Someone Teach Me This Scenario...

[coots]

We launched our club tournament this morning at 6:30...

 

We had been on some fish previously, so had another friend in the club.... we stroll up to the rip-rap... I start bouncing an Aruku Shad off the bottom rocks... 3rd cast I lock onto a 4lber... thought yes sir, this day is going to be nice...

 

That was the second to last bite I got all day. 

 

We went to weigh-in and talked to everyone and everybody who caught fish, said they caught them all before 8:30-9 o'clock and kept saying if the sun wouldn't have came out and the wind wouldn't have left it would have been better.

 

So, what makes the difference between it being semi-windy and partly cloudy catching fish vs. wind dying down and the sun coming out to not catching any fish.

 

Just trying to learn a little something something...  

[Smokinal]

That's tough for sure. I'm not sure why it is but I always do better with cloud cover and some wind. I think the lower pressure makes em bite better; high pressure situations are always tougher for me. And I think the wind helps bait be more active, therefore the predators are too.

When the sun comes out and the wind lays down, that's when the spinning rods come out with a mojo rig and a drop shot...small worms.

[B_Gilbert]

Clouds and wind help with light penetration into the water, remember bass are low light predators.  Fish won't see your bait as well(meaning it will be easier to imitate a shad or crawfish or whatever you are trying to imitate) in clouds and wind and will be more likely to strike...  Wind and clouds usually = spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

[ColdSVT]

I like to go smaller with jigs and creatures and fish more finess in that situation...i might use the same colors and styles only smaller. And i fish as tight to cover as i can

[flyingmonkie]

Did you stick with the same pattern?  What other strategies did you employ?

 

I think everybody above is on the right track.  You described a maximum visibility day, which means bass will be hanging tight to cover (hiding, waiting to ambush).  During lower light conditions, bass have more freedom to roam around and seak out their food.  Wind also has the tendency to stir-up the top layer of the water column, adding oxygen and changing the temperature.  On warm days, this increases activity - especially baitfish activity, and can lead to more aggressive feeding.

 

On a day like that this time of year, I'd be targeting shallow structure and thinking about a natural presentation.  If it was later in the year, you'd definately want to key in on shade, but I think being this early in the year, the bass would probably take advantage of the sun and find some warm shallow water... they just wouldn't be roaming.

 

At least that's the way I think about it.  

[B_Gilbert]

I personally feel you were in one of the right areas...  This time of year when the water temperature is lower fish will hold on those rocks ESPECIALLY when the sun is out because they will hold heat...  What you need to look for are changes in the rocks; maybe when the rocks go for bigger rocks to smaller rocks, maybe sand to rocks or possibly rocks to deep areas.  When you caught that 4 pounder what type of rocks were you on and were you near a deep drop off by those rocks?  Maybe a weed bed near those rocks??  I'm a firm believer in what Mike Iaconelli says; 9 out of 10 bites aren't random..  Pay attention when you get that bite and figure out exactly where you were and what you were doing the with lure when you got it...  All rip rap isn't equal and its those sudden changes in it that will hold the fish...

[Joe Schmuckatelli]

the bite was tough today for some reason for me we fished the alabama side of the hooch around noon and had nothing then went 15 miles south on the georgia side at 6pm and had nothing I'm thinking it has alot to do with the cold fronts and warm weather we've been experiencing here in the southeast.

[Bluebasser86]

What was the area you were on like? Was it fairly shallow and water fairly clear? Sometimes calm, sunny conditions will cause the fish to pull off the bank but in my experience that usually isn't the case early in the year when the water is warming. I'm guessing they may have even gone shallower if the sun was starting to warm the shallows up.