Paul Roberts

Hester, Yes, the low to mid 80sF is generally agreed upon as the "thermal preferentia" for LMB, from a bunch of studies. First, let me say this about lab studies cause I can hear the grumbling already. Lab studies are useful in that they can offer glimpses toward what bass' limitations or capabilities are. My take home message is: Use them in your fishing to make your educated guesses, and then check em out. But don't assume too much going in. Natural systems are complex. Something fascinating about bass comes from Keith Jones in his book "Knowing Bass". He found that LMB, over time, would keep re-acclimating higher and higher, until they hit the limit of his tank (not sure highest temp but it was above the accepted preferentia values). I found this fascinating. But it hasn't panned out into anything useful on the water, as yet. I see a reduction in activity when my ponds hit the mid-80's. Not sure what to make of Jones' observations, beyond that natural systems are more complex: actual temperature distribution and fluctuation, oxygen, prey availability, and the fact that wild bass are mobile (what we're presently interested in short range vertical is what we've come to here mostly it seems). There's another value used to assess the metabolic engines of fish that may help shed some light on some of what we see in the wild though the upper (and lower) avoidance temperatures. At a certain high temperature a given species must move away or die. These values are highly dependent on the individual fish's present acclimation temperature. Here's one example I have: A group of largemouth bass acclimated to 68F all die at 87F, 50% die at 84F, and none die at 77F. Now, rarely will you have bass in 68F water near 84F water in the wild, but that 16 degree difference KILLED half the bass! You can imagine that even a 10F difference might make a bass mighty uncomfortable. The take home is that there are limits to what bass can tolerate, at least within a period of time. Interestingly, there's a growing body of research indicating that fish grow best by digesting meals at lower temps (below metabolic optimum). Further, this has been demonstrated in the wild, from sharks to salmon, through vertical water column movements: They feed high and warm and digest low and cooler. (Roger?? What do you think?) The latest IF magazine has an article showing this very thing in king salmon in the great lakes. I don't think they understood why the salmon were doing this. Hester, your bass in river current observation is very neat. And I'll venture a guess as to what could be happening there: Heat challenged stream trout, (not at all uncommon in the many marginal streams and seasons throughout the country), approaching an upper temperature limit suffer oxygen stress and will move into stronger current in order to increase their oxygen uptake efficiency. They do this through what's called ram-jet ventilation, in which water can flow freely over the gills, rather than the trout having to pump it through. Thus, heat stressed trout move out of pools and into riffles. I've seen this myself in hot summers on marginal streams. I've never seen such a thing in bass, but, it's not unlikely. Bass can't go into too fast water because they aren't built for it. Just as different trout species have different capabilities in current: browns hold below the rainbows which can nose right up into the whitewater. Of course it could just be a movement toward food, but the temperature values you've offered may indicate something more physiological in nature. Phew! No my head doesn't hurt yet. It's my fingers. Hey if anyone (besides my wife) is wondering why I'm bothering to type so much, I'll say that discussions like this allow me to organize my thoughts better. That's how I keep from being overwhelmed by it all, and my head hurting. In my fishing I'm not just after the where and how, but the why. The why is more exportable to other waters and fish, and worth the effort. Roger, The problem I have with cold front stuff is that I for one have a hard time separating the effects of sky and water conditions on angling effectiveness from what might be real bass behavior. The cold front thing is a tough nut. I'm not sold on anything yet, but I do have some ideas. Raul, Excellent stuff. Temperature is more important where it matters LOL! Further north, that is.

Roger, Thanks so much. I do wonder, How do they know what the bass are actually doing? I have some thoughts and questions about supposed cold front behavior. Another post someday.

Roger, I'm familiar with the horizontal movement stuff. It's the bass rooted into the vegetation following a cold front I'd like to see. roadwarrior, Very cool. Thanks. My ponds don't fluctuate too much, but my small reservoirs do. I'll keep that in mind. Catt, Are you Ken or Tom? Thanks All. Those listening in. If you have observations along these lines you can share, as your season progresses, please do. No one person is going to figure this stuff out alone. I do think we can refine what we know a lot further.

