Finding Bass Under Changing Fishing Conditions

When you first get to the lake you are going to fish, and it is new to you or you haven't fished it in a while, you need to take stock of the conditions that are present at the moment. First of all, what time of year is it? Summer, fall, spring or winter? Is the water clear, stained or muddy?

What is the water temperature? Water temperature is the one most critical factor in judging the mood of bass. Temps below 50 is usually considered winter, bass are usually deep in the water. In the southern states deep may be 20 to 30 feet. In the west coast states, deep can be 50 to 80 feet. In my part of the country water below 50 degrees means deep and slow. When water passes 50 degrees bass start to move out of their deep water haunts, and start to actively feed in order to puton fat to prepare for the spawn in six to eight weeks.

As the water passes 60 degrees male bass start heading to the backs of coves looking for spawning sites. When the water has been stable above 65 degrees for a time bass start to spawn, usually near the full moon. Not all bass spawn at the same time, as water temps vary in different areas of the lake. Early in the year fish the sunny side of the lake, as it warms up quicker. As the bite fades on the sunny side switch to the shady side of the lake, you must remain versatile to constantly catch fish, work the conditions, don't let them work you!

The spring is the time most anglers catch bass, this is because most of the lakes bass are in shallow water where most people fish most of the time. People that are in the 90% that catch 10% of the fish group, catch fish in the spring because they are fishing shallow, and that's where most of the fish are. After spawning most of the fish vacate the spawning areas, but those 90% guys go back to the spawning areas time after time, fishing the same way that they had success with in the spring.

Sometimes I even see them back in the spawning areas in the winter, casting a spinner bait in the brush. Fish use different parts of the lake at different times of the year. Learn all you can about your quarry, fish where they are, not where they are not!

Bass go into their summer mode after the water reaches seventy degrees or more. This is when they are at their most predictable, no more cold fronts to deal with or sudden drastic drops in water temperature.

Stable water temps are the bass fisherman's best friend, fish are very catchable now. Early and late they move shallow and reaction bait fishing is superb. Later in the day the fish drop back into deeper water and are very susceptible to jig-n-pigs, Texas rigged plastic worms, and my favorite drop shot worms fished wacky style, ( more on this later ) there are many more patterns and types of summer fishing and we will get into them later also.

Now the summer is passing and it starts to feel like Fall, the days are getting shorter the water is cooling down and the fish go on a feeding spree to put on fat stores to get them through the winter. As the water cools the shad and other bait fish move into coves to take advantage of fall plankton blooms and the bass are right behind them. You will know the coves that the bait fish are using, they are the ones full of diving birds. When game fish chase the shad to the surface there are usually seagulls around to pick off the fleeing shad as they jump out of the water trying to avoid the bass chasing them. Also you will see many types of birds that are divers, they float on the water like ducks, but dive down and swim underwater to catch the shad. ( Boy I would hate to be a shad or other minnow!! And you thought your job was tough!! )

Sometimes you will see hundreds of these diving birds floating on the surface inside shad holding coves. Even if they aren't diving at the moment, they soon will, when the next school of bass chases the shad back near the surface.

When you find many birds in an area you usually find bait fish nearby. If I see a cove with lots of birds and I know that I usually don't catch many fish there, I will still run in and usually catch fish in it. Birds are your friends, they will always point out the best spots to fish to you.

Lipless crank baits are, my favorite at this time of year, they are compact, cast well, sink quickly, and are a perfect imitation of the shad the fish are chasing. I fish them with a countdown method, cast them out and count them down, one thousand and one, one and two, etc. say they hit the bottom at the count of fifteen, since they fall at about one foot per second, the bottom is probably about fifteen feet here. On your next cast, count it down to about thirteen, then start a medium to fast retrieve, this will keep you from snagging the bottom so often.

If there are lots of snags in the cove and you are hanging up a lot, clip the two downward facing hooks off the two sets of trebles the lure has, this eleminates 90% of hangups and does not seem to hinder hookups, although you may miss a few fish. But the flip side is it will give you the confidence to throw back in weedy places where you may not have thrown if you were afraid of losing your lure.

Now as it drifts into winter, the water gets colder, and the food chain moves out into deeper more stable water. The shad here in our California canyon lakes move out to the fifty to eighty foot level, and most of the bass follow them, along with most of the other predatory species in the lake. Most of the bass will be caught deep around the shad schools, using Rapala ice jigs, or 1/2 to 3/4 oz. Hopkins spoons.

The best way to fish them is to first find the school of shad on your depth finder, ( they will be under the birds in the middle of the lake ) I use a reel with a line counter on it, and drop the lure down to just below the bottom of the school, where the bass are waiting for the weak and dying shad to flutter down through the school, and can be easily captured. The ice jig and Hopkins spoon both imitate dying shad. I don't fish bass in the deep water anymore as they don't survive very well after being brought up from deep water. There are ALWAYS some fish shallow, so better to spend your time getting better flipping, or fishing jig-n-pigs on steep banks.

In the winter time spend most of your time on the sunny side of the lake, the water is usually a few degrees warmer, and under stable conditions, there are some fish to be caught most days. After a good rain, fish move into small cuts and gullies where the water washes insects and worms into the water. Small fish come to eat them and some bass move from deep water to eat the sunfish. These spots usually are pretty muddy and the fish feel safe because they can't see you. Under these conditions a black jig with a blue pork trailer is a tough combo to beat, my second choice would be brown and orange. Move in close and and flip the jig right next to the bank and work it back to the eight to ten foot range, ( most of your hits will come in the first four feet, although sometimes a real giant will hang around in the eight to ten foot range so it is wise to fish this depth range ).

You may go several days without getting bit in the six to ten foot water, but when you do, it can be a real toad! Forget the rest of the lake, after a rain, just run from gully to gully and you can have the day of your life, for wintertime fishing.

In the spring when the water starts coming up, grass and weeds accumulate in these same pockets and cuts and form into thick floating masses where a one oz. jig-n-pig will fall right through the weed mat, and right into the face of bass waiting for a meal to swim into their hiding place. These weed mats provide overhead cover in lakes where there is very little of this premium cover.