Spots or patterns.

[F14A-B]

[bchase44]

From someone who really started bass fishing this summer and has never caught more than 3-4 fish bass in one day:

Since I'm in a kayak, I try to pick a put-in point that will possibly have a pattern existing within a reasonable distance. I go near spots game&Fish mark as "year-round spots" on their lake map.  Deep water is normally close-by (about 15 feet max).

I've read that you simply try to move around, try high - medium - low in the water column.. Try to find structure, cover, or preferably both.. And try "searching" techniques.. spinners, cranks, carolina rigs, etc.

I search on my way to my memory spots lol, but I do attempt to find a pattern.  Supposedly if you catch a bass on the north side of a submerged stump.. you look for other submerged stumps and fish the north side.  However my lake has 10,000 stumps or more.

When I'm searching, I feel like I'm too slow.. It's hard to move quickly and fish at the same time in a paddle powered kayak.  And many times I think to myself, "I'm fishing that 90% of the water that is a waste of time".  (unless I'm at the memory spots)

I suppose my question would be:  How do you search efficiently enough to find the pattern (ie catch about 4 fish) before the day is done?  I am doing good to catch 1 per every 2 hours!  It seems like it requires a xxlb thrust..  And how would you pattern if the area of the lake you fish is pretty much the same, scattered docks, 1000's of stumps and trees..   No real drop offs.. just some slight declines / inclines in contour? 

[slonezp]

46 minutes ago, bchase44 said:

 

I suppose my question would be:  How do you search efficiently enough to find the pattern (ie catch about 4 fish) before the day is done?  I am doing good to catch 1 per every 2 hours!  It seems like it requires a xxlb thrust..  And how would you pattern if the area of the lake you fish is pretty much the same, scattered docks, 1000's of stumps and trees..   No real drop offs.. just some slight declines / inclines in contour? 

Dare I say, put some time into it. Look for differences. In your land of 10,000 stumps, I'm willing to bet they are not all spaced evenly at the same depths. Some will be larger and some smaller, some with outgrowths and some bare. Same goes with docks, some posts are wood and some are galvanized. Some are floating and some are not some are shallow and some are deep. Some have weed growth while some have hard bottom and others mud bottom. Weed lines are fish highways and ambush points but not all weeds are the same. Some are tightly clumped and some are spread out some are grass like and some is snot like. Natural springs which would offer a difference in water temperature as well as water clarity. I believe Catt already mentioned it in this thread that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. The issue becomes finding that 10% and it's not like the 10% is all in one "fishin' hole" Learning the instinctual habits of the fish on the body of water you are fishing along with a depthfinder will help you weed out the 10% of the water from the 90%

Just an example. Please ignore the crappy quality of the image.

 Where are the fish here? The answer is "Right where they're supposed to be" They're not on the high flat nor the low flat they are at the "difference"

and I apologize WRB for taking this in another direction. Didn't mean to hijack

[bchase44]

Flatten that incline to where it's a steady gradual increase from like 12' to 4' in about 200 yards.. Remove all fish.. And add some stumps and that's about what I see from my graph 

You make good points though, I will try to pay more attention if I get out Thursday (and I can stay warm enough!)

[Catt]

10 hours ago, Alonerankin2 said:

give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you confuse him for a lifetime!

Memory (experience) makes us who we are!

How did you log on to this site?

By memory (experience)!

Every decision we make in life is based on memory (experience)

As for using the same lures, how many of y'all have used a black-n-blue jig for year, for 5 years, or 10 years. Is it not just as productive today as it was 10-15-20 yrs ago?

A pattern is simple something that can be duplicated!

There are a combination of patterns leading us to the fish.

First consideration is seasonal which is extremely broad. Bass are shallow in the spring; tells us where the bass are but not really. Given I fish Toledo Bend "shallow" gives me 10s of thousands of acres to search.

Add to shallow, they are in the buck brush, now I've narrowed it down to thousands of acres.

That's just one example!

["hamma"]

Its a tricky thing searching for a pattern. As not all fish you may catch, are in a pattern. Its a chance, or opportunity to actually find one at times. When you do find one "great" now you have a incredible tool in the fishing tool box, to get your bass fishing fix. Repeating a catch in another area opens a doorway, one that will not really guarantee a fish, but more likely than not "offer" the "chance" to hook another.

  In a tourney situation it's like a god sent gift. Giving one a shot at first place, or even in the money. You tourney anglers should already know the pattern game,... On the other hand, during a day out funfishing. It can be the best day on the water ever, because you have the time, usually, you wont find other boats fishing the same pattern. And (I hope) you have enough of that seemingly "magic" lure with you to complete the task at hand.