Muddy, keep tabs on that. I'm going to venture a guess that the real effects are more immediate (clouds and temp trend) than early barometric pressure movement. But that's my guess at this point. Lemme know what you see. I'm not sure, for myself, I can discern barometric effects from sky and water conditions in terms of angling results, since sky and water conditions factor in SO heavily in terms of angling success. roadwarrier, I agree, current has an enormous effect on fish location, and activity I think in large part because of the advantages larger predators over prey fishes in current. But also because concentrations of activity are easier to discern for anglers. On the flipside, current also affects lure presentation enormously, and low slow water can be tough. (In general, water and sky conditions can affect angling presentation to the point that it can overshadow environmental effects, when one is sampling by angling.) Water level itself (rising or falling) is very important to fish. It's one major factor that can cause bass to abandon nests, or incite movements to spawn (when other factors are met). This sensitivity to water level appears to be ingrained in many fishes. It's my holdout explanation for any sensitivity to the moon that might exist for freshwater fishes, although I'm leaning more and more towards skepticism here from a one-time moon believer! We'll see new moon coincides with spawn times here this year. I'll be watching closely. My experience with warmwater rivers is limited at least with taking down any really useful information. But I have a lot of experience with coldwater stream fisheries, and this is where I came to where I am with bass. Temperature rules in trout streams, and not just during summer when temps are marginal. Food factors in huge of course, but hour by hour, I've come to believe, temperature is of enormous importance. But stream levels had a notable impact too, and I believe it factored into brown trout's nocturnal shift in late spring/early summer. However, interestingly, when surface water fed streams warmed and levels dropped and the browns went nocturnal, in nearby (as close as 100 yards in one particular case!) groundwater fed stream sections the browns were NOT nocturnal and rising freely during the daylight hours! Fascinating.

Muddy, One of my summer slump waters has a spring, and it's the hot-spot in that water during mid-summer. I think what you are describing are what we all look for -the situations when the fish are on fire. It's a combination of proper conditions AND available food. The summer T-storm thing: Is it the falling barometer, or the associated sky conditions and stable to warming temps that matter here?

Muddy: Yes, I see an offshore movement even in my small waters by summer too. Fascinating that it happens even on small waters. It seems to be an orientation to the main basin. Ralph Manns and I have had some discussion as to why this might be. He wonders, purely speculation (not research backed), if it isn't in part a result of early entrainment from when they were fry, and moving to open water to feed on zooplankton. Not sure what to do with that but it is interesting. The mid-summer slump I see appears to be in part temperature related (surface temps >85F). But there may be more to it. This summer I'm going to spend some time on waters that might not heat so high, and see what comes. I can always hope for a Godsend -a cool summer! Interestingly, I've been in contact with a couple anglers in southern Canada and they claim they do not see this slump, and water temps don't surpass 75F. But, what confuses me a bit, is Keith Jones' (Knowing Bass) research in a thermally graded tank that showed bass had no upper temperature avoidance! They continually sought heat in the laboratory. I'm wondering if the summer slump in natural systems has to do with oxygen levels, food availability (dense vegetation), and...?? This would likely show great variations across waters. Thus, I'm going to dabble in what possible variation there is here this summer. I don't have very deep water though. I'm eyeing an 18 foot deep lake for some of this, and I'll be comparing temperature profiles with this lake and my shallower summer slump waters. So, Muddy, what are your good summer lakes like? Sounds like you are fishing deep, with jigging spoons?

Ken, Agreed, bass don't move over the length of a water body. We discussed that above. (Although telemetry has shown that there are always individuals that are incredible wanderers.) And I agree that temperature becomes generally less critical (for anglers) outside of the coldwater season, excepting mid-summer. I see these here too. But, what I believe I am seeing is a behavior in (most notably) female largemouth bass in the small waters I fish and observe. What I am seeing is heat seeking in females and it affects their location in the water column, at least in spring and into summer peak (early summer), until high temps send them, apparently, sulking. I believe I saw it again in early fall last year. I'm not putting in for an elk permit this year (a mind blower to my friends) because I'm dying to know if it appears again next September. I'm suspecting this is related to their "metabolic engines" for lack of better at the moment, and should include males but I haven't been able to factor them in yet. I'm beginning to suspect this may play a more important role than atmospheric pressure, solunar, lunar, etc... . I realize that's a bold statement, and I've got more observing to do. But what I'm seeing (with my own eyes in my small shallow waters) is really intriguing. I'm a die-hard angler, but I'm a naturalist first, and a former university researcher (in physiology and circannual rhythms). Small waters give me a literal window into the bass' world. I have more limited experience with big waters, so I'm curious how such seemingly important behavior could possibly manifest itself in large deep systems. And I'm wide open to constructive criticism of my thinking, and welcome other's observations from around the country. Agreed. Food rules! Food abets the prime directive to reproduce successfully.

