Hey guys, I was wondering how all of you guys create and form a pattern for bass fishing. What do you all look for when fishing, to possibly use a lure that will work well, or target a certain type of cover for a certain conditions. I do not have any fish finders, usually I am on shore or in a small aluminum boat. 

It depends on time of year and weather conditions. I do not fish from the bank so I can't give pointers for how and what to do. When I go out i try to cover a lot of water. I will try spinnerbaits, chatter baits,  and cranks to cover a large area. I will wear docks/structure out with jigs and plastics. If that fails I will slow it down and throw just plastics. If there is a lot of cover I will pitch, flip, or skip a jig or plastics. 

 

Presentation is the key component from bank or a boat. You need to find out what they want. Keep trying different lures until they hit. Just remember one thing, what they hit today may not be the same tomorrow. 

There are literally entire books written to answer this question, but generally speaking, my process looks something like this:

 

1) Develop a gameplan.  Before fishing, I combine what I know about the water I'm fishing, the seasonal attitudes of bass, and the expected environmental factors in order to develop a strategy for the day.

2) Execute strategy.  Align the baits/techniques I think should work with the places I think they should work and start fishing.  I work my way through the day's strategy while accounting for any differences in the current conditions and what I had planned for in (1).

3) Go until I catch a fish. This sometimes happens on the first cast (but ideally, the second or third ), and other times, I zero my way through the whole gamut.  The speed at which I work my way through the strategy depends on several things, and is topic for a different conversation.

4) Use what I learn from each catch to refine my strategy until HOPEFULLY, the pattern emerges.  If few or no catches occur, my options are to try "something crazy", junk fish, stay strong, or experiment with tackle and electronics. 

5) Enjoy the days where patterns emerge, and try to find silver linings in the days they don't.

6) Learn from everything.

For me, it's not all that scientific or complicated.

 

I tend to start with what worked yesterday (or round about this same time last year), if in an hour or two that doesn't seem to be the deal today, I do something else I have confidence in, somewhere else I have confidence in, until I find out what's working today. It always seems to work out for me, at least more times than not.

One's luck, two's a pattern  

 

Meaning: the first fish you catch in an area isn't necessarily enough to establish a pattern and stick with it. If you catch 2 or more in the same area in similar structure & cover then you found a pattern.

 

But the exact area isn't as important as the details. An example would be: I caught one on the outside edge of the hay grass off a point in 6' of water earlier, I've tried other things since then that didn't work, and I just caught another (even if it was in a different spot) on the outside edge of hay grass off a point in 6' of water... That's the pattern. So you need to hop from spot to spot fishing the outside edge of hay grass off points in roughly 6' of water. It doesn't have to be that specific, that was just an example. It could be that you're catching them in 6-8ft or near grass or near timber, or a combination of those things you see what I'm getting at?

 

Every fish you catch is a clue to help you put together a pattern.

Thats hard to do in a short post . I try to have an idea before I ever start on what the fish are doing . Right or wrong , I  make adjustments on the water .  

Some days it takes hours to get on a pattern . My last day at Mark Twain lake  in November , I didnt find bass in the creeks which is where I started . Through   trial and error I got on a pattern fishing cuts inside of main lake bluffs . Then I simply went from cut to cut passing up everything in between .