Daily Movement Of Summer Bass - Can't Find The Information.

[FishingTom]

I'm doing some research on summer bass, but there's a kernel of information I can't seem to track down - despite the 50+ tabs open on my computer.

I'm trying to better understand the daily movements of Largemouth Bass.

I know that summer bass are either in shallow cover or offshore structure. In the latter they are schooled, while shallow they are more likely to be solo.

I know they follow bait fish in the summer. In south states this is very often gizzard or threadfin shad, which also school in deeper water, but will migrate daily to edges of weed bed to spawn. And northern states have bluegill which stay closer to vegetation.

And bass don't venture far from their homes in a day - 300 feet at best. 

I believe the shallow bass stick close to the vegetation throughout the day and may move based on forage. But I can't find anything about the daily movement of the deeper bass - I'm guessing they move in with shad.

If anyone has information on the daily movements of LMB during the summer, both in the south states with shad and north states with bluegill, it would be greatly appreciated.  (links to a study or reputable source are appreciated too!)

[Brian6428]

That is a really good question that I have often found myself wondering. In my experience bass are found shallow in the morning and evening, but I normally struggle to find them during the day. If I do find them, it is normally one or two fish holding tight under docks or in deeper water. That said I am looking to catch more bass during the day in the summer.

 

I have never heard about bass staying within 300 feet of their "homes." Where did you see this? 

 

I will stay tuned to see what others have to say.

[Crestliner2008]

You really need to google "Spoonplugging for Bass" by Elwood "Buck" Perry. He is considered by most to be the "Father of Structure Fishing". In this book you will learn about the migrations of bass - and other species of fish - to & from the shallows. They do this for food. Bass have one agenda: eat as much as you can! And as the apex predator that they are, they accomplish this task quite efficiently. This book will go a long way in your understanding of the basic principals of bass behavior. I still use them today. As Bucks says, "It's all about depth and speed control".

[WRB]

Can you be a little more specific as to what bass you are interested in; northern or Florida largemouth bass. smallmouth or spotted bass? Reservoirs ,natural lakes or rivers? Bass are very adaptive fish to their ecosystem and prey sources. If you want tracking studies to determine behavior the study is usually confined to one type of bass.

Tom

[papajoe222]

Welcome to the board. There is a wealth of information to be found and shared here. It's one of the best sites of it's kind.  That said, lets see if we can enlighten you on migration movements of bass. 'Buck' Perry did shed a lot of light on the subject along with a ton of information about structure and the above mentioned book along with 'Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers' are a must read for anyone wanting to understand that subject.

To begin with, bass that call shallow water their home during the summer don't migrate. The same goes for schooling bass as the majority of their movements during the summer are in relation to the forage movements such as shad schools. If the forage moves shallow the schoolies will too, but that isn't a true migration.

Migration refers to the movement of deep water fish from their deep water to the shallows and back.  There is a seasonal migration to the shallows for the spawn and during the summer, a migration for feeding.  The feeding migration can occur anywhere from twice daily to only once in a two or three day period.  The availability or lack of deep water forage and frontal conditions have the biggest effect on frequency. 

That movement is typically governed by structure, which those fish use similar to a road, that extends from the shallows to the deeper water.  This is the reason why understanding structure is important to us.  One thing to remember about this migration route that they use;  Often, the fish will not make the complete journey to the shallows.  For a number of different reasons they will stop somewhere along that path and then return to the depths.  This can be an extended stop or it can last an hour or less.  Again, forage availability and frontal or barametric pressure conditions are two of the factors that determine their length of stay. 

As an example:  There is a point that extends from a feeding flat out to deep water. One side of the point drops faster than the other and on that side of the point are a rock pile and an area where the bottom changes from soft bottom to sand or small gravel.  The weeds stop growing at that point.

The point is the major structure in this example. The rock pile and the transition area are types of structure also, but in this instance they serve as 'rest stops' for fish migrating to the shallows to feed.  If that structure, or the cover associated with it, holds forage there is no need for them to move shallower.  If the point holds no 'rest stop' structure or cover, they would continue moving up to the shallows and return after feeding. 

That is a simple example of a migration route.        Hope that helps.

[FishingTom]

Thanks Guys for all of your input!

Brain6428. I don't recall exactly. I've probably read 200+ articles in the last few days and that was one figure that stuck out a few times.

Crestliner2008. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm not sold on the entire process of Spoonplugging, but any classic that hands out knowledge is something to check out. Thanks again.

WRB. I thought LMB in the summer with shad in the south and bluegill in the north was pretty explicit. Next time I will be more precise. You are exactly right though, there are many nuances between seemingly suttle differences when it comes to bass. Even when reading articles where some angler is giving advice you have to ask what section of the US he fishes and what type of water. Great advice for one angler may not be the best for another. I hear rainbow trout is the primary bait fish in SoCal. Is there any truth to that?

PapaJoe222. Thanks for the info! That's basically what I was looking for. I just couldn't find it. Most searches for "Daily Bass summer migration," "Daily bass movements,"Summer bass activity" or whatever, would just talk about the seasonal migrations. 


 

[WRB]

LMB in the summer in reservoirs and natural lakes.

Most natural lakes have near shore prey, meaning baitfish that live near shore and in cover. Most reservoirs south of the Mason-Dixon Line or snow belt have both near shore and pelagic baitfish, pelagic meaning fish that spend most of the time away from shore.

During the summer period bass have lots of choices for prey types; baitfish that also include young of the year bass, crappie, bluegill, cat fish, carp, perch, trout, plus a wide variety of minnows, chubs, shad and smelt. Terrestrial critters like frogs, big insects, small birds, mice, rats, lizards, snakes, worms. Crustaceans like crabs and crayfish.

Bass that live in natural lakes usually stay near shore where their prey source is abundant.

Bass that live in deep structured impoundments also stay near their most predominate prey source and that can vary depending if pelagic fish like threadfin shad are present in large amounts.

Threadfin shad are the most common shad bass prefer to eat and tend to stay in cover during low light periods and move off shore during day light periods to feed on phytoplankton. A portion of the bass population follow the pelagic shad off shore and than back to shore.

Feeding behavior, bass tend to group up to feed on schooled baitfish because a single bass isn't effective in herding schooled fish. Single bass tend to feed on single prey types found near shore.

The term migration as coined by Buck Perry doesn't correctly define what bass are doing when traveling to relocate or take advantage of abundant prey sources. The bass are simply moving from the family room to the dinning room or going to the corner cafe to eat.

Tom