Catt, Four days in March were highlighted in those reports. Here are my weather descriptions from those reports, and my answers to your question in CAPS: (March) 11th was a nice fairly rapid heating day, sunny and high in mid 60's. I watched water temps go from 47F to 55.5F in 3 hours. POST COLD FRONT (2nd day) ... (March) 14th ended up a great day for this, ending up at a miserable 38F with rain and sleet by late afternoon. The pond was 49.5F when I started, warmed to 51F in three hours, until the front descended and it fell back to 49 and 47 (at different shoreline locations). COLD FRONT ... March 20th, 2008 Brilliant sun and high temps (65F) forecast awesome heating day. I was gonna KILL EM!!! But Mother Nature threw me a curve; No confusion just another fascinating day. POST COLD FRONT (1st day) ... March 25th 2008 Warm spell following good cold front. Monday was to hit mid 60's but a strong wind came in that made me decide to hold off a day. Tuesday was calm, and promised 65 and sun, which was realized. I was almost trembling in anticipation. POST COLD FRONT (2nd day) ... Essentially, I target post cold front days in early spring, because of the intense warming trends they bring. In fact, I cheer on those cold fronts as they prolong the cold water period, and set up intense warming days. In the post, Two Interesting Days... , I purposely chose a cold day, not a warming day, to fish, just to compare a known group of bass response to a non-warming day. It wasn't falling temps which I truly risk being skunked on. I thought the results were interesting. Yes? On the 20th (post Two more Fascinating Days...) a good post frontal heating day was forecast, and happened, but a big wind rolled up the mass of cold winter water from the depths of the small lake and nixed the heating. The fishing was very tough. I know my waters very well, including some individual bass. The carnage I was hoping for, never set up. The 25th (same water as the 20th) was the 2nd day following a cold front. I passed on the first day because of the forecast for high wind again, even though it would have been warm and sunny and a good heating day (if not for the heavy wind). I'm self employed, so I can often pick my fishing days. I do so by weather forecast. In early spring I follow up on heating days, especially those immediately following cold fronts. I often choose the first day following especially if it's likely to be a very warm sunny day. If it's a bit cooler I may choose the second day. It can be good right up until the next cold front as each night tends to cool the shallows again (Colorado nights are always clear and crisp). I want rapid heating of the water. At this time of year the sun is high enough to do the job. The bass respond with CARNAGE!! It's really something to see. Bluegills lying right on shore and bass ripping through em. As spring progresses the ponds take on more heat and the intensity and concentrations lessen, as fish are less enamored with the immediate shorelines, as the depths begin to warm. Then pre-pawn has begun and it's another game altogether. The smaller males appear on shore in numbers and are substrate oriented. I'm after females though, and their groups begin to break up about now and then it's a search for isolated cover, and feeding bluegills. The bass remain very much heat oriented though. The early spring warm-up period is a spectacular time, at least in small waters. And it's not just a Colorado thing; I did the very same thing in New York when I lived there. Although Colorado weather is more intense, and predictable. I get multiple shots (weekly in fact) at these events. You know, as I get to dabble in the consistency of Colorado weather more and more, I'm becoming less enamored of magical things like moon phases and cold fronts. I still have more observing to do, but I think things are much simpler, as you suggest above. Or, at least the complexity lies in other places.

Roger, I'd really like to get that IF article. Do you have any specifics on it? Was it in the magazine? I'll go ahead and contact them and see if it's available. Any info would be helpful though. What do you attribute the vertical movements you see to? Slowly rising surface temperature?

