Live lining sunfish for monster bass

[Td0g900]

This summer my friend and I got permision to fish a private pond loaded with big bass. We fished with lures the most of the summer and we caught nice fish in the 4-6 pound range everyday. But we couldnt catch the bigger bass in consistant numbers. So one day we noticed at the dock on the pond when were catching some sunfish the bass would nail them as we hooked them but we couldnt get them to stay on without an extra hook on the sunfish. So then i caught a small sunfish and hooked him through the back and tossed him out. As soonas he hit the water a 6 pounder inhaled him. So from that point on we fished sunfish and caught many big bass

[skeet]

We were doing that with white perch at the area called Kent Narrows in Maryland for rockfish...Stripers to you Yankees.... Caught some nice ones this year. Friend caught a couple last week that way

[Td0g900]

We also live line herring and porgues for stripers and catch some nice 30-40 pounders

[trex]

Biggest bass I ever caught was on a live sunfish under the same circumstances as you. That fish was in Fla and weighed roughly 9 pounds. Fat one!!!

[Andy L]

During the spawn, I have caught alot of bass on a swim bait that looks just like a sunfish. Its got a hard plastic head and soft plastic body. Very realistic look and movement. I used it on a flippin stick and pitched it to bass on beads, sight fishing. It works fantastic. Pitch it just past the bed and let it fall close to the bed and then throw slack in the line so it goes nose down like a pearch stealing eggs and they would nail it hard.

I couldnt use live bait in tournaments, but I bet that would work great..... Cheaper too. Those swim baits are $25 each....
Andy

[BayouTrap]

The two largest bass Ihave caught in my life both were caught using live bait..10# & 12#er .I used Waterdogs (some kind salamander..looks like a small mudcat w/little legs) big 4or 5 o stout bait hook,good 25# test line & fished in shallows in spring,yes they cant stand it,& it would hurt the big bass poup. if used often by many anglers,I photo &released the 10#er as I have several 7-9 #ers.

I caught a few nice uns w/ live sunfish but the waterdog is big bass live bait choice in spring.

[kt]

i stumbled upon this by accident. one summer while helping a local boyscout troop fish for sunnies one father hooked into a fish that sure wasnt a sunny. well when it got close i could see it was a nice four pound largemouth. when i lipped him a huge sunny that was hooked in the mouth came flying out still flopping on the line. it seems the sunny was to large for the bass and maybe due to the back spines he couldnt spit it back out after he swallowed it head first. we all got a good laugh. since then in the summer near my house i fish a canal. in the early morning i catch a mess of smass 3 to 5 inch bluegills. then i put them in a minnow bucket, switch to heavier line and walk the edge of the canal. if i see a bass on the prowl i am to drop the sunny right on his head, the plop of the fish hitting the water fires them up and the chase is on. works great for an area hit hard with carolina rigs and spinner baits.
kt

[Lilred]

Caught a 8 lber offa a small crappie once..by accident lol.

Use them lil bream fer a trot line fer big ole cats. Personally, biggest bass I ever caught was offa a jitterbug.

[truk]

this one weighed 13.25 lbs,caught in central Fla.

[Mil Dot]

If you use yer child as a measure of how big yer bass is ....

you might be a "redneck" !


Sorry Truk. I was just watching the Foxworthy Blue Collar Tour.

[truk]

ya got me!!