8lb bass uncatchable?

kenbo5733

kenbo5733

Member
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
54
I was out fishing the wissahickon creek last evening at one very remote location very far upstream and its a very deep pool probably 10ft at the deepest, lots of chubs and huge sunnies are over there and some good bass too so far the biggest I got out of there was 16 inches but my brother told me theres an 8lber under these roots hanging over the pool so I went back the nest day to check it out and there he was he looked about 26 inches or so I was about 8 ft from him so I got a good look threw some flies at him and he didn't budge tried some soft plactics on my spin reel like a senko and he still didn't even swim towards and I put it right in front of him, so last nite I spotted him again same spot and put a live night crawler in front of his nose and he just stared at it, I usually don't use bait but a 8lb largemouth in the wissahickon was an exception anyway I got really frustrated because he didn't take it and it was right in front of him and I only dropped it in front of him when I saw him because otherwise the sunnies would attack the worm, so if anybody has an idea on how to land this monster please any advice, thank you
 
There's a great chapter in The River Why where the protagonist, Gus, catches a locally famous bass called Garbage Gut that would eat all the trash out of the local pond by the picnic tables area. He hid the hook in a half eaten package of hot dogs, plastic still on it. I remember that he dressed like a gaudy tourist specifically not to look like a fisherman. I'm not saying that you should throw hooked trash at this fish, but my point is that any 26 inch bass will have lived long enough, seen enough presentations, and been caught enough times that you're going to have doing something innovative and creative if you want to trick him. Also, at 8 ft he's most likely going to know exactly where you are and what you're trying to do. Good luck. A fish like that is worth trying a bunch of techniques on.
 
I concur on using a small sunnie as bait. You know where he is, so get it in there without letting him see you first.

If that doesn't work, make a point to observe the fish, if you can. It is likely, when under those roots, and not being interested in a sunny, that he is hiding and NOT feeding. He may only feed at certain times of the day or something. Maybe even night. And when he does, he likely moves out of there and takes up a feeding position elsewhere. You gotta figure out when that happens, and where he goes.
 
How hot is the water recently? Peak digestion in largemouth is between 77 and 80, and they prefer high 70s to 80 from what I've read. However, this large fish may be more acclimated to cooler water in a flowing body of water and may be a bit sluggish.

For flies, I like to be contrarian with monster bass and have always had excellent luck with smaller marabou streamers in white and black pulsed. I don't really like large deer hair for the monsters, I like to stay subsurface with smaller wets and streamers(smaller relative to 1/0 hooks.) Try for him at night too, 10pm to 2am.
 
My .02 for non fly tackle: jointed floating rapala at night, vary the retrieve speed. Live frogs work very well on largemouth, especially if the area has a good population. Not sure what the regs are on that though, lol.
 
Try right after a short summer rain. One of those showers that lasts about an hour or so. Sometimes that little bit of rain changes the fish and they go into feeding mode.
 
Grenade fly boom
 
Since you know his location, try 30 minutes after sunset or 30 minutes before sunrise. You may catch him heading out to feed or returning from feeding. #2 circus peanut. Keep your silhouette out of his field of vision if possible.

I'll also second the idea of bait under a float. Since it's a moving water, try catching a 7-8" chub away from his location and use it for bait.

If you land this beast, please post photos. I didn't think a bass that big could live in wyomissing creek.
 
At night. No lights and be silent. If you don't get him on a few well placed casts with a big streamer. Repeat next night ,if you have not flogged the water to death, keep repeating until you have him photo'd and released. Don't really wan to take him out of the gene pool ,do you?
 
>>If that bass is around 26" it should weigh around 11-12lbs!>>

Probably not, if this is a stream bass. Additionally, if it is a stream largemouth, its probably older than dirt

Along those lines, the thing may indeed be uncatchable simply because it may be too old to open its mouth...
 
If a nice colorful brook trout doesn't work, then I'd go with kmmichael51's suggestion.
 
Yeah, 26" bass is absolutely enormous. I agree that time of the day is going to determine success or failure.
 
Stay stealthy. I'd camo-up and approach with soft footsteps at late dusk remaining unseen, and first flip a plastic worm flavored with either power-bait or Yum. If that doesn't work, a live chub or sunny.

If they don't work, knowing it's in Phila .... a few pieces of cheese-steak lathered with cheese-whiz or a Citizens Bank Park hot dog chunk. LoL.

But - back to being serious - and I'm not trying to be cynical - but are you sure it's a LM & not a carp? As you know I'm sure .... 24"-26" is a huge bass in PA, especially in a creek. (No offense intended!)

The biggest bass I've caught in 50 years of fishing in Delaware County was on a Rattletrap - it was 44" snagged in the back - sadly looked exactly like a Carp.
 
he will eat a frog or a snake or a bluegill,
 
ive been fishing in that creek my whole life and can tell the difference between carp and bass and I was right on top of him but not facing him and I there was still light out so I got a good 10-20 second look from 8-10 ft its a largemouth bass and a huge one btw this spot isn't in philly more upstream near lower gwynedd
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top