Catt, I'm sorry, I'm not understanding the first part. You asked: What were the weather conditions? What/when are you referring to? I'll take a stab at explaining winter bass activity, and then what you describe on Toledo Bend. I'm not convinced that you have to wait for the middle of the day to catch bass in winter. As mentioned by others here, bass can be active and capable hunters in a full range of temps, over the course of the year. They acclimate to a given temperature and can be effective hunters. If you peruse the reports boards during winter you'll find many instances, from all over the country, of people catching a bunch of bass in really cold water often to their surprise. I know a guy who catches smallmouths on topwaters in winter in 40F water! People also catch bass through the ice. Some die-hards target them and say that the hard part is finding them since they are often bunched up. Bass can feed in winter, and may feed if the opportunity presents itself. One scenario that I hear about every winter, and I'm guessing is what you may be referring to, is the crankbait bite that comes on in many waters in winter. How can a bass chase down a crankbait in mid winter? A good explanation is that they do so because it's worth the effort. Winter is a time when many young of the year fishes weaken and die, and can be easy prey for metabolically slowed bass. Some years are better than others in offering up weakened prey fish. This pattern is especially common in reservoirs with shad, which commonly weaken and die during winter. The fishing can actually get better following real cold snaps because more shad suffer from cold shock. The bass may not experience much of a drop in temperature in their winter quarters but find weak shad easy prey. Adding to the scenario is eagerness. Bass, with prey in front of them, and their target screen set, are more willing to chase at any temperature. As are bass in high competition with their cohorts. Winter bass are rarely alone. In the specific case you mention: 15 feet of water, the sun, or shade, won't affect temperature at that depth. Something else is on going on. Unless you are talking about surface oriented fish, but even then the 3 or 4 degree temps you mention, are likely surface temperatures that are only skin deep. The sun, as mentioned earlier, cannot heat water much more than inches deep in a matter of hours and that's a summer sun! Where I live anyway, the winter sun is simply too low in the sky to heat the water much at all. In general, as I understand it, winter is a time when bass seek temperature stability, usually provided by the dense water in the depths. I doubt the bass, even as close as 5 feet below the surface, experience any appreciable temperature changes. Once water hits about 40F, that's it. Any colder water will not penetrate it. If midday sun helps it's likely something to do with the visibility of lures, or a primary food chain event, invigoration, ...who knows? There is a reason, and it may not have anything to do with temperature changes of the bass. In general, angling is often a very poor indicator of bass behavior too many variables. A real clinker in the process that could explain it is that to experience 4 degrees of warming in winter you would likely have to have a sunny day, or at very least bright day (you're in Texas after all). Could it be that when the sun pops up, and the water is at all clear, just casting a lure over fish near the surface would likely send em running? What are your thoughts? I don't fish in the south. Exactly why I posted this temperature stuff to begin with. I'm here to learn. And I'm really appreciating your feedback very much.

Oh! I wasn't suggesting you take temps at 10 feet deep (unless you want to familiarize yourself with temp profiles). I was suggesting you take temps at 3 inches and 10 inches in early spring. The difference will likely surprise you. You'll probably get something like 48F at 3"(inches) and 44F at 10"(inches). Heat does not penetrate water (by direct conduction) very well. So, think inches, then re-read that post!

I know this is different from what you've probably read but, from my observations, I break the spring into 4 periods: Initial Heat-Up bass are heat and food oriented. Pre-Spawn bass are spawning site oriented Spawn bass are pairing or paired, eggs dropping Post-Spawn males are guarding eggs/fry; females are recuperating/feeding. Males become spawning site related first or at least visibly so. They pile onto spawning shorelines roughly a month after ice-out (in my ponds). This is when I call the behavior pre-spawn. Males cruise in very loose groups (not seeming to be relating to one another) along spawning shorelines. They are often quite visible. They also may make premature beds, only to abandon them as conditions (water temps) fail. Females are very different. When they come out of winter they are grouped tightly in groups of 3 to 8 (in my waters). They are quite recognizable at this time in three ways: They are larger than males, they have notably swollen pearly bellies, and they tend to be noticeably grouped relating to one another. Groups of females appear visibly along shorelines occasionally well before the spawn. I've seen them as much as two months prior to the actual spawn. When I see them they are often cruising in a string I call these "parades". (I've also seen them simply holding, bunched up in a tight group. I assume they are just not cruising at the moment). Originally, I thought these parades were moon influenced, as I've seen them several times on full moons, and once just last spring, on a new moon. But I'm not convinced there's a real relationship there. I'm still watching. If you see such a group, I'd really like to know the date and water conditions of your sighting. At a certain point these female groups break up and individual females may be seen sunning: They are either slowly cruising close to the surface, in the immediate shallows, or holding by some cover piece. Eventually, when conditions are right, they appear at spawning sites ready to spawn. I remember reading, and then hearing, Kevin Van Dam talk about pre-spawn and post spawn females holding up off bottom, and often related to vertical cover like a fence post or tall stump. But he didn't elaborate. I now know what this is about. Heat is VERY important to female bass. And interestingly, in my ponds, it doesn't just end at post-spawn either.

