Ever wonder how a big fish gets big?

It obviously takes age and genetics, but there are other factors that anglers can learn that will help them figure out where and how to catch the biggest of any particular species.

Let’s take a look at what I consider to be key points for locating big fish.

History — A water body with a history of producing big fish of the variety you prefer is an obvious for what you are looking to accomplish.  If you find an area with either a consistent history of producing monster fish in line with a recent history trending toward big fish, you are in good shape.

If an angler wanted to catch a 25-plus inch speckled trout, he could study the western reaches of Louisiana and find out it has produced a whole lot of those in the past. However, when looking at recent history, it would become obvious that fishery has declined in trophy production in recent years and chances of catching a fish of that size are not as great as they could be. If you looked up the Lower Laguna Madre near Port Mansfield, you would find out there is a rich history of big trout production, and recent trends due to our next factor show it producing more than ever.

Management — An area not managed for big fish will not consistently produce big fish. There is simply too much intelligent angling pressure out there to make this possible in most of the continental United States. Guides in eastern Louisiana are constantly advertising trophy speckled trout with photos at sports shows and on the websites.

However, the fish they are showing are a rarity in those areas because the state allows the harvest of 25 trout per day in that region of the state. Big fish are not common. If you go to southwestern Louisiana near Lake Calcasieu, anglers can only retain 15 and only two a day 25 inches or larger. This area is a big trout magnet. This is similar to Lower Laguna Madre which cut the trout bag limit to 5 and has seen a huge rebound in mature fish putting it way over East Matagorda Bay for trophy fish. Any of the key water bodies for producing big fish will have a management principle in place.

Pressure — This ties in with two types of location: water body and specific spots on a water body. Nowadays it is rare to find a water body that produces lots of big fish that is lightly pressured. In the information age, people find out about big catches in real time and respond accordingly. Sam Rayburn gets a lot of pressure but the open water areas of main lake cover do not. The shorelines get beat up but quite often the areas where the biggest bass dwell get very very little. A dream scenario is a water body that gets very little angling pressure and fishing a kind of location that gets even less.

I fish a stretch of distant bayou in the Louisiana marsh for flounder and rarely see other anglers. Even fewer are targeting the deeper cuts I focus on and it in turn produces lots of big fish. These places are super rare but special.

Seasonality — Fish are driven by a variety of seasonal urges and timing in particular areas that can literally enhance the chance of catching monster fish tenfold. Probably the greatest example is with redfish. The huge spawning-sized specimens congregate in the nearshore Gulf in late summer and early fall in large numbers.

There will sometimes be literal acres of them. By targeting these areas during the spawn period the chances of catching the fish of a liftetime are off the charts. The same goes for largemouth bass spawning in the spring, flounder migrating in spring and out in fall and other migration and breeding rituals of fish.

Phenomenon — This is the wild card of our destination selection process. Natural phenomena occur that can be extremely valuable in your quests. They are not common but when they happen, you need to be on the water. Savvy bass anglers know that when reservoirs experience prolonged drought and then go back up to pool level what is known as the “new lake effect” occurs. The system for several years become super rich in habitat and nutrients due to the vegetation that grew on the lake bed during the drought. The lakes become red hot for a season or two for producing monster bass.

Seven years ago, Lake O.H. Ivie near San Angelo was going through one of these production spikes and produced more Sharelunkers than any other lake in Texas.  In fact, one angler caught two on the same day and then after the season closed caught another over 13. Very few people outside of the San Angelo area had even heard of the lake until then.

Now the lake is low and fishing is down but it is a perfect example of how a phenomenon can impact fishing for the big ones.

My best flounder trips ever have been during tropical storm conditions when tides ran super high and the flounder went crazy feeding on the baitfish that was pouring into the marsh. If you keep a log, you will find that certain special situations will turn on the fish you are pursuing and when it happens you need to make the time to fish.

Catching fish consistently has nothing to do with luck. It is about how you approach things, and I believe integrating a system into angling efforts makes all the difference in the world if you want to catch your dream fish.

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To contact Chester Moore, email him at chester@kingdomzoo.com You can hear him on “Moore Outdoors” Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.