Imma try to word this the best I can. It's been bugging me for a while, and am just now getting around to asking you guys.

Throughout the main fishing season, meaning spring through fall, are there certain times when bass feed on certain things they prefer over another? What I mean by this is, are there certain times when bass prefer shad or bluegill or even baby bass?

Unlike us, bass have to survive. They eat whatever is availible. Certian times of the year some forages are more readily availible than others. Do some studying for your area and go from there.

Thats what I figured.. The reason for asking is I didnt know if there were certain times of the year that were better for throwing bluegill imitators or baby bass colored lures.

I have bluegill colored crankbaits, and baby bass colored cranks and flukes. I didnt know if they started feeding heavy on these species at a certain time.

Just observe what types of forage are present in the area, chances are that bass are going to be eating what is most available

Pre spawn bass tend to target the highest protein prey available to fatten up for the spawn; crawdads, pelagic baitfish if available. Pelagic fish are herring, shad, trout, whitefish etc.

Spawn, bass are not eating.

Post spawn, slower moving prey that become easy meals, crawdads, shad, crappie and bluegill. Terrestrial critters like young birds, ducklings, mice, rats, lizards, salamanders, frogs etc.

Summer, young of the year small fish of all types including small bass, crawdads, frogs, shad and terrestrial critters.

Fall, baitfish migrations like shad and young crappie, bluegill, green sunfish and crawdads.

Prey types are dependent on where you are located.

Tom

Tom, thats exactly what I was looking for. Thanks bud.

Imma try to word this the best I can. It's been bugging me for a while, and am just now getting around to asking you guys.

Throughout the main fishing season, meaning spring through fall, are there certain times when bass feed on certain things they prefer over another? What I mean by this is, are there certain times when bass prefer shad or bluegill or even baby bass?

 

Yes.

Bass are adaptable. They can feed on a range of prey almost anywhere in the water column. They have preferences though. And they have limitations determined by body shape (how effectively they operate in water), energetics (energy balance in obtaining food), and prey availability and vulnerability (diff things –most prey are not pushovers).

 

Bass being adaptable can change prey if needed, but in many waters they have a predominate prey type. In some waters it’s bluegills (shallower weedier waters, ponds, many natural lakes), others it’s shad (most often in reservoirs: gizzard, and threadfin in the south), some it’s crappies (esp in MW and S reservoirs), or yellow perch (esp in the NE), some it’s golden shiners (far south in weedy ponds and lakes, and some stocked ponds in the N). Young bass, or crappies, can be a staple prey item for mature bass, especially so on strong hatch years (this can influence the way you fish drastically). Crayfish are a staple in many waters too, in fact most bass waters have crayfish and they are often part of LM diets everywhere, but more so in some waters, places within waters, and some seasons (winter migrations make them esp vulnerable).

 

Bass change prey size as they grow so to get big, bass need to switch prey type or age as they grow. At times, you’ll see waters in which the bass are thin, at a certain size indicating a gap in the food chain.

 

Not sure how you are trying to use prey info but I’ll suggest you don’t have to worry too much about what bass are feeding on to catch some. Again, they are very adaptable and will often respond to a variety of presentations. “Match the hatch” is harder to realize than I think many anglers realize. What works is often more influenced by sky and water conditions, bass activity level, where in the water column they are, and proximity to cover structure (what you’ll hear as “positioning”).

 

That said, as you get more familiar with your waters knowing what’s going on with the prey fish in your favorite waters can offer opportunities worth knowing, and revisiting year in and year out. As an example, I now fish small waters (ponds and small reservoirs) that are predominately bluegill based, so I have learned about bluegill locations and behavior in my waters –and the bass are there! The connection is VERY real. After that, all I have to do is deal with sky and water conditions.

 

In larger waters, you’ll often be dealing with larger scale preyfish migrations, as Tom mentioned –especially with shad, perch, spottail shiners, alewife, smelt, species that make more use of more open water. However, while bluegills in ponds tend to be homebodies, in many lakes mature ‘gills will move a distance to find spawning gravel, and they tend to move deeper in summer off deep weedlines.

 

As you get deeply into your fishing, you’ll want to get to where they show up and when and where they are vulnerable to bass. Predators are super athletes, but so are their prey.

 

Thats what I figured.. The reason for asking is I didnt know if there were certain times of the year that were better for throwing bluegill imitators or baby bass colored lures.

I have bluegill colored crankbaits, and baby bass colored cranks and flukes. I didnt know if they started feeding heavy on these species at a certain time.

Ah...just saw this. Don't expect that lures colored like preyfish represent those preyfish in the bass's eyes. For bass eating bluegills, you'd be WAY better off putting a shad colored lure (or a fluorescent pink one) in the right place doing the right thing than a bluegill colored one a couple feet off the mark. Again, what works is often more influenced by sky and water conditions, bass activity level, where in the water column they are, and proximity to cover structure (what you’ll hear as “positioning”). IF you get all this down, on each cast, (no small order) that's when it's time to play with "hatch matching" colors. But you'll already be so busy catching fish that you won't probably have time, or care, to change.