I am reading another book and there is a picture of the N.E. side of lake "x" several degrees warmer....this makes sense to me. Then on the next page the author is saying to fish the NW sides, which doesn't make sense. So am I to assume the editor didn't catch this during editing?

The book if anyone has it, is John Weiss' The Bass Anglers Almanac....great book btw.

i think its the NW side

I would assume the NW side as well. It is exposed to the sun for the longest period of time during the day.

True, but the NE side heats up sooner right?

The NW gets more sun throughout the day, plus the sun setting.

In my neck of the woods I have actually found it to be somewhat lake-specific.  Try to take notice of the predominant direction of the "warming wind" for that specific lake or river.  I've found this to be the easiest way to figure out where the warmer water will be.

I agree with "lake specific". Lets consider an upland reservoir with high hills and steep coves. Lets say for simplicity the coves run N & S off a E/W lake. South facing & East facing slopes will warm sooner than North facing and West facing slopes. But come late afternoon it's the Southwest facing slopes that continue to warm while East facing slopes (and the water below it) begin to cool sooner. It's mid summer before North facing slopes and their waters get full sunlight. So, both NW & NE corners will warm the most, but the NW corner will more likely remain warmer longer into the night to extend feeding time.

Jim

If the prevailing winds are out of the SW, try the NE.  If winds are from SE, try NW.  The only problem is that most lakes don't line up perfectly for this method... so like has already been said, it's usually lake specific.  Just call in sick 2 days in a row and try both!  That way you will know for future reference on that lake.

It pays to look up a lake map and get the local weather, all on the internet, then study to predict where the baitfish forage blew to overnight. Wind current drivves the plankton a long way if its steady from one direction. If the wind has been variable the baitfish scatter and so do the bass.

Jim

The highest percentage of rivers and lakes all run North and south. The warmest waters should be the north west banks, they receive sun all day. Not always true north, but some variance in a northern direction. I have not found this to be untrue on the west coast or south.

Its a very good starting place to look for the first spawners.

Once last point, the banks on the Northern sides are shielded from the blistering cold front winds also, which helps keep those temps warm on the NW banks.

Once last point, the banks on the Northern sides are shielded from the blistering cold front winds also, which helps keep those temps warm on the NW banks.

That is true, but it's a double-edge sword. A strong wind also causes another phenomenon

separate from the effect of air temperature on water temperature.

A strong steady wind out of the northern hemisphere tends to blow the warmer upper layer (epilimnion)

to the south. The upper layer in the north end is then replaced by the cooler water underneath

that's siphoned upward toward the surface. Inversely, the south moving upper layer

ultimately collides with the south shore where it's rolled underneath into deeper water.

It's a massive Rotary Action that pulls cooler water to the surface at the north end (upwind end)

and delivers the warmer surface waters to the south end (downwind end).

Roger