How To Fish According To Time Of Year

[Jcraig359]

Okay I live in southeast AR the weather is staying above or around 75 daytime about 49-55 or so nighttime I was wondering what kind of activity the bass are doing and how and what structures I need to fish, any truthful answers would help

[Ozark_Basser]

Where are you fishing? What lake(s)? I would start thinking about prespawn and spawn patterns. I would take a map of the lake and take a look at all the creeks and look for staging areas for prespawn bass such as points, ledges, transitions etc. And pattern my way around the lake where I caught fish.

[Crestliner2008]

Welcome to the board! There are many articles at the top of the main page, which will help you with your question. And most folks here will certainly try to help as well. However, this a pretty broad question. The answers will vary with the kind of water (pond, lake, reservoir, river) and the species (LM, SM or spots) you are targeting. Of importance also is the clarity of the water, the type of vegetation (if any) and the forage base. Are there a lot of docks around the lake? Are you fishing out of a boat or shore bound? Do you have a sonar and are you familiar with how to use it to identify structure.?

 

Many questions needing to be addressed before anyone can give you a logical response. You've started off just fine with joining us here and we'll look forward to hearing more from you. Also, something which might help getting responses is going to the "Introduction" forum and tell us a bit about yourself. Again....Welcome to the best bass forum there is.

[WRB]

Take a few minutes and use the search tool located at the top of the page. There is a little gear icon, push that, then type in the words "Cosmic Clock".

This is a bass behavior calendar based on several factors that should help you....if you take the time to read everything and apply the information to your specific area.

Tom

[Jcraig359]

Where are you fishing? What lake(s)? I would start thinking about prespawn and spawn patterns. I would take a map of the lake and take a look at all the creeks and look for staging areas for prespawn bass such as points, ledges, transitions etc. And pattern my way around the lake where I caught fish.

Is smaller horseshoe style lakes, Wallace and Wilson or chicot which is much larger than the two with plenty of branches and creeks coming into the lake (no swift water at all) but like bait wise in your opinion would you yourself prefer small plastics like baby brush hogs or other and once found the creeks and ledges work them from te shallow part down the ledge into the deeper? I am not a bad fisherman I swear lol I've been fishing bass avidly for 13yrs or so (24) but I just have problems patterning fish according to te of year since it's all self taught, I just want to be able to have a good idea of what fish are doing what time of year.... And thanks a lot btw

[Jcraig359]

Take a few minutes and use the search tool located at the top of the page. There is a little gear icon, push that, then type in the words "Cosmic Clock".

This is a bass behavior calendar based on several factors that should help you....if you take the time to read everything and apply the information to your specific area.

Tom

Okay bud thanks a lot I'm fixing to check it out now

[Jcraig359]

Take a few minutes and use the search tool located at the top of the page. There is a little gear icon, push that, then type in the words "Cosmic Clock".

This is a bass behavior calendar based on several factors that should help you....if you take the time to read everything and apply the information to your specific area.

Tom

Okay bud thanks a lot I'm fixing to check it out now

[Jcraig359]

Take a few minutes and use the search tool located at the top of the page. There is a little gear icon, push that, then type in the words "Cosmic Clock".

This is a bass behavior calendar based on several factors that should help you....if you take the time to read everything and apply the information to your specific area.

Tom

Okay bud thanks a lot I'm fixing to check it out now

[Jcraig359]

Take a few minutes and use the search tool located at the top of the page. There is a little gear icon, push that, then type in the words "Cosmic Clock".

This is a bass behavior calendar based on several factors that should help you....if you take the time to read everything and apply the information to your specific area.

