I'm guessing that some of you think bass are bass are bass, that they're simple creatures that behave pretty much the same wherever they're based. I don't think that way. I've NOT caught bass in enough places to conclude that changes in latitude (and water clarity and cover and seasons and so on) bring changes in bass attitudes. So, here are the five places I can consistently catch bass:

 

Ohio farm ponds

 

Rocky, tannin-stained lakes in northwestern Ontario

 

The upper Mississippi

 

The north shore of Lake Michigan

 

The bogs and ponds of Maine

 

 

I see the photos of the places you guys fish and I think, "I wouldn't have a clue how to catch bass there."

 

It might take me a day or a week to solve the puzzle. And I might never solve the puzzle to catch them consistently. "I've NOT caught bass in enough places to conclude" that sometimes we win and sometimes they win.

 

So, where can you catch bass? I'm talking about environments or specific places, however you want to frame it.

 

So, to answer my lead question, "No. I can't catch bass everywhere. I've failed in enough places to have learned this."

I live in NC, My father lives in KY. My home lake is a herring lake. Dad's lake is not. The difference between the way the bass act from my lake to his is night and day. His fish like cover and don't move much. My fish are darn near pelagic and move constantly.

Remember the days when lived in a large metropolitan area in Texas. Remember when there were more than a few posters who posted on BR nice bass caught in urban locations. Some in busy downtown locations. Retired now and long gone from that setting but learned a narrow ditch with no more than 5ft high of water or less could very well hold a very nice female bass. 

Good Fishing 

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/urban-bass-fishing.html

14 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

I live in NC, My father lives in KY. My home lake is a herring lake. Dad's lake is not. The difference between the way the bass act from my lake to his is night and day. His fish like cover and don't move much. My fish are darn near pelagic and move constantly.

 

That's it! I fish cover. Pelagic bass would best me.

 

Thanks for the link, @GreenTrout. That's a good read.

I’ve only fished for bass in my home state of NY, and Lake Baccarac in Sinaloa, Mexico. I caught the Mexican bass on the same lures, same techniques, and same types of spots that I catch bass on in northern NY. Vastly different settings, but the fish were still structure-oriented, and to some degree, cover-oriented. They still wanted topwater baits, spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and jigs. Only difference was the size of the fish. 
 

I am pretty confident in my abilities to catch bass consistently almost anywhere they swim. Maybe I’m overconfident? But the one situation that evaporates my confidence is high muddy water. Usually the only time I visit Skunksville is when I’m fishing high water. 

I can get skunked everywhere.  

10 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

I’ve only fished for bass in my home state of NY, and Lake Baccarac in Sinaloa, Mexico. I caught the Mexican bass on the same lures, same techniques, and same types of spots that I catch bass on in northern NY. Vastly different settings, but the fish were still structure-oriented, and to some degree, cover-oriented. They still wanted topwater baits, spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and jigs. Only difference was the size of the fish. 
 

I am pretty confident in my abilities to catch bass consistently almost anywhere they swim. Maybe I’m overconfident? But the one situation that evaporates my confidence is high muddy water. Usually the only time I visit Skunksville is when I’m fishing high water. 

 

Jesse, I assume you had a guide at Lake Baccarac. If you did, how do you think you would have fared without one? 

 

For me, time alone doesn't always mean I can crack the code. I lived on the Wisconsin River for more than a year. I fished nearly every morning and if I caught half a dozen, that was a great morning. There was just so much water that didn't hold bass. It had strong current, it was shallow, and sandy-bottomed. Tough conditions...for me.

 

High, muddy water would intimidate me. 

 

6 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I can get skunked everywhere.  

 

You're also casting into trees and barbed wire for DDs...in high winds. That's akin to fighting Siberian tigers on an icy tightrope over a thundering waterfall.

I’ve fished for bass from Canada to Florida but I can’t catch (and don’t enjoy fishing) them in deep water. Once the weather warms up and bass, especially smallmouth head deeper, I switch from lakes to rivers where water 10 feet deep is uncommon. 