 As I stated earlier in this thread,...100 fish days can be had when a pattern is found. And within those fish a truly big one may be the days prize. Beit a personal best, a tourney win, a photo op, or your childs first big day, with the pb thrown in there for the proudest parent moment. Which in my opinion, is one of the best memories a parent and child can have, as it's a memory the two of you will never, EVER,... forget.

  And yeah,... 2 of my daughters and I had such a day in Maine, and they both still talk about it.  The next paragraph is the most memorable pattern I ever found, a story of our day in Maine, no "need" to read it.

 Not to bore you with my never ending details, but picture this. They're first early am, on a steam rising Androscoggin lake, we slip out on the boat from camp on the trolling motor, quietly they both put on pop-r's, and start fishing asap. They both get their first smallie ever, and the quiet,.. is broken!,..lol. We continue on as the sun gets higher, and as the top bite fades, I switch them to a jerkbait. Suddenly, time seems to just stop, as a bald eagle glides no more than 20 feet above the boat, and both girls see it and are simply breathless. It climbs a bit as it settles on a cleared tree limb just a bit down shore from us. Again, not a word, sound, or even breath from either of my teen daughters,... a kodak moment? Not just the bird, but silent teenaged girls!,..lmao. They both are in such awe, cellphones didnt exist just then, and im shocked,... I digress,... they both caught a bunch of smallies, that day. And the three of us couldnt forget it, even if we tried. The jerkbait? ,..was a pattern I found the previous day. I got lucky, the weather held out, and things just timed out for us. It was close to a "100" smallie day. One, in which I didnt make a single cast.

 Some of you may be thinking to yourselves,... "Dang,.I wish I could do that". (the pattern part) And the reality of it is,..you may have already, and not really know it. It may have been a great day or 2 of fishing you had, that you didnt "realize", a pattern was actually at hand. And thats the key point right there, "realizing" whats afoot. Once you discern that "heyyyyy ,.. that fish was positioned just like the last three were", you may have stumbled on a pattern, repeat it again if possible.

 If you are newish to bass fishing and saying, "That would be cool,.. 100 fish days, and knowing where they are",... Challenge yourself to be aware of "fish antics" while fishing, see if you can construct the jigsaw puzzle of bass patterns. As I started this post,..Its a tricky thing, but "great", when one is found.

 Not trying to "hi-jack" the thread, Tom.  And if I actually did? sorry bud, its a good thread and offers so much,..probably more than one would think. Can anything in bass fishing "hook" someone on bass, better than a unknowingly solid pattern found? It may just be one aspect of bass fishing, but a very prolific one at that.

[Mainebass1984]

 I  am a pattern fisherman. Pattern fishing works very well for me. Everyday I try and find a pattern within a pattern. It is not easy to find a pattern within a pattern but when you do, it can be some of the most amazing fishing you can experience. For example lets say that that the pattern you have found is that fish are holding on offshore rock piles. You are catching a good amount of quality fish fishing all around offshore rock piles. Most anglers are satisfied at this point.  I personally try and take it a step further.  Is there a "spot on a spot" that consistently produces cast after cast ? Is there a specific cast angle I need to make time and time again ? Is there a specific lure that will catch more fish at this spot ? Thinking like this can make a good day an amazing day. Every day I try and find a pattern within a pattern. I keep a very detailed fishing log and have done so now for close to 20 years. A lot of anglers think this is not necessary and shrug at the though of doing so. I am sure everyone's results would be different, I suppose. It has over time enabled me to find seasonal patterns, lake patterns, water temperature patterns, lure patterns,  etc, for the waters I fish. When these patterns intersect, " a pattern within a pattern", I have found the fishing to be the best. During spring on lake x, fishing lure x, when the water temp is x, when the conditions are x, produces for me year after year after year. Yes sure I am fishing memory but I am fishing patterns as well. I fish quality spots from "memory" to find patterns that produce year after year. I like to "fine tune" a pattern. Attention to detail is extremely important.

It really clicked for me when I got on some quality fish on my favorite lake in 2012. It was spring and I was catching big largemouth and big smallmouth on a black jig and pig. I was targeting a very specific spot, a 50 ft section of clay bank. At first the fishing was not fast and furious. I was consistently catching fish on the black jig and pig, good ones too 3 and 4 lb largemouth. Then just by chance one of them spit up a hand full of crayfish, they were orange and brown. The fishing slowed a bit. I decided to tie on a brown and orang jig with a crayfish piece of pork.