Tom

Okay bud thanks a lot I'm fixing to check it out now

[Ozark_Basser]

Is smaller horseshoe style lakes, Wallace and Wilson or chicot which is much larger than the two with plenty of branches and creeks coming into the lake (no swift water at all) but like bait wise in your opinion would you yourself prefer small plastics like baby brush hogs or other and once found the creeks and ledges work them from te shallow part down the ledge into the deeper? I am not a bad fisherman I swear lol I've been fishing bass avidly for 13yrs or so (24) but I just have problems patterning fish according to te of year since it's all self taught, I just want to be able to have a good idea of what fish are doing what time of year.... And thanks a lot btw

I'm no pro lol, and as a matter of fact, I'm only two years older than you. I live in NW AR, and the farthest south I've fished is the Arkansas River in Little Rock. What I can tell you that will help is to find places where bass can spawn. These places need to have a hard bottom. Pea gravel, lilly pad root systems, etc. Do a lot of research on that and compare it to the cover or structure you have available in your lakes. That is the first step. I would then look for breaks outside of these areas such as points, grass lines, transitions such bottom changes (boulders to chunk rock), humps, ledges, etc. These are the places where the big females will stage up before moving in to spawn. As to when they will be staging in these places is hard to pinpoint. A general way to figure this out is by water temperature. Generally, but not always, they should be staging at around 55 degrees and moving up on beds at about 60 degrees. Again, this a general observation to be taken with a grain of salt. They might move up when the water is cooler or warmer. Also, they tend to move up in waves, not all at once. So there will be some early and late spawners. The only way to know for sure is to get out there and catch them and observe what the bass look like. A female full of eggs caught on a break outside a spawning area is obviously in prespawn. Make a mental note of conditions. Better yet write it down for later reference. A female with her tail scraped off and bloody is obviously on a bed. Again make a note.

Baits are really subjective if you ask me. I prefer to use a search bait like a crankbait, jerkbait, chatterbait, top water, etc to probe likely prespawn and spawning areas. Then work the area thoroughly with a bottom contact bait like a jig if I think I'm on some fish. If I see them on beds, I prefer a bait I can see well, a white jig or soft plastic usually, so I can see if they eat it or not. Sometimes they can suck a bait in and spit it out way before you ever feel it so a bright color helps to be able to see them suck it in so you can set the hook.

Do a lot of research and try this link to see if you can learn a thing or two about the structure in your lake. http://webapp.navionics.com/ It might not have a topo of your lake if its real small, but its worth a shot. Good luck.

[Jcraig359]

I'm no pro lol, and as a matter of fact, I'm only two years older than you. I live in NW AR, and the farthest south I've fished is the Arkansas River in Little Rock. What I can tell you that will help is to find places where bass can spawn. These places need to have a hard bottom. Pea gravel, lilly pad root systems, etc. Do a lot of research on that and compare it to the cover or structure you have available in your lakes. That is the first step. I would then look for breaks outside of these areas such as points, grass lines, transitions such bottom changes (boulders to chunk rock), humps, ledges, etc. These are the places where the big females will stage up before moving in to spawn. As to when they will be staging in these places is hard to pinpoint. A general way to figure this out is by water temperature. Generally, but not always, they should be staging at around 55 degrees and moving up on beds at about 60 degrees. Again, this a general observation to be taken with a grain of salt. They might move up when the water is cooler or warmer. Also, they tend to move up in waves, not all at once. So there will be some early and late spawners. The only way to know for sure is to get out there and catch them and observe what the bass look like. A female full of eggs caught on a break outside a spawning bed is obviously in prespawn. Make a mental note of conditions. Better yet write it down for later reference. A female with her tail scraped off and bloody is obviously on a bed. Again make a note.

Baits are really subjective if you ask me. I prefer to use a search bait like a crankbait, jerkbait, chatterbait, top water, etc to probe likely prespawn and spawning areas. Then work the area thoroughly with a bottom contact bait like a jig if I think I'm on some fish. If I see them on beds, I prefer a bait I can see well, a white jig or soft plastic usually, so I can see if they eat it or not. Sometimes they can suck a bait in and spit it out way before you ever feel it so a bright color helps to be able to see them suck it in so you can set the hook.

Do a lot of research and try this link to see if you can learn a thing or two about the structure in your lake. http://webapp.navionics.com/It might not have a topo of your lake if its real small, but its worth a shot. Good luck.

Thanks man I will sure give it a try, weather permitting I wont be able yogi ah

Till fri. Or. Sat. But I'll let ya know

[Ozark_Basser]

For sure. I'd love to hear how it went.