FishingTom

Thanks T9 Yes, national, but I'm starting with Texas. I'm familar with the USGS distribution maps. For some reason I lack confidence in them. Maybe it's because I'm expecting more uniform distribution. I'll have to explore further what their data actually represents. Of course just because a forage fish has a presence in an area doesn't make it the primary forage fish for bass. Starting with the USGS Maps I'll probably need a few more sources and piece together a clear picture. The crawfish map is a good start, but only the rusty crawfish shows any detail - all the others are shown at a state level. Thanks FFF, Adding bathymetric data would be rad, but I'm working with Google maps and I don't believe there is data for that.

Hey Gang!, I'm working on a small project over the winter where I take lake information found on various state websites and plug it into a map. This includes average water clarity, vegetation type, bottom material, etc, etc. I really want to add primary forage fish and maybe even primary crawfish type to the map to get a better sense of how everything relates. This doesn't have to be precise like the other information I'm gathering, but I'd like it to be exact as possible. Distribution and region maps aren't as detailed as they could be - unless I'm looking wrong. When distribution in mentioned, it's usually in general terms ("East Texas"). I could call parks and wildlife departments or fisheries managers and get the info, but that's a last resort action. Does anyone have really good resources for this stuff? Do you see an easier way of gathering the data? Thank you! Tom

Thanks Guys for all of your input! Brain6428. I don't recall exactly. I've probably read 200+ articles in the last few days and that was one figure that stuck out a few times. Crestliner2008. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm not sold on the entire process of Spoonplugging, but any classic that hands out knowledge is something to check out. Thanks again. WRB. I thought LMB in the summer with shad in the south and bluegill in the north was pretty explicit. Next time I will be more precise. You are exactly right though, there are many nuances between seemingly suttle differences when it comes to bass. Even when reading articles where some angler is giving advice you have to ask what section of the US he fishes and what type of water. Great advice for one angler may not be the best for another. I hear rainbow trout is the primary bait fish in SoCal. Is there any truth to that? PapaJoe222. Thanks for the info! That's basically what I was looking for. I just couldn't find it. Most searches for "Daily Bass summer migration," "Daily bass movements,"Summer bass activity" or whatever, would just talk about the seasonal migrations.

I'm doing some research on summer bass, but there's a kernel of information I can't seem to track down - despite the 50+ tabs open on my computer. I'm trying to better understand the daily movements of Largemouth Bass. I know that summer bass are either in shallow cover or offshore structure. In the latter they are schooled, while shallow they are more likely to be solo. I know they follow bait fish in the summer. In south states this is very often gizzard or threadfin shad, which also school in deeper water, but will migrate daily to edges of weed bed to spawn. And northern states have bluegill which stay closer to vegetation. And bass don't venture far from their homes in a day - 300 feet at best. I believe the shallow bass stick close to the vegetation throughout the day and may move based on forage. But I can't find anything about the daily movement of the deeper bass - I'm guessing they move in with shad. If anyone has information on the daily movements of LMB during the summer, both in the south states with shad and north states with bluegill, it would be greatly appreciated. (links to a study or reputable source are appreciated too!)