@Swamp Girl  Good topic!  My folks retired and moved from Iowa to Mt. Home, Arkansas so I got to fish Lake Norfork on a visit.  Deep, clear water and I couldn't catch em till I started fishing at night.

I'm much more able to catch fish in a lake that is one step from becoming a corn field!

5 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Jesse, I assume you had a guide at Lake Baccarac. If you did, how do you think you would have fared without one?

 
Without a doubt my catch rate would have been nowhere near what it was without our guide, Sixto. At the same time, the fish were seeminly everywhere you’d think they’d be. Most banks were steep, and most held fish. Lots of standing timber, and the fish would be there as well. Apart from a couple spots of deep structure only visible on sonar, most fish were caught in spots that most bass anglers would be drawn to naturally. But my catch rate would not have been what it was without a guide, that is for sure! 

I learned to bass fish in So. CA in deep lakes and when I moved to GA there were the same kind of lakes here so I did alright.  After a couple of years I started to fish small rivers local to me and did great because I used to be a trout fisherman in CA and MT.  Out daughter lives in NW AR and I fished the lakes there and caught bass.  We took a trip to ME and fished in every state on the way from GA and caught bass.  Then we bought a trailer in central FL and I learned, with help, to catch fish in lakes that are 12' deep at the deepest parts and lots of vegetation.  The only places I haven't fished are the bogs and ponds like you fish.

I'm a wanderer with fishing gear.    I always get that sinking feeling where the confidence starts to fracture.  it's the nature of my urge to "check it out".   why I have a kayak and not a boat.   you cant put a boat in a lot of my explorations.  

 

but thankfully, I rarely skunk.  the fundamentals apply.   that first fish is so cool!!  I might not get lots, but I usually get one or two.  

Greetings and Happy Fourth!

@Swamp Girl a very interesting topic for sure!

@Darth-BaiterI echo and parallel you in several ways. Although I wish I had more time for that wandering, or "goofing off".

 

As an engineer I'm accustom to complex situations. I'm also compelled to perform a good deal of data reduction in a pragmatic way to simplify for understanding an to formulate an approach towards an elegant solutions. 

 

My recreational angling is the result of that too! I want to maximize enjoyment and minimize effort. Yay for me when I'm successful. Because I live in Southern AZ, a higher altitude desert region, I generally have to travel at least an hour to get to a place to goof off. I am accustom to traveling for my recreational angling and I'll try to catch fish in many traditional and non-traditional locations.

 

Much of Arizona depends on irrigation canals that are filled with water diverted from a primary river source. As such, there are generally fish in those canals. Those can be great fun when the traditional angling locations are busy. 

 

Being successful in catching fish can be complicated. It does help to understand the fundamentals of the fish involved. What do they need to survive? How do they feed? Bass being predators would love to enjoy a meal that is low effort. So if you present tthat opportunity then the odds are in your favor. You could simply randomly cast to "cover" as much water as possible hopping for an advantageous connection. It can be advantageous to simply focus on areas that are more likely to hold fish. Just something to improve your odds for success. 

 

There is no surprise that Arizona is rather hot this time of year, OK it is rather warm all year long! We have a tendency to seek shade and the fish do too. So that is an easy thing to seek. It does require stealth, with accuracy to be successful. Startled fish may not be in the mood to feed. Being in the yak is pretty easy to make a gentle, quiet approach to make several well placed casts. 

 

There are not many 'natural' lakes in Arizona. Most are deliberately crafted water impoundments. The urban lakes are much like concrete lined swimming pools. The same goes for many of the irrigation canals. All of them hold fish and can be enjoyed using the basic approach. Sure you can make it complicated but what is the fun in that? I'd rather be catching than simply casting! The bait should be in the water to catch fish! 

 

Keep casting in the better places! Be well, Cheers!

Absolutely not.  I am a creature of habit.  There are a lot of lakes here that receive constant pressure from tournaments and I know I'd struggle there...which is why I avoid them.