Muddy, great stuff. Reads like my fishing journals! Observations are like puzzle pieces. Save em and eventually you may find where they fit into the bigger picture. Here's my take: As Roger and Catt mentioned bass seem not to go searching out optimal conditions. They react to what they have. And they can operate well in a variety of temperatures (But in a different gear so to speak). In most good waters there are bass occupying many if not most areas. If there's food, they'll exploit it. Oftentimes we catch bass only in certain areas because those areas fit our style of fishing, or we hit fish there once and discovered something about the area. When we revisit it we have some knowledge to bring to bear on it, and the confidence that goes with it an area with "history" as I put it. Doesn't mean there aren't fish in other areas though. The bass you saw: As WRB had mentioned, water heats very slowly, and likely the bass groups on BOTH sides of your pit were cruising in 40F water. The 4 degree difference was skin deep. Try this: Take a temp at 3 deep and at 10 deep. In early spring there will likely be a 4 degree difference right there! I've standardized my surface readings at 6 deep. Thus, when I mention a surface temp, it's at 6. Eventually, and it takes a while, the water warms deeper and deeper. The surface temp readings I have are an indicator of the general seasonal warming trend, not the whole immediate story. I have to interpolate from the occasional temperature profiles I take. I've developed a feel for how quickly water masses warm, and how they are affected by cold fronts, heating days, and wind. In my shallow ponds, I don't normally SEE shoreline related bass until the surface water has warmed further about the mid 50s, and especially by 60F. Many bass are already shallows related though, but holding further off, often in the mouths of the coves and flats that will soon warm further, and draw in both prey (bluegills in my ponds) and bass behind em. No, these are not all the bass in the pond, although on some small waters with only a single major cove or flat representing the majority of good habitat, I likely have a significant proportion of the bass right there. Now, I don't follow temperature blindly. If I find a pond with 60 on one shore and 50 on the other, the temperature isn't going to stand alone. There has to be a food shelf, an area that will attract prey fish bluegills in my case. Also, cover is important the more convoluted the cover, the more prey fish the shore seems to hold. If the good habitat elements are non-existent on the warm side, I'll fish the cooler side, and adjust my presentation accordingly (see my post, Two Interesting Days... in the Western reports section of this site). Bass are heat seekers (notably the females), but they don't follow it blindly either. It comes to them in areas that will support their needs -good habitat. And they respond with sheer CARNAGE!! That's the place to be!

Roger, Agreed. I don't believe that the bass move great distances to seek "optimal" conditions. They get what comes to them. However, within a certain range I believe they will move to seek heat, and get in on concentrated prey. I believe this is the case on my ponds on those days.

