Water Level Fluctuations And Bass

[BassnChris]

Water level fluctuations affect bass.

But how quickly?

How fast or far does the water have to fluctuate before the bass reacts?

 

Does it take days or hours for the bass to react?

 

Look at the example of a lake level that is fluctuating due to spring rains and releases of the rain water to maintain close to ‘normal’ pool.

Do the bass react to these fluctuations? To what degree?

 

 

 

Thanks

Chris

[scaleface]

Thats not much of a fluctuation , less than two feet. If I were fishing below the dam  , Id go when they were releasing water , the bass are probably feeding better then . On the lake I cant answer except I'd just go fishing . If there is visible current I'd try shallow on points in my stained water . Looks like they are releasing it at about 24 hour intervals and now it may have stopped .

[BassnChris]

What constitutes a fluctuation in water level that will affect (make bass move)? IE. how many feet over what time span?

 

Just kind of wondering.

[RAMBLER]

There is a small example in a small environment  that will demonstrate what lowering water will do to fish. 

In an aquarium make a hollow in the gravel (or whatever you have in the bottom) and start syphoning water out of the aquarium.  The fish will go to that deeper hole in the bottom.  Feed them and they will not eat while that water is lowering and for some time after.

I fish in a river, below a dam.  When the gates close and the water level starts dropping, you can't beg a bite.  I've seen it drop a foot from the time I put in and finally get tired of trying.  It's a good place to fish when the water is up or coming up.

[WRB]

Not every lake is the same regarding raising and falling water levels. The general rule is the bass move up with raising water and pull back as it falls. Bass can"t swim on dry land.

Raising water due to rain floods new areas and bass will move up to look for prey. When thecwatercstarts to fallback after new areas being flooded the bass drop back to abush site or funnel zones to take advantage of the current.

Tom

[Ozark_Basser]

The truth is you're probably gonna find fish up shallow and deep no matter what the water level is. If your strength is fishing shallow water, I wouldn't just go offshore fishing just because the water level dropped and vice versa. I would try something I had confidence in and take note of my success while paying attention to the water level, water temp, etc.

[Sam]

Chris, everything that happens on, in and around water will affect a bass' behavior.

 

Tidal Rivers -

As the water flows out towards the low tide mark, baitfish will start to move out of the grass, pads, creeks and cuts. The bass will feed on the baitfish when this happens.

When the tidal water levels start to rise the baitfish will go back and hide and the bass rest after feeding during the low tide event.

This is why we say that when you fish a tidal river the best times are on a falling tide and the last two hours of the outgoing tide and the first hour of an incoming tide.

 

Lakes and Reservoirs -

Unless the dam operators open the dam to let a lot of water flow out of the lake, causing current, the bass can be all over the place.

This is why you have to hunt for the bass in lakes and reservoirs and the weather conditions play a major part in your hunting.

 

Water Fluctuations -

As with any body of water, drop offs and holes plus the deepest part of the water system may be only two feet.

As stated above, when the water starts to flow out the bass will return to the places they feel safe after they feed.

When the water rises and starts to inundate areas that were not covered by water previously, the bass will move into those areas to feed or check it out.

Remember, bass are very inquisitive animals and they will move around into new areas or watch your bait as it moves in the water.

 

So to answer your query: Yes, water fluctuations do have an impact on bass behavior but the behavior depends on the water system and its profile.

 

It is your challenge to figure out what is happening in the environment that is 180* opposite of our atmosphere and one that we cannot breath or see what is going on under the surface.  This is why we say to read, read and read some more to learn all you can about that little green monster that brings grown men to their knees.

[bighed]

So our drought has ended in my area.  The 23000 acre lake 2 miles from my house was 13' low two months ago and now the are letting water out of the dam.  There are areas of the lake that have not seen water in three years that used to be honey holes.  The bass have not returned to those areas yet.  The bite overall has been poor during this time and the fish seem scattered.  Fished several hours for a couple dinks tight to shore most recently.    

[BassnChris]

Thanks all........Sam, thank you for a very detailed response. I really appreciate it.

Bert.....congrats on the rain. We have had good rains too......first time in a while that we are at 'normal' amounts of rainfall at this point in the year.

[frogflogger]

We had 25'+ fluctuations in March - very confusing for me

[RoLo]

We had 25'+ fluctuations in March - very confusing for me

 

It's really very simple, but the big mistake anglers make is confusing Water Depth with Fish Depth.

Forget about 'water depth' and focus only on the distance between the water surface and the fish.

In other words, 'fish depth' is measured from the top down, not from the bottom up.

Fish naturally cling to their seasonal 'top-down depth', so in order to maintain that depth,

a change in pool level is going to force the fish into a new setting. When the pool level is changed,

the angler has to find 'new' bottom structures that merge with the 'same' fish depth.

 

Roger

[WRB]

When water levels fluctuate greatly during the spring (spawn cycle) it's confusing because the bass haven't established their summer period locations. The bass move up from deeper water to shallower water to spawn and the water drops or raises a few feet, the bass adjust. If the water falls far enough during bedding time, those beds could be lost and the same can happen if the water raises to fast and silts the beds.

One reason there is multiple waves of spawner's.

Raising or falling water after the spawn the bass react to the food supply, find the prey.

Tom