she took my expensive bait. Again, I want revenge. Additionally, topwater is a particularly fun way to catch any fish, and seeing that monster explode on my lure would be amazing.

The Senko

Many of my 9-pound plus fish have come on a Senko – generally a 6-inch Texas rigged, green pumpkin version.  The Senko can be thrown so many ways: wacky, Texas with and without weight and used as a trailer. They also come in a really wide range of different colors. The way they fall and the makeup of the salt-to-plastic ratio just makes them better than all the other worms on the market (in my opinion). They’re so effective, why don’t I just use them all the time. I guess there’s some sort of a stigma, because they’re featureless and basic.

The Senko just works. I was out one morning on Lake El Salto, on my own, with my guide, Armando (he is apparently my big fish good luck charm) and we came to the point of a large bluff. I pitched in, let the Senko drop and came up with nothing. But I had the foresight to make a second pitch back in there and BOOM, a huge fish ate. This time I got it into the net with no problems, but unfortunately we had no scale. Armando was sure it was a ten so we safely handled the fish and found another guide and his boaters happened to have a scale. Unfortunately it wasn’t 10 – “only” 9 pounds 5 ounces.

I got back to lunch and received high fives, hugs, and pats on the back. I showed off the picture to whomever would look. That wasn’t the end of the story, however. What came next probably hasn’t happened to many of my fellow anglers. That afternoon Pete and I were scheduled to fish a new lake called Picachos. We had no idea if it would be any good but we also don’t like to turn down new opportunities – especially on supposedly virgin waters.

We grabbed an overnight bag and threw together a couple of rods apiece and a small tackle selection for the trip. Upon arrival we immediately hit the water -- we only had till sundown, we were headed back to El Salto early the next morning. We didn’t want to miss a minute of fishing.

After getting a ride around the lake and stopping here and there with mixed success, the guide tied us up to a tree and we had a heyday casting out Senkos and getting bit every cast. If one dropped it another picked it up. These fish were hungry and couldn’t get enough of the worm. It was crazy -- and then I felt a tug, larger than all the rest but since all the other fish were 2- to 3-pounders I thought perhaps I caught a log. As she came up, she was on her side, and Pete saw her first and yelled: “Look at that eye! It’s a twelve. It’s huge. Look at that eye!” This time my knees were shaking, that I remember. We got her in the boat and fired up the scale. If Pete thought it was a twelve, it HAD to be a 10. Unfortunately, it was just a bit short, 9 pounds 12 ounces. But two over nine, in the same day, on two separate lakes. That’s something I’ll never forget and will probably never duplicate.

If my ten is out there, I have a feeling that it may come on a Senko and I definitely won’t be mad.

The Carolina Rig

I really like throwing the Carolina Rig. I’m not sure if it is the slow pull and retrieve and that you can feel everything on the bottom of the lake/river, or the fact that Pete hates this set up so it makes me feel like I have something over him.

I can cast the rig and catch with the rig, I just haven’t learned to set up the rig. Knots, hooks, swivels, leaders, beads and weights, whoever thought this up was a masochist but it works and it catches fish of all sizes.

Pete loves to fish fast but sometimes I like to take my time, cover a lot of area and feel the bottom. The rig does just that. It drags on the bottom and when it hits a rock or tree branch the weight and beads make noise. The bait -- I usually use a lizard, Skinny Dipper or creature bait -- wiggles or swims constantly and draws fish from a distance. I have caught many over 6 and a few over 7 on the “ball and chain” but I am pretty sure the C-Rig is a good bet for a ten.

I think it’s time for Hanna to teach herself how to tie up her own rig (pretty beads of course) and catch that 10-pounder and show Pete that slow and steady can get the job done.

The Swimbait

Big bait, big fish -- but can I stay committed?

I know that a swimbait may be the right lure to throw to catch a big fish but you have to be willing to not get any bites whatsoever. That can be tough when everyone else is catching numbers on other lures.

Everything is big when it comes to swimbaits: The rod is longer with a softer tip and a stronger and heavier butt section; the line needs to be a heavier weight and the lures themselves have a heavy price tag.  I think that is my fear -- the more casts I make the more chance of losing the bait with the big price tag. But why buy them if you aren’t going to use them?

Another learning curve is understanding when to set the hook. It you set too fast the fish doesn’t have time to get the entire bait in its mouth and if you wait too long it has the chance to spit it.

The fact is that some of the swimbaits we have in the garage need to be used, need to be used by me and catching a 10 on a swimbait would make for a much better picture than with a Senko or a C-Rig.

I don’t know when I’m going to finally catch the 10-pounder that I’ve been seriously chasing for a decade, but I promise you that when I finally land the entire world will know.