jrhennecke, River current is mixing, which would likely overpower any wind generated currents. However certain large rivers would likely have protected (from main river currents) areas that I would expect could attract concentrations of prey and bass. I do not fish large rivers so you'd have to answer that for your river. If you had an oxbow, wind might play a role. WB, All my observations are done on small shallow waters. The particular water I described on the 20th and 25th was all of 10 feet deep at the deepest point, and colder below (the very reason that strong wind quashed my expectations on the 20th). In my small waters the bass respond to conditions along the shoreline pretty quickly following ice-out. The shallows heat rapidly on certain days, and the fish respond strongly. Carp, bluegills, and bass are surface oriented at these times the bass seemingly staying just below the limit of visibility from the surface, then moving further toward the surface as the sun gets lower. It's pretty neat to see. The concentrations can be amazing. So, what I'm describing on the 20th and 25th is a shallow water phenomenon. However, even in my largest deepest waters (still only ~20ft) the response still happens, but is delayed, yet the same actual temperature numbers still apply. This, I believe, would be akin to the early spring advice for big waters: Find a good shallow flat or cove with access to deep water for spring bass. At one time I spent a lot of time on a really huge lake, Lake Ontario, fishing for trout and salmon with all the electronics available at the time. The southern shore was dubbed the chrome coast during spring, as it warmed well before the north shore, and collected trout and salmon in absolutely stunning concentrations. Bass, however, aren't nearly as mobile as salmonids. Bass, at least in my small waters, do appear to be heat seekers. I understand more and more why they are called sunfish. Very soon, as we approach the spawn, you'll start seeing the posts about large bass lying near the surface, (and un-catchable). These are heat seeking females. Heat seeking appears to continue until mid-summer, when they disappear mid-day. Peak activity happens in the early AM, evening and at night. Tellingly, this disappearance does not happen in the very northern part of the largemouth's range, where summer temps don't break 75F -according to some anglers I've discussed this with. Interestingly, during summer my small water fish seem to relate to main lake (pond) basins like big water bass. By then though, the depths in my ponds are already measuring into the upper 70's, or a bit more, throughout. I believe what I'm seeing is normal behavior for northern largemouth bass. What my small waters lack are the complications of large complex systems, and deep water populations acclimated to depth. I see this as a blessing, in terms of discerning responses to seasonal change in a species pre-historically adapted to shallow vegetated habitats, and has only relatively recently been stocked all over the country. I'd love to have more of your feedback, considering your research on seasonal body temps in bass. I was unable to locate your article, "The Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar". Would love to bounce things off you as I proceed. Thanks, Paul

Roger, Excellent. The blown plankton thing gets repeated again and again, until it's become cliche. That CAN happen, but that requires a large, and appropriate, plankton population to begin with (not always the case , especially so early in the year). Other things like water surface conditions, bottom disturbance dislodging prey, and, of course, temperature differences, are more often the reason over more waters for a big downwind bite. Water temperature is a "biggy" and from what I see on my waters, few anglers actually pay attention to the often less than obvious changes that can make or break a day's fishing.

OK, Muddy was right: My befuddled Does Temperature Matter... thread was a "lead in"; But kind of an inadvertent one, born of some frustration. In articles, videos, and fishing reports, so rarely are the specific conditions under which fish are caught highlighted. It's this lure and that, and always..."DEPENDS ON CONDITIONS. What conditions!! That's where the devil is. Tell us more! I've come to pay VERY close attention to temperature. It's so...predictable, especially in spring. But I never see anyone else doing so on my waters. The changes that matter (the trends) are seemingly obvious (I plan my days by forecast), but how they happen in real time takes some paying attention to. A couple good examples from the past two weeks I've posted in the Western reports section. Look for "Two More Fascinating Days..." and "Two Interesting Days...". The keys here were: -Rapid warming (best following a cold front) -Light wind to concentrate warm water (it floats) -Pond/cove topography and shoreline configuration Nothing new really, but rarely does anyone mention the specific conditions fish are caught in. The odd thing is, on my waters, I'm always alone in this predictability often with my rod bent. This is spring-time fishing, but interestingly, although the concentrations of heat and fish change some over the course of the year, and other things come into play, temperature trends appear to continue to be important. I'm continuing to keep my eyes open, and my toes in the water. View the posts. Interesting stuff, or old hat? I'm wondering if this is a local phenomenon (I don't think so). What do anglers around the country see? What about the far south? The far north? I've already conversed with southern Canadian anglers -fascinating. Anyway, my request, if you're game, is for anyone interested to think about fishing days in terms of "heating days" -great, good, fair, or poor. Do you see a correlation with either fish activity or fishing success? This should hold until bass move away from shorelines sometime in summer, when they then seek stability, I believe. Comments?

Ice, Yes, this is a slower warm-up year. I was doing this last year by the first week of March. I didn't use a soft jerk because they fish a bit slower and the water was quite roiled from recent winds. They don't work as well as something flashier and noisier then. Senko's sink too fast. These early fish are surface oriented. But, I also have a bias. In general, I rarely fish Senko's. I already know they work and they are expensive and tear easily. I do use other types of stick worms, but later in the year. Topwaters are a possibility anytime the bass are willing. Temps of 55+ help, but isn't the whole story. I tried twitching a floating Rapala the other day, but they didn't go for it. Water was a bit too roiled from recent wind I think. That's usually deadly, and the first topwater I GoTo in the spring. We get consistent spring midge emergences on my ponds and the bluegills really go for them: I've seen them rising as early as early March and as late as November -water as low as 50F. And the bass follow. Again, I tend to go with the Rapala, but I expect other things would work. What do you like in topwaters?

