How To Tell What The Bass Are Feeding On.

[TidePride37]

I've had trouble at being able to tell what the bass are feeding on in lakes and ponds. I know it's really important to be using a similar lure that looks like the baitfish. Any advice on what i can do to find out what the baitfish look like??

[bayouXpress]

well the best way is to catch some fish, clean them and check there stomachs.

you will be surprised.

[eyedabassman]

Just walk along the shoreline and turn over some rocks to see the color of any of the crawfish. And you will see baitfish in the shallow water also. Or find a dock and look around at the end and sides of the dock and you should see some baitfish there too.

[Shad_Master]

_{Don't be afraid to ask some of the old-timers around the lake - most of them will be glad to share information with you if you ask the right question and your's is a good one.}

[Bassn Blvd]

Just cut the stomach open, preferably one under 2 pounds.

[aclark609]

I'm no expert, but I don't think matching the hatch is as important as everyone believes it to be. Choosing a bait and the proper color in regards to water clarity and depth along with the water temperature seems to be a more productive rule of thumb for me.

[basskota]

do some looking aroung to see what type of bate fish are in the lake...you can find this stuff out through the dnr. and then find everything you can about the bait,(what do they eay, do they spawn, what water temp are they most active, habitat, ect.......)

[Nitrofreak]

What type of forage is homework you will have to do, check your local game commision, they can give you some great detailed info on what each body of water you want to fish has, they can even tell you if they stock each body of water and with what.

It's not always going to be that you have to match the bait fish as close as you can to catch bass, think about whats not in the body of water to attract fish as well, for instance, if you were to throw a lizard in there where there are no lizards, the fish will find that to be very odd and will most likely intice a strike.

Finding the primary forage is a great place to start, but always be open minded.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[Christian M]

I'm by far no expert on this topic either. In fact I'm still learning a great deal myself, but I agree with Nitrofreak about being open minded. I've read several articles that stress the fact that bass are opportunistic predators. So, in some cases its benificial to stand out from the "hatch" whether it be in color, shape, or size. However it's still imporant to find out what species of forage are in the waters you're in so that you have a general idea of what to throw out there. I've found that simply talking to lake residents, bait shop owners, park rangers, and especially local fisherman you get some great advice. Good luck & tight lines!!

[scrutch]

Water clarity rules here. Clear water is a match the hatch situation much more than heavily stained muddy water.

A good way to find out what the forage is, is to call the DNR and find out who the fisheries biologist is for your lake and call him. He should also be able to point you to some public info on his population studies. Nobody knows more about your lake's fish population than him.

[MegaBASS]

If you are a catch-and-release guy, you can always pump their stomache. Here's a good article http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/fish-stomach-pump.html

[redboat]

I caught several near a dam one morning on wacky rigged Senkos. One had a big ol' crawdid hanging half out of his mouth, pincher still working. They were feeding on crawfish around the rip rap but hitting Senkos.

[Mountain Angler]

well the best way is to catch some fish, clean them and check there stomachs.

you will be surprised.

i agree well put man

[christopherwofford]

I myself have found that if you use bright colors on bright days (Green, Red, Orange, Yellow) even if the worm is just that one solid color you get good results but then again I have had Bass bite clear worms with nothing but glitter shinning in them so use that information at your own discretion.

Hope I helped man! Keep fishing!

[Squid4]

try plastic baits, spinners and small crank baits...

[Diggy]

Ugly otters

[deep]

I read this on another forum but never tried it myself. Apparently you want to stick a pipe down the fishes throat, hold it up by the tail, and shake the hell out of it.