 

I'm also not a jack of all trades when it comes to presentations and if one of these specific techniques was required to catch fish, it would be a challenge.

 

Am I confident I can at least catch a couple bass in most situations?  Yes.  But putting together a successful outing on unknown, highly pressured waters is something I know I'd fail at in some cases.  Luckily, there is nothing forcing me to do it though either. 😂

In some respects a bass is in fact a bass but put them in different environments and they will act in concert with their environment.  There are also differences between Northern Strain, Southern Strain, spots and now hybrids that are being introduced.   

I can catch bass in shallow  moss choked ,over ran  chara , gorilla snot infested water. When others are avoiding it , I get deep in it. Also ox-bow lakes and irrigation ditches. I love fishing clear deep waters too.

I’d have the most trouble in a deep clear reservoir lake.

 

I believe bass are the same everywhere, within several specific sets of behaviors. Some relate to structure, some relate to bait fish, some relate to current. I think if you figure out what kind of bass are in that specific body of water and then change accordingly you could catch bass anywhere.

 

And how do you figure it out? You try fishing one of several different ways and see what they’re relating to.

 

I can’t imagine a lake or a body of water that has docks that bass aren’t relating to the docks, so in that sense they’re the same everywhere.

36 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

I can’t imagine a lake or a body of water that has docks that bass aren’t relating to the docks

 

I don't even bother with docks because I don't want to ding them and when I fished them, I nearly never caught bass.

 

37 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

I’d have the most trouble in a deep clear reservoir lake.

 

Me too.

I think stretches of the susky fish completely different than others. Different water levels fish differently. I do struggle with lakes at times but, I don’t fish them often enough. 

Fisherman become as skilled as they want to be. They fish as simple or complicated as they want. I’m good all around fishing, period. I’m newer to bass hardcore, but not having any trouble because I’m a fisherman, not just a bass fisherman. It’s rare I can’t get it done if I go, new water or not. I can read water and just have strong observation skills 

45 minutes ago, JonB2 said:

I can read water and just have strong observation skills 

 

Paying attention is pert near everything. I don't have a lot of luck casting to bass that just chased shad to the surface or plucked a bug off the surface, but seeing them tells where bass are feeding and I move accordingly. 

54 minutes ago, JonB2 said:

I’m a fisherman, not just a bass fisherman.

I targeted bullheads , sunfish ,channels, drum, carp, crappie, white bass, gar...before gravitating toward bass. I still enjoy tight lining on a river bank with live or prepared baits.

I have caught them everywhere I’ve fished for them, and there has been a pretty wide variety of bodies of water. The toughest for me are always the deep, clear lakes. I’m a shallow water, junk fishermen. When I can see bottom in 30’ of water like last time I was on Beaver Lake, I know I’m going to struggle.

So I’ve fished extensively in Florida lakes and ponds and canals. And then here in Iowa. And I’m gonna be honest. It’s night and day. Sure the baits are the same. But they act different. They fight different. You have to deal with the seasonal changes and temps. There was none of that in Florida lol. It’s a totally different game. 

Fishing for bass in Japan completely changed my perspective on things. The biggest thing, bass 100% are highly susceptible to fishing pressure; lures, retrieves, sounds, boats, sonar, any kind of non-natural presence and they do so very quickly the more prevalent the pressure. The only way I could consistently catch fish "easily" was finding weird, highly inaccessible backwater ponds connected to rivers on google maps, basically trudging through 8ft tall brush. Even then, half the time I would arrive only to find clear signs of people having previously trudged through the brush or even a couple anglers there already. If youre fishing popular reservoirs there, you have to be 100% on your game in every aspect of angling or you are skunking. You can see dozens of fish by sight or livescope it wont matter. The fish there also act very weird, they are generally lethargic, and typically don't strike very fast or hard besides at Biwa. My takeaway, bass are extremely maleable based on their enviroment, which makes sense considering their enormous range and habitat.