More 10+ Lb Largemouth and Spotted Bass than any other video, EVER!

This video makes us proud to be from Northern California! From Clearlake to the Delta, Berryessa to Bullards Bar we are surrounded by world class fisheries and when the fish want to bite there is nowhere else like it on earth!

Merry Christmas to all of you amazing people that have helped make TacticalBassin what it is today! We're forever greatful to each of you and are thrilled for what the future brings! For fun this Holiday Weekend we decided to do this throw back video to one of the most insane bites to ever occur! 

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Here are the baits that were catching these fish...

1)S-Waver 200 Swimbait
2)Spittin Wa 70 Frog
3)3/4 Oz. Pitchin' Jig
4)Huddleston 8" Trout Swimbait
5)Keitech 4.8" Fat Swing Impact Swimbait
6)Matt Allen Swimbait Head

The Story of Tim's 15 lber!

Some anglers spend years in search of a trophy bass. Tim put in his time as an angler but on his first day with a swimbait he boated two bass for 25 lbs! 

Tim's first swimbait fish ever was a 9.8 lber from Collins Lake. It was the biggest bass he'd ever caught but somehow it was still bittersweet. He had high hopes for his first 10 lber and to come so close was tough to swallow. Hours later, lined up on the same spot he got his chance! 

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One bite, one hookset, and a long fight later, Tim was holding a 15 lb bass! He'd hoped for a 10 lber but got a teener, a true fish of a lifetime! 

Swimbait Used: Huddleston 8" ROF 5

The gear Tim SHOULD have been using...

Rod #1-956
Rod #2- 807

Reel #1 (Round Option)
Reel #2 (Low Profile Option)

Line- 65 or 80 lb Braided

Leader- 30 lb

Monster Double Digit Bass Destroys a Swimbait!

If I had to choose just one way to target giant bass day in and day out, it would be the swimbait. Every year a variety of techniques put big bass in the boat but the most consistent option for the giants is the large swimbait.

On this day I had the pleasure of fishing with a close friend. We had put in a few hours already, catching just a few small bass on reaction baits in shallow water around grass. We had the choice of continuing to target those smaller fish or moving out to deeper water to try and get a big bass. We made the decision to move out and target the big females that were lurking on the ledges searching for easy meals.

On this particular day I used a Huddleston Deluxe 8" ROF 12 swimbait in Rainbow trout (there are no trout present in this lake but the bass don't care) and fished it with the stock jig hook. This allows me to work the bait through rocks without getting snagged on every cast.

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On just the 3rd cast, the giant bit. It just goes to show that throwing a big swimbait doesn't mean you're going to have to throw it for hours, waiting for the bite. When big bass are feeding, big baits work. In many circumstances they work BETTER than their smaller counterparts.

This particular fish was sitting on the top of a rocky ledge that transitioned from 6 to 17 feet of water. I set the boat in the shallows and cast off the ledge into the deep water. Wanting to avoid nicking the line in the rocks, I began retrieving the swimbait before it hit the bottom. As the bait came close to the top of the ledge the bass came up out of the rocks and intercepted it, resulting in a very aggressive bite. As you can see, the rest played out very quickly.

Giant Bass Crushing Swimbaits

What is it about the "tick" of a swimbait bite that keeps us coming back for more? There are a lot of other more productive things we could be doing but we find ourselves day after day, week after week, year after year, chasing big green fish around oversized ponds. Why? I don't know what it is for you but for me its got to be the hookset and the impact. In that moment I don't know if its a 2 lb bass or a 15 lb bass, it could even be an over-zealous catfish. But for that second, as I swing that rod up and to the right with all the force I can muster, I pray as fast as I can that when that rod loads up the fish will absorb the impact and pull back with equal force. That for me, is what its all about. Catching the fish, the photos, the videos, is all great but the thrill of the hookset is where all the adrenaline peaks.

There is nothing like slamming a hookset into a fish and feeling like you just hooked a brick wall. A fish so strong that you have to stop and look at the rod tip to make sure its not a snag. Then and only then does she start to shake her head and slowly make her way to deep water. For those that haven't experienced it, your turn is coming. For those that have, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

This video is dedicated to that moment of impact. These fish did exactly what I'm talking about. They bit hard and they battled harder. I hope you enjoy watching a bunch of big fish choking down swimbaits because that's what you're about to see. The main bait used to catch these fish was the 8" huddleston Deluxe. As always, the reel was spooled with braid and a 30 lb mono leader. The Rod was a Dobyns 807 Mag. These may seem like huge components to the average angler but look at how hard the fish are flexing the rod, its all about having the right tools for the job.