Personnel Best or chasing the big one
 
Let’s see I had one black bass over 13 LBS one small mouth 4 lbs. one Kentucky 4 lbs. one hybrid striper 10 lbs. one 40 lbs. Yellow cat and one  striper over 24 lbs.

Shakey Head and 10 inch trick worm 3 feet deep
 I do not go out to catch just large fish well I did for a while, then one day it dawned upon me that each body of water has its own eco system and what I might expect at OH Ivie, not to expect that at Lost Creek.
 Lost creek has a 11 lbs. Largemouth record but not very many even close to that has ever been caught there is always one big one that everybody of water can hold in actuality if you catch a 5 lbs. on that lake that is a personal best.

LFT Magic Shad on C-rig 25 feet of water
At big bass lakes such as Ivie, Falcon Amistad, and Fork you can catch 5 lbs. fish all day and will not turn a head it takes over 10 lbs. before it turns some heads and if the big girls are biting that goes up to 14 lbs

So when you read about them giant fish just remember to take it in stride and look at your  Parks and wildlife records for the date and time it was caught.  one body of water near me has a 16 lb. record but that was caught back in 92  and not many big fish since .

Stanley 3/8 ounce jig
Here are a few tips big bates do catch big fish such as a 10 inch worm  out in 20 feet water on a hump with trees caught several over 8 lbs doing that. But if they up shallow a ten inch trick worm with a shaky head can produce the same results it is a matter of profile . You want big but not over whelming or unnatural for the depth in other words you do not want to scare them LOL.  

Shane out deep with a LFT jig
Jigs can and do produce big fish there again think about the profile in skinny water a smaller jig with a compact profile will catch more big fish as they can see it better but not too good as  to tell it not a crawfish. Out deeper bigger is better.

Red Rat-l-trap
Time of year pre-spawn Rat-L-Traps can and do produce some big fish but they produce year round for me maybe that is why I have over 50 of them in different colors and sizes.

Early and late can produce big fish shallow then you have to move out off the shore  to deep points and humps are your best bet.

Nanda with a ten inch LFT worm
The best tip is just time on the water and fish different lakes learn what the fish are doing on each body of water it will make you better fisherman and that will get you more of your personal best.

Turn them big girls back and have a replica made