I've read many posts where a Bass Resourcer declared with surety that bass do this or bass do that at this or that time of the year. I've caught bass for more than 50 years, but I have never got a good bead on them. When I launch, I don't know where they'll be, even though I now focus on two ponds and know those two ponds better than anyone. For me, bass fishing isn't going to where bass are and catching them because I don't know where they'll be. Bass fishing for me is looking for bass and hopefully finding them.

 

Is this just me or are there are other Bass Resourcers who also don't know where bass will be?

 

FWIW, I don't mind not knowing where bass will be. I've always loved a good game of hide and seek. 

I cast and pray. 

I'm with you. I have decent electronics and I need to learn how to use them properly. I've never been one to go out and drive around for a long time looking. I just go straight to fishing. My biggest weakness is off shore fishing. I desperately need to find a good guide to teach me how to fish off shore, using my electronics to find fish and catch them once I find them. I study maps til I am blue in the face and then get out on the water and it all looks the same off shore and I am intimidated into just bank beating. I am used to fishing a small (200 acre) private lake that I know every good spot on. I lost access to that lake and now I am trying to fish Pickwick Lake (33,000 acres). 

You are far from alone. I can tell you where they might, should, could, be, but unless I see them it's the age old game of hide and seek, which I think is part of the fun.

Nobody knows exactly where they’ll be or what they’ll bite at launch. 
You may have a good idea and convince yourself you do based on history, conditions, observations etc etc 

Unless you get lucky and actually see her resting on a rock…

No, you won’t know with absolute certainty 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Places I've fished many times I have an idea where they might be, doesn't mean they are.

Fishing new places is where the fun begins, and if I managed to find them, then the satisfaction level is high, though I know that doesn't mean I'm smart, a broken clock is right 2 times a day 

Not an outlier, Catt always echoed the same sentiment. I learned after 17 years at My last job dealing with wildlife that other than eating or reproducing , we never know why a fish or animal does anything. Humans don’t like that so we make stuff up 

I am the King of Eliminating Unproductive Water.

 

The problem is, by the time the day ends I'm still working on eliminating unproductive waters.

I always fall back on previous history & fish known spots. But if it's not happening I start looking & trying to break it down by looking for bait or bait movement. If that fails I look for structure that should hold fish. And I keep moving until I figure it out or run out of time or patience. As long as you win most of your battles it is ok to lose now & then.   

5 hours ago, Don Harris said:

I am used to fishing a small (200 acre) private lake that I know every good spot on. I lost access to that lake and now I am trying to fish Pickwick Lake (33,000 acres). 

 

That's a brutal shift, like shifting a semi from first gear straight to 18th gear and expecting it to go.

 

5 hours ago, Mike L said:

Nobody knows exactly where they’ll be or what they’ll bite at launch. 

 

Whew! This summer, I'd catch them in pondweed. Then not the next day. Then they'd be in eel grass. Then not. Then again. Then not. They are shifty and I don't know why. 

 

5 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

As long as you win most of your battles it is ok to lose now & then. 

 

Amen, Dwight. Say, since you caught your third seven-pounder, you're now so cool that when someone asks your name, you should answer, "Hottle. Dwight Hottle. 307 for short."

 

Best I can do is know where they were last time.

Just now, padlin said:

Best I can do is know where they were last time.

 

Yeah, that's my starting point when I launch too.

I don't get paid to fish, but from my experience its just generalizations to give you a higher percentage than just winging it. It's gambling though, if one card is out of place it could be a completely different situation. 

 

-Heavily pressured vs. no pressure

-hydro/control lake vs. not

-nuclear lake vs not

-actual depth ranges

-weeds vs no weeds

-water clarity

-primary forage

 

These and so many more can have a huge impact on the generalizations. This isn't even accounting for weather conditions, bait preferences or water column to fish. Without experience on the specific lake it's best guess. 

 

Hell even the pros get pre-fish days and still miss. 

 

1 minute ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Yeah, that's my starting point when I launch too.

Yep. Can’t count the number of times I’ve gone back to the same spot 2 days later with the exact same baits at the same time of day and got nada.

3 minutes ago, Functional said:

Without experience on the specific lake it's best guess.

 

But I do KNOW my two lakes...perhaps better than anyone has ever known them...and I'm still guessing, which is one reason I don't use an anchor; I'm always looking.

 

2 minutes ago, padlin said:

Can’t count the number of times I’ve gone back to the same spot 2 days later with the exact same baits at the same time of day and got nada.

 

Hey, you're fishing like me!

Perhaps of interest....

 

 

At this time I am stuck fishing only from the bank. And with my poor breathing and somewhat compromised mobility, I am limited to spots within in a short walk and with easy access. So, I don't need to know where the fish are.....I need them to be where I am. Sometimes I catch fish and sometimes I don't, and that is OK.

20 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Whew! This summer, I'd catch them in pondweed. Then not the next day. Then they'd be in eel grass. Then not. Then again. Then not. They are shifty and I don't know why. 

 

Katie

Don’t worry about it, you’re gonna make yourself crazy just thinking about stuff like that. 
You will never know why. 

There are no absolutes when trying to match wits with a being with a brain when their only concern is eating and making babies. 

 

Ma Bass will do what she does when, how and where she does it. 
All we can do is to anticipate movements and habits. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike
 

 

We've been brought up with pictures of large bass waiting in ambush in a special place.  It happens but with time and a lot of time on the water, I think more and more bass move and they move a lot.  

6 minutes ago, Reel said:

We've been brought up with pictures of large bass waiting in ambush in a special place.

 

I know three such places that consistently hold bigger bass at the two ponds I fish. However, I still get blanked at all three spots half the time.

 

10 minutes ago, Mike L said:

you’re gonna make yourself crazy just thinking about stuff like that. 

 

Too late! Me:

 

It’s a puzzle we try to put together every outing. But knowing where they should be helps to eliminate where they are not. 
To me the 1st piece of the puzzle is where is the bait the bass are eating and how deep. The 2nd is what seasonal period are the bass in now .

The seasonal period are the straight edges of puzzle that make up the frame, sort that 1st. The prey source makes up the picture of the puzzle sort those by color before trying to put together.

Katie what seasonal period are your bass in? What prey are they targeting? Without a sonar unit you can look at the water surface or a few feet down, you can’t determine how deep without trail and error and that is how you are doing it.

Tom

The only thing I know for certain is the bass are in the water, and even then, for some unknown reason sometimes I try to catch them far up the bank on dry land, or in the tops of trees 30 feet out of the water.

 

I also know without a doubt there is a magic lure that will catch bass on every cast on any lake at any time and I'm going to find it the next time I order tackle.

First year retired and fishing same lake every day.  I've said it more than once on here; I am absolutely amazed at how much things change almost every single day.  When I fished once or twice a week, I had always extrapolated from limited data and weak assumptions.   

It is a rare week when I can be effective doing the same thing two or three consecutive days.

Getting started using current history usually works but then bass change during the day doing something different when leave. Do you start where you left off or start what you did yesterday? 
Tom

I’d bet what happens more often than not is the fish hear see smell and feel our lures and completely ignore them. I’ve seen it snorkeling