Ice, CO (where I'm at) is ahead of NY, by about 3 weeks. But the bass response to temperatures (their metabolic engines) seem to be the same -it just happens earlier here. Hey, I do the trout too. But less so the last few years; Really enjoying the bass fishing. Nice thing about understanding activity patterns of fish well enough to predict them is you can pick your days, and your quarry. On the dreary cold front days in March, when the bass fishing is like pulling teeth, the Baetis (olives) are popping and the trout streams are the place to be. Colorado has great fishing. But that seems to be the case everywhere I've been -if you adjust your expectations a bit.

March 20th, 2008 Brilliant sun and high temps (65F) forecast awesome heating day. I was gonna KILL EM!!! But Mother Nature threw me a curve; No confusion just another fascinating day. When I arrived I stopped to chat with a fly-fisher. He mentioned that it was supposed to get windy. It was absolutely calm as we spoke and I replied that I hoped it would hold off for a while. We said goodbye, and I turned around and walked right straight into a very stiff wind! I started running! I hit one favorite spot screened from the wind and tallied a 13, then ran to a second, where I rose a big mama I know very well. By then the water had only just begun to heat up and she was tentative (and educated). I also reacted tentatively and was rewarded with a large flash beneath the water as she let go of my lure. AWWWWHH! ...Good morning Mama. Go back to whatever you were doing. Rats!!! By then there were whitecaps across the water, and I watched as water temps eroded all the way around the pond as cold water was rolled up from the depths. Heating never happened. And I fished hard, in a very uncomfortable wind, just to see if I could pull something together. I couldn't. I finally abandoned the pond and headed to another I thought might be protected it wasn't, the water roiled and cold. I failed there too, and I was chilled enough not to beat myself up trying to eek out a couple bites. March 25th 2008 Warm spell following good cold front. Monday was to hit mid 60's but a strong wind came in that made me decide to hold off a day. Tuesday was calm, and promised 65 and sun, which was realized. I was almost trembling in anticipation. I started early, to watch the pond heat up. And it did, but slowly. I measured 49F at 10AM the air was chilly. I spent the time fishing and observing. No bluegills were seen in the immediate shallows yet. I didn't turn a fish from 10AM til I broke for lunch at 1pm. And I even began to let a few doubts creep in. Could I be wrong? Could something else be happening? But I quashed em. After lunch, at 2PM, I started my rounds again. I got 52F at the upwind corner, and 56.5F at the downwind a half hour later, and spotted little fish (1½ ) along the cattail roots and shoreline flotsam. I do not know what they were! Wish I'd had a net. They were predacious and even chased my lure moving in quick starts and stops like bass or sunfish. They must be late summer born sunfish likely greens. I talked with one of three anglers who'd been there all morning. He'd caught 2 little ones, he said, and was headed home. From there the day began to heat rapidly and the temps of the downwind side reached 60F at 5PM, then fell back to 56F by 7PM. Bluegills had lined the bank, and soon after, the heavy boils and thick wakes of large surface (and bluegill) oriented bass appeared. It became pure carnage as big females rolled in to pick off those concentrated gills! My tally was 11; The 6 largest in order of capture: 20 even. Jerkbait. On 8lb line I had to backreel again and again. I had no idea how big she was going to turn out to be. I had my scale but forgot to use it! She would have been shy of 5lbs. Healthy but not a barrel. Look at the long tail on her. Man, did she use it! Gorgeous 17¾ Jerkbait. Gorgeous 19 Jerkbait. Thin 19. I switched to a swimbait, as the bass were onto my jerkbait. This one chased to the shore and I ran out of water! So I killed it in 8inches depth, and she sucked it off bottom. She had several old hook bruises, and was very thin. I would have liked to kill her and check stomach to see if she was impacted with a plastic bait. But I didn't have the heart. Gorgeous 19½. Swimbait. She took a ways out (in amongst a pod of gills) and was a handful to subdue (12lb line). 18½. In-line Spinner. Last fish of the evening. A very strong fighter lots of back-reeling on 8lb line. The Jerkbait. This one I made from a Bagley's Topgun, by belly weighting. It's a much shallower running plug then most others, which allowed me to fish it over the dead weeds and algae less hook cleaning, more attraction and triggering time. A less stable plug, it took me some practice to get er to twitch and flash just right. As you can see, color is low on my list of priorities. Took about three hours to catch these fish. They were not pushovers. Seems bigger bass rarely are, especially if they've seen lots of lures as they do in this public water. You know, if I didn't keep a journal, these days would be remembered as me catching bass hand over fist, losing the real effort put in.

Juggerxx, There are two parts to it. The first is recognizing the conditions. The second is knowing what to throw when. Both are predictable enough to get you in the ballpark. Then you fine tune to the current day, or better, the current hour. I have some advice for your coldwater fishing. Learn a couple lures for those conditions. I'd suggest the suspending jerkbait, and a crayfishy jig or soft plastic creature, or a slow-rolled single-spin. You probably already have the last two. Don't worry about colors. Pick one of each and get to know them. Spend a little time with the jerkbait, how it looks and feels as you retrieve. The key to jerks, and any other lure, really, in terms of speed control, is that it has to trigger hits, yet the bass must know they can catch it. That's the rub in cold water they won't commit to something unless they know they can catch it. Part of the trigger besides the obvious size and flash and baitfish shape is making the bait look erratic, and then CATCHABLE! Then you make it so. Essentially, you are trying to keep a lure in any one area as long as possible. In other words avoid too much horizontal movement. Horizontal movement is the attraction, something that can escape (exciting!), but it must be deemed catchable by the bass. And this depends on your knowing, or divining, the general metabolic speed, and the eagerness, of the fish in front of you at the moment. Jerkbaits are made to order in colder water because they suspend. The erratic darts and flashes attract and trigger, the pauses allow the interested bass to catch it. An example of fine-tuning might be: You are in the ballpark and have bass chasing up, but they miss a lot. So you respond by lengthening the pause. Metabolic Speed (from my experience with CO and NY bass): At 45, it's very slow a crawl. Simply takes patience. At 50 options increase, and fish are much more willing, or at least able to meet you part way. At 55 I start picking up the pace. The bass can chase well by then. I may speed test small fish when I start. A thermometer is faster though. Topwaters are a possibility. Above 60 bass can really chase and at 65 or better you physically cannot reel too fast if a bass really wants that bait. Not that that's the best tact, but if the fish are willing you can sure cover water and catch a lot of bass. Eagerness: Actively feeding bass, with prey in front of them, and their target screen set, are more willing to chase at any temperature. As are bass in high competition with their cohorts, usually smaller bass in our waters (<15). There are many other lures that can work in cold water of course. You can add them as time permits. But get to know them first in practice, tinkering, sessions.

Sorry to be so cryptic on this one. I guess the question, Does temperature matter was way too simplistic, to the point of being mis-leading (not in any manipulative way). I was after the behavioral aspects of the bass. Catch-ability adds another bunch of variables which happens to be between you and the fish. As Todd mentions, KVD can catch fish almost anytime, but the point is moot since we are all at our own level. And there are conditions Kevin, and we, would rather be fishing in than others. So, it's the behavioral aspect I'm interested in. Specifically, I'm looking for something much more intensive -like on a daily or hourly basis, rather than seasonal. I am wondering if and how other anglers use temperature in their day's fishing. I'm interested in other angler's perspectives and especially, observations. Has anyone measured temperature changes and related it to bass activity? Seen anything... unanticipated? Anyone measured temperatures at depth of caught bass? And coupled with this, what was the prey in the particular instance? Just curious if anyone's out there taking measurements and attempting to use them. Again, sorry for the cryptic post.

Varies by latitude (growing season), the specific water body, and year to year. In my waters in Northern Colorado I'm coming up with about an 1-1/2" per year for fish over 10inches. Takes a good 8 years to grow an 18 inch bass here. Talk to your Fisheries Biologist. He/she can probably give you a range of numbers to go by.

Get in the habit of asking. I often find landowners very willing to allow access, and since so few people ask, that posted sign works in your favor.

Yeah, I hear you. It sucks to be burned. That's a particularly bad one. That guy lost out more than he gained by being so stingy (that's the nice way of putting it). Let's say I like to share, but am careful. It SUCKS to be burned.