Grant Langmore recently spent three days on the Devils River bass fishing what was nearly a 20-mile stretch above Dolan Falls from a kayak with a group of buddies. The long float in triple-digit weather demanded persistence and determination, but it also rendered some quality bites, all of which Langmore provoked using a magnum-sized swimbait.
Langmore is a bass fishing guide in the Austin area, where he regularly targets trophy bass with large swimbaits. His goal while fishing the Devils was to focus on drawing strikes from the heaviest bass he could find. To do this, he stuck by the adage, “big bait catches big fish.”
The strategy worked out well. Over the course of the trip, Langmore landed bass up to about 7 pounds, with a plethora of fish in the range of 4-6 pounds mixed in. Deeper pools containing shaded areas and eddies adjacent to fast-moving water provided the most consistent action.
“Some of the smallest pools I came across actually held the largest bass that I caught,” Langmore said. “Pools with deeper water that were as small as an average-sized living room of a modest home were holding some solid fish — especially the ones that had shaded pockets of water.”
Larger pockets of deeper water rendered several bites, while smaller pools were generally only holding one or two large bass.
“I definitely didn’t get near as many strikes as I would have if I were throwing a smaller-profile lure and using a less intrusive bait presentation,” Langmore admitted. “The large presentation of the swimbait that I stuck with during the entire trip got the attention of the largest bass. I was able to catch about 30 fish over the three-day trip while fishing pretty hard.”
Langmore said the best part about chunking a large swimbait was the visual experience that the presentation offered. He kept the lure just under the surface as he retrieved it and was able to see almost every bass come up and strike the bait in clear water.
Deeper areas, where he recorded the most quantity, didn’t offer the same start-to-finish spectacle, but would still draw aggressive fish up from the depths. From there, he would keep working the bait and watch the bass track it down until enticed enough to strike.
“The most aggressive action seemed to occur during the morning hours, but we were able to catch fish throughout the day, from sunup to sundown,” Langmore said. “It was clear that those fish were opportunistic feeders. Not many folks would choose to only throw a 9-inch swimbait for an entire multi-day trip, but I stuck with it, and it paid off.” Langmore said chunking a lure of that size all day is definitely a laborious task that demands a heavy-action rod and lot of mental focus. It’s not about catching a bunch of fish, but rather the biggest ones around.
