nightfishing and lure size

Question
Hi Chris. I have been nightfishing for largemouth during the summer for the last 16 years. I prefer it to day fishing and find it to be the most productive. Several years ago I started increasing my lure size (topwater plugs up to 2 oz. and fishing muskie rods ) in the hopes of weeding out some of the smaller fish. I am fishing in Mass. and trying to break 24", and I have gotten really close many times using this method. My question is, How big is too big?. I gave my friend a Woodchopper (around 8") normally used for Peacocks and he was still bagging fish only 16" long. He was lauging when I gave him this lure but he took it more seriously after that night. I have since purchased several muskie lures ( in black ) up to 9.5" and I am eager to try them this summer. It seems that bass have less fear at night as I have never had any luck with lures this big during the day. I would appreciate your insight on this. I am alone or is this a good practice.

Mark

Answer
Mark,
  No.  You are not alone!  As I grew up here in Northern Kentucky and Southern Indiana, I often used soft plastic worms up to and over 12 inches as well as top-waters of equal size.  Even the more experienced anglers of the time thought that I was crazy.  I just kept my comments to myself and kept on catching more fish than them.  Bass can and do often eat prey up to 3/4 their size, especially an extremely hungry or aggressive bass.  Often, a larger lure is what it takes to get even that finicky bass to bite.  Your observation that bass rarely hit larger lures during the day is quite accurate.  This is simply due to the fact that larger lures are more easily identified as "fake" by bass during the lighter periods of the day.  
    I must say, however, that if you are targeting only trophy bass, please do not overlook mid-day.  Many people do not realize this about trophy bass, but they are primarily sight feeders.  They rely on their eyes far more than any other sense.  Therefore, the brightest times of the day(between 10am and 2pm)are often the best during pre-spawn, fall seasons, and cooler periods during the summer.  Get large natural appearing lures such as soft plastics and jigs in thick cover around 2-5 feet and work 'em slow, and there's your best shot a lunker bass.
    However, keep at it with the "whopper" lures during those summer nights.  They'll pay off.
    I applaud your ingenuity in discovering this tactic.  I can tell that you are a naturally gifted angler who's not afraid of trying something new even if others think you're crazy.  Keep it up, and I'd say the lunkers will be piling up in your live well.

Good Fishing!
Chris Carter

PS  Sorry for the delay.  If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask again.