Bass behavior: roaming or holding?

[FCPhil]

I was thinking about bass behavior as I have been strategizing about how to catch them. I fish mainly large ponds that have a lot of vegetation and pretty shallow. 

 

Sometimes it seems like bass are roaming in schools and once I catch one I start catching multiple. They usually are smaller and often caught on crankbaits. Other times I'll catch single fish on individual spots of cover that usually are bigger. 

 

What I'm trying to figure out is when do they roam in open water and when do they stick tight to cover so that I can target them better with the limited fishing time I have. Anyone have some insight?

[RoLo]

 

What I'm trying to figure out is when do they roam in open water and when do they stick tight to cover?

 

I believe you omitted a third scenario:

The schoolies may not necessarily be roaming, but may only be catchable during feeding periods.

 

Roger

[FCPhil]

 

 

I believe you omitted a third scenario:

The schoolies may not necessarily be roaming, but may only be catchable during feeding periods.

 

Roger

Maybe I should leave out the schooling aspect. Mainly I'm trying to