On the first cast I caught a 7-6 largemouth. I started catching fish on nearly every cast, big fish to ( for Maine) for nearly an hour. Once the bite slowed a bit I tried to copy the crayfish pattern with a crankbait. Within the first couple casts I caught another big largemouth, a 6-8. Naturally I decided I didn't need to move from this spot. I stayed there all day. If I went 5 casts with the jig and didn't get bit I would switch to the crank bait and do the same with the crankbait. Most of the time I would catch a fish on the initial cast after switching baits. I stayed on these fish, in the same 50 yard section all day. By the end of the day I had landed my best 5 fish limit, 7-6,7-1,6-8,6-3,5-4 for 32 lbs 6 oz. My biggest 5 smallies weighed 18 lbs 2 oz that day as well. It was incredibly good fishing. In my mind I found a pattern within a pattern on a spot on a spot. A clay bank in the spring was the initial pattern, then fine tuned to it had to be an orange and brown jig or an crayfish colored crankbait. Of course the next day I brought my friend there. He is a diehard black on black jig fisherman. Once I had landed 9 fish to his 1 he asked me for a brown and orange jig. It simply had to be a brown and orange jig or you weren't going to get bit.

Since then I have returned to the specific spot, during a specific time of year and water temperature, fishing those same lures and the results have been consistent every year. Athough I have never have had a 5 fish bag of 32 lb 6 oz since then I have had 30 lbs 6 oz and 29 lbs 15 oz. In 2014 when I had 30 lbs 6 oz I probably should have broken my best 5 bag but I lost a couple very large fish. That day though I did land 10 largemouth over 5 lbs. Every year consistently that pattern on that spot produces giant northern largemouth and big smallies. It has to be those specific lures or you aren't going to get many bites.

My point to this long rant is that when you can combine a good fishing spot or better yet a spot on a spot with a fine tuned pattern the fishing can be amazing.  That is what I try for every single time on the water. The fishing log I spoke of before enables me year after year to return to specific lakes where specific patterns set up every year. It gives me a very good idea of what the fish are doing well before I get to the launch.

 I guess to answer the original question to this thread is I fish a combination of spots, and patterns given the previous fishing experience to establish a fine tuned pattern.

End rant.

[Catt]

Let's look at fishing a "spot" based on memory.

We agree for the most part that 10℅ of the water holds 90℅ of the fish.

Let's say I go out today and fish a point and only catch 4-5 fish off that point. Now I have to decide were those fish there because I believe I was in that 10℅ and the timing was off. Or do I believe that I was in that 90℅ and the bite wasn't going get any better.

How do I determine if I was in the 10℅ or in the 90℅?

The way you establish any pattern, try to duplicate it by fishing it again!

Y'all say it takes 3-5 fish to determine a pattern, don't ya think you should give that point the same consideration and fish it 3-5 times?

Oh yea!

Thank ya @WRB, every times we bump elbows threads like this happen!

Yes I've read ever comment & am still pondering some of it.

[scaleface]

WRB stated that a quick way to find a pattern is to fish an area with a lot of variables  . When I fish a new lake , I study   a map and try to find precisely such areas . Areas with lots of zig zag lines so I can quickly fish different types of water .Its been a good strategy.  I also look for the obvious structure that everyone else can easily find and gets  fished to death .

 

Now lets look at the past three years on the lake I fish the most . My two largest fish this year have came off the  same point . One was caught at night on a plastic worm about 5 foot deep the other during the day 20 foot deep on a RedEyed Shad . Last year my two biggest fish were caught on this same point at night  on a shallow diving crankbait . Two years ago ,  my two biggest fish were  caught shallow during  the day,  one on a spinnerbait the other a buzzbait in a cove that the same point connects too . I  milk that spot  shallow , deep and the coves its connected too and try my hardest to get on a pattern .

[WRB]

Toledo Bend is big lake having thousands of structure /cover areas to choose from and should have several active bass patterns going on, ideal water to pattern therefor to be consistant catching bass on big reserviors you need to be good at pattern fishing.

I have used my knowledge of my small local lakes and have maybe 20 spots to develope a pattern from, if I need to. I am only concerned about developing patterns if it's a pick bite, meaning 1or no bass at each stop. Metering bass but they are inactive at that time, may return later to see if those bass are still there and give them another chance using something that has worked somewhere else, a pattern maybe developing. If I catch 3-5 bass it's going to be good day and I would return to that spot later if time permits.

Tournament anglers are competing against other anglers looking for active bass during the limited hours they fish, patterns become critical.

I am the first one admit pattern fishing isn't my strong suite, but I am not a tournament bass angler. I can read lake maps and have caught bass everywhere I have fished around the country, including Canada and Mexico by locating high percentage areas, elinimating water that doesn't look good to me. We have had a few members request help reading maps and suggesting where they should go to catch bass and made a few suggestions for those anglers on lakes I have never been to. Good pattern anglers like Chris and Rick may fish differently at different locations catching more bass because of thier skills.

Tom

[F14A-B]

Fun fishing for Bass & Tournament Bass fishing are similar & vastly different. 

5 years ago, my brother & I were fishing Kentucky lake. 20 places marked & fished, revealing plenty of 2 1/2 lb fish. 3 places marked & fished, revealing 4 to 5 pound fish.. we knew we needed the bigger fish to win or place high. Those three spots had fisherman on them when we blasted off, ( local rec guys ) Tournament fishing is a whole different beast. Got to catch bigger fish to win. 

Pattern was the same for all 23 spots.

Pattern was based off memory.

We created the memory, learned why & have duplicated it over & over again.

I believe they are one in the same..especially with veteran fisherman who have learned the basics. Without knowing the basics, a fisherman will always struggle. Since I couldn't always remember, I began writing notes..recording data with pen & paper.

Based off these notes I have often been able to duplicate postive results..often spanning decades apart. A favorite lake close to me, has a killer shallow flat, crayfish abound, in the mid spring..

It was killer in 88 & its still killer in 2016 & for all the same reasons. Food, Temperature..I suppose we can call this a pattern or a memory. I dont think it is, I think it is a basic understanding of nature, foodsource, temp, seasonal influence. The basics of our sport..

Florida was tough fishing till I understood the ecology of the water, once that was realized I did well. It is still a tough state mostly, but I know that & am not deterred.

[soflabasser]

44 minutes ago, Alonerankin2 said:

Pattern was based off memory.

We created the memory, learned why & have duplicated it over & over again.

I believe they are one in the same..especially with veteran fisherman who have learned the basics. Without knowing the basics, a fisherman will always struggle.

Well said.I have noticed that too many bass fishermen don't spend enough time learning the basics of bass fishing. Having all the fishing gear in the world means nothing if a bass fishermen does not know how to use his knowledge on the water when it matters the most. 

["hamma"]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

Well said.I have noticed that too many bass fishermen don't spend enough time learning the basics of bass fishing. Having all the fishing gear in the world means nothing if a bass fishermen does not know how to use his knowledge on the water when it matters the most. 

And That,...I agree with wholeheartedly!

 The basics are what gets us the successes we've all enjoyed. Without them your just floating about looking good, (or not!),..lol and to further delve into that subject. How many times have you seen those 2 guys on the brand new rig, best high end gear, etc. Cruising a shoreline, throwing search baits, with the tm on high. They cruise right on by you, and waive, then hook a couple fish further down the shoreline, and just keep right on going?

 I get a big laugh out of that, and even a bigger laugh when you see them at the ramp talking to other anglers while strapping the boat down, and their saying, "we got a few, but nothing good, we never do good here anyways". "place is full of dinks",.... 

 If you have the idea of a "searchbait" to begin with,...where's the follow through? I want to ask them,.."did you ever hear of this new lure?, its all the rage, it's called a plastic worm" "supposed to work real good"

 I understand some people are in a hurry, and I get the squarebill and spinnerbait attraction. But after seeing "many" of these guys for the last few years roaming waters blindly casting away. It kinda makes me fear where this sport is going. It's no wonder they never do good,.. anywhere. I know not "all" are so, but they are out there, and for them to ever find a pattern it will probably be, "the fish are spread out everywhere and bluegill colored squarebill will get em"

  Sometimes I actually wonder what they are thinking of me, when they pass me by. Probably,.."hey Jim.. check out this stupid old timer, he's so old he cant even move his boat along, yeah John, so stupid, didnt even have a spinnerbait tied on..lol",.. Thing is, 8 out of 10 times, I'm on a good pattern if im sitting still.

 Not to be cruel, but I do want to say. I appreciate the knowledge and experience you here have acquired. Its a confirmed feeling knowing that there is some "anglers" out there, that have the intelligence to actually use what they know, dignity to share what they know, and all around unmatched grace to be sombre about it.

 And for that,..` You all have my respect. 

   I may be opinionated, even, maybe a little longwinded,... lol maybe., Some, I know say pushy, or conceited, but,.. thats not it.  Since finding this site? I've seen it as a venue for me to share my experiences in hopes that some of the new, up and coming anglers, dont go the way of "Jim and John", the 2 on the new rig, blindly wasting good water.

Learning the basics is THE most important part of fishing in my opinion. Using them the next step, patterns? or memories? a bit further down the line. Understanding and finding a pattern, can be something a angler has to celebrate when it happens. Its a milestone that will further draw one in even more, to this sport of ours.

 And speaking of celebrating. I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving,  and if ya can? get some casts in, but please be safe

 

[OCdockskipper]

As I read through these posts, I tried applying it to how I fish my small home lake.  I get out on the water 50 - 75 times a year and have done so for 6 plus years, so I do know the lake pretty well.  There are particular spots that produce nearly every time, but I realized that I don't gravitate to them when I get started each trip (I usually will hit them eventually in the day).  Where I start and what I use is based on conditions, my memory & fish log guiding me.  The feedback from the fish make me adjust accordingly until I can figure out what the bass are doing that day (which is based more on experience).  So I would guess in my situation, I try to pattern the fish, aided by the knowledge of particular spots and the memory of how they have produced in the past.

That said, I do have 3 or 4 spots that rarely produce, but I can't figure out why not so I fish them nearly every time  .  For example, there is almost no brush on my home lake, so when a homeowner allows a tree to overhang down into the water, it is unique cover.  One particular home has such a tree, isolated from other cover, near a retaining wall with deep water access close by.  In the past year, I have caught exactly 2 fish off that spot (both over 3 lbs).  It looks so good and everything seems to add up, but it almost always never produces.  Of course, none of that stops me from going there again & again, coming up empty and shaking my head why.

[WRB]

I have already acknowledged using the term "fishing memories" tends to be misleading. What I am saying is repeating exactly what you did the last time out in lieu fishing the current conditions usually doesn't result in success, unless you know why you were successful.

There is a difference between memory and knowledge, the negativity may be from not knowing the difference.

Whatever for me it's time to put this topic to bed.

Tom

[Catt]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

There is a difference between memory and knowledge, the negativity may be from not knowing the difference.

Tom

Yelp!

Without memory there is no knowledge!

[ww2farmer]

My .02 on this, and it may be not worth even that.

The tournaments I fish, the spot fisherman do well............when their spots are on. But they either smash a big bag, or on the trailer early and gone at weigh in time

The pattern fisherman do well more consistently, always hovering close to the win, winning multiple events in a row, or are in the money more times than not. 

I won't get into the whole "fishing memories vs fishing the moment' deal, I find it stupid. Only a fool would NOT at least try to duplicate what has worked well in the past in area's or on spots that produced. And only a fool would stick with it and not try to figure out what was going on that day, or look for other area's and find other productive patterns for the conditions of the day if what he did before is not working.

How many of these idiots who preach "fish the moment" really abide by it? I don't remember the last time on a day 2 or 3 of an Elite series event where everyone just randomly dropped the TM and started fishing...........NO, they all run to spots/areas they caught them before!!!

[WRB]

10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish, must be a lot of fools on the water.

Tom

[Catt]

@ww2farmer well put!

Again I'll reference Toledo Bend, I have almost 50 yrs experience (memories) on this lake. I probably know 100 or more "spots" & probably have over 2,000 hrs of time on the water.

Once I decide "when" I'm going, I'll have a list of at least 10-12 "spots" to try based on current weather & water conditions. Included in those "spots' will be shallow, mid-depth, & deep water plus a variety of cover.

There will be days I don't fish but one or two spots because I've established a pattern that quickly. There will be days I have to fish all of em just to put a limit together.

This is how ya put together a " spot pattern" based off "memory".

That is my starting point!

Another catch phrase or buzz words I hate is "fun fishing"; fishing is fun period!

I don't care if I'm fishing the bass master classic or taking my grandson to the bayou across the street.

My preparation is identical!

[soflabasser]

I think some of you guys need to go fishing this weekend with a young family member ,teach him/her what you know about bass fishing, and don't stress over "spots vs patterns ".With that said, I am going to do some night fishing with my little cousin now and have a good time fishing. 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, soflabasser said:

I think some of you guys need to go fishing this weekend with a young family member ,teach him/her what you know about bass fishing, and don't stress over "spots vs patterns ".With that said, I am going to do some night fishing with my little cousin now and have a good time fishing. 

I do a lot!

[soflabasser]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

I do a lot!

Nice bass.I just finished a quick night fishing trip with my little cousin, we caught lots of bass and released them all.The people that lived around the lake I was fishing where celebrating tonight for something worth celebrating.