Paul Roberts

Nice report. Are your fish still spawning?

My thinking here was that presenting to fish (esp in the shallows) is way tougher under blue skies. Also, they don't like to be exposed, unless they are in the spawn stupor (and cruising). Bright sun tends to bring the best heating, and my shallow pond fish really respond. But, prior to the spawn they prefer to be either just deep enough not to be seen, or under shoreline cover. When they get the cue (seasonally timed) to make a concerted spawning movement, they come onto the shore in droves. I can't quite separate the moon from the heat, as yet. But the heat appears to be requisite. Muddy, glad to have you back. I'll keep tabs on the NE.

A question: Has your warming spell come with blue skies? Can you associate your change in fishing luck with sky conditions?

I'm not sold on high pressure effecting much, but dropping temps will affect pre-spawn bass location, pushing them out of the immediate shallows. I'm not convinced that it's the cooler temps, instead it appears to be the lack of warming temps. Bass on beds however can be a different story. I see males (already locked on the bed -with eggs) stay put through snow falls. I've measured temps as low as 48F in occupied beds. Of course the beds were built under higher temps.

TommyBass Wrote: What he said. Figure the proportional size of the ocean to any lake. You can probably get a ballpark on how much movement there would be -mebbe a centimeter, or less? Better, there probably is data out there.

Thanks Matt. I'm almost always using a small T-rigged soft plastic for visible fish.

Show me the data. Not saying there isn't, but I've never heard of such a thing. Then again, I haven't looked. Got anything to share??

I think this is the norm the entire year; there's a lot more fish than biters out there. It's just that in the spring we can see what's happening. Don't let it get you down. Be stealthy, adjust speed and erratic-ness (this are more important than many anglers realize -it's not "anger".), identify locations where fish are vulnerable, keep at it.

Great post: an ecological perspective 8-). Here's more than you asked for, but yer talkin' my language. Hopefully it'll get us all thinking: I've only fished extensively in two areas: NY and CO -both close latitudinally. But I think this is true, from all the reading and listening in I've done. The south just doesn't get as cold or get such low sun angles so the warm up period is less intense. Where I fish we start with ice (about 6 to 12 inches of it). I break it into heat-up, pre-spawn, spawn, post spawn/early summer, summer peak, mid-summer, initial cool down, fall re-heat windows, cool down, winter. In the north, heat up is a long period, stalled and restarted with each passing cold front. Pre-spawn (real short per water body), spawn, and post-spawn duration is short but the entire window varies with water body size and volume. Early summer is the heat up into mid-summer, when water temps in my waters reach the ceiling for bass activity in most waters (>80F). Summer Peak is an InFisherman term, that I hold onto bc it's notable in healthy diverse systems. It's the time when most spawns are finished, waters are chocked with YOY (food), vegetation beds are flourishing, and water temps are at great growing temps for many fish. Biological activity (of the right kind food chain construction for the year) is at its peak. It seems the south doesn't really get the intense heat up period it's a long drawn out and more subtle affair. It's very intense in the north. Mid-summer in my shallow waters, with the high water temps, knock down daytime bass activity. But I do have some ponds that are spring fed and bass remain aggressive. The far northerners I've talked with don't get excessive water temps and say the bass fishing peaks in mid-summer maybe akin to the IF summer peak. And then fall shuts down pretty fast as the sun drains away south likely with a good re-heat period (?). My falls are fairly long in duration here in nCO, starting with temps falling into a range more suitable for bass activity, then a short window of re-heating, then sliding into coldwater and winter. OK....hope that stimulates some thought...As to early season lures: I think we are similar in that in early season the vegetation has not yet re-grown and so weedless stuff isn't a pre-requisite. I drop down in line weights (8# a lot) and more free swingin' hooks. I like: Hair jigs (often with pork strip trailer) Slow rolled SBs Skirted jigs, and creature baits. Slow-rolled crankbaits Suspending jerkbaits Shad style grubs on a jighead Rapala #11 (shallow jerk and surface twitchbait) Mepps Aglia #3 I've also liked soft jerks and tubes but just never seem to get around to em with all the other options. I adjust speed and erratic-ness (is that a word?) to conditions, and the lure to needed speed some are better than others. I try not to take no for an answer.

I've found if I'm real close and can see the take (on a plastic), if I hit immediately the bait too often pops free -I just pulling it from their mouths. It can be maddening. I find if I wait, maybe 1 or 2 seconds, I hook them. Always assumed this is a handling time thing. This is also if I am right on top of them on a short line. A bit further out and not being able to see things as clearly, reaction time, and probably some line stretch makes up for this short delay I seem to need on a short line. Then again, I don't have nearly the experience bed fishing as Matt does, so maybe I'm wrong on why that seems to happen.

But Catt, there are no tides in most bass waters.

I'm skeptical (although I go in to everything that way). Several things bother me: -Angling is a lousy sampling method way too many intervening factors. -Anglers (many of renown) have published moon theories that, collectively, cover every possible period of the lunar month. They can't all be right. Smacks of a statistical black hole that could be explained by all the intervening variables present in angling, and our penchant for grasping at straws. -The statistics on lunar phases on available (albeit generally poor) angling data sets I've seen just don't hold up. -So far, science has found nothing (as far as I've seen) that corroborates any of this. In fact, the few things out there I've seen show nothing. There's one place I believe I've seen possible influence, and that is in spawn timing. I've spent the last two seasons, (and am half way into this season) observing and documenting the spawn on small ponds. There is a clumping of activity around the full and new moons, but so far I cannot quite separate it from temperature influence -which is strong. It may yet turn out that that clumping is simply coincidental. I'm not jumping to any conclusions.

I'm going to take a guess here: When reacting to sighted takes, and takes on a short line, you have to wait for the fish to suck it in, expel the water, and clamp down. It takes a couple full seconds. Wait for it.

;D OK, I give...that's as close to magic as baits come -'cept maybe the Senko (and a few others). When I hear phrases like that I think "fishing is the last bastion of the snakeoil salesman". Automatic defensive reaction to the bait monkey I guess.

Hit 80 today. Shorelines were CRAWLING with bass -a mix of pre-spawn cruisers, heat soakers, and hunters. See the "blind bass" thread for a description of bass hunting bluegills in an 18" deep protected cove.

Not sure if many are interested in this sort of thing, but I find it fascinating... I was back doing my pond checks again, and she was there again, same location but 6 feet from where she held yesterday. I actually wondered if she might turn up dead; who knows, maybe she was sick? I watched as a 3inch diameter branch drifted over her, wondering if the shadow would spook her. She didn't budge. I threw a few small rocks at her; she didn't budge. I got a long stick scrambled down to her (not quietly) and went to poke her (don't think I actually touched her, but was very close) and she bolted -very fast, but only about 4 feet, and buried into the low coontail. I could still see her, but she seemed satisfied ;D. She reminded me of a bullhead scrambling down into the weeds. An odd fish, but again, perfectly capable it appears. I also got the chance to watch some bass hunting bluegills. It was pretty neat to see. The 10 bass (13" to 18") were in loose groups sometimes grouped together sometimes separating. Sometimes the 'gills avoided the bass, sometimes they stayed put and let the bass swim through. The 'gills (mostly 4-5 inchers) appeared less worried about the smaller (13-14") and most concerned with the larger (16-18"). It seemed to all be about the bass identifying a suitable target, which I couldn't ascertain what that was. But it appeared the bass and gills knew. I saw two "chases": One of the 18"s apparently caught a 'gill after a fast 8 foot long bolt in which I didn't see the target. I saw her handling something (flashing mouth) afterward. The second was when three bass moved a group of 'gills toward another (not on purpose I believe) and when the gills realized this they turned back and one of the three bass quickened its pace moving right up close to the gills, which quickened their pace too. The bass then broke off, as if the set-up wasn't quite right. It appeared the bass movements were random, and opportunities for an attack either presented themselves or didn't. Although some bass intermittently grouped and moved together, they didn't appear to coordinate this movement or at least plan ahead. It appeared the bass were constantly sizing up the individual gills around them, and looking for an opportunity. Now this was all under bright lighting bright sun. Now, how might a blind bass accomplish this?? It would have to get close enough to feel prey, and this would most probably have to happen under very low light. The part of the lateral line system at the jaw and cheeks are very sensitive and directionally accurate. Get food close enough and that prey item is dinner. The trick is to get close enough.

The "rule of thumb" is in high visibility conditions you want to obscure your lure -roughly matching the bottom is one way to do it, as prey has already figured out how to do this by matching it's surroundings pretty well. In low vis conditions the idea is to make a lure standout from the surrounds (white, black, fluorescents). Also, in situations with aggressive fish, especially in high competition with their others, in which the bass will move a distance to intercept a lure, a more visible lure can be a good idea. If you can't see bottom match the water color. Or, do as I and many others do and not sweat it -just choose an earth tone you like and fish with confidence. There are a number of ways to obscure a lure (depending on background) -matching the bottom or water color is one. BTW: I hope you don't actually believe all that.

Surgin, I see the same thing here -sans pads. It's the protected (from wind and main lake water) shallows that heats up, and heat is the draw. I've seen it under a variety of overhead cover types. What's constant is the protected shallows that heat rapidly.

Still working on it. If I could say anything universal it would be that temperature is very important to bass. But overhead protection is number one. The bass prefer to be out of sight. At my ponds there are ospreys, pelicans, great blue herons, night herons, cormorants, mergansers, and kingfishers not to mention anglers on a daily basis. With clouds though the bass openly cruise (hunting). That threat is obviously abated to some degree, or maybe just more worth the risk to hunt. Beyond that major constraint, bass love heat. You'll need to fill in the blanks on your water, or better, your particular piece of water. Please tell me what you see. I'm all ears. -Paul

Could be. But, I was able to stand almost directly over this fish on a brilliantly sunny day, and snap several photos. This was the only bass I was able to get anywhere near that day. In fact, there was a smaller one (~12" presumed male) with it, that spotted me and disappeared before I got very close. It appeared as though this female had no idea I was there. Also, human cataracts are usually treated before they get really bad. This fish's eyes were opaque white, as if completely scarred over.

Just interesting I think. Lots to think about here. Smallmouths are better suited to pursuit, which is more visual. Yet Rob G mentions catching sight compromised smallies. That's interesting. Largemouths are slower, more tactical; cornering prey by positioning, habituation, and tactical ambush (not lie in wait), and especially under attenuated light. This blind bass shows how much this capability can play out. I bet it has learned to hunt at night, and very dark days -which isn't all that out of the ordinary for normal bass. Light levels mean a lot in our fishing, and I've always wondered how much of this is due to bass perceiving something wrong with our presentations, versus how much is their own inactivity or unwillingness to expend energy to capture prey that can see and evade them. I've seen both at work in my fishing and observing. It appears that sight is less important than I'd suspected. Yes! Those are to catch anglers not fish. That's not new, but this blind bass does make you think about what exactly closes the deal.

Shad_Master, that's really neat. My next question, with fish like these is: How do they do it? I mean how do they close on something like a bluegill (which tend to be well aware of bass) without seeing, or being seen? Considering her body condition, the above bass I photo'd shows no sign of compromise. She's catching bluegills -unless all she eats now are crayfish..

The bright sun will make presentation difficult, without spooking them. But, the bass will be loving the warming temps. If you get clouds following the bluebird conditions you'll be in the best conditions.

The hook/head matters most. Or at least the combination of tube and head matter most.

Nicely done survey. Congrats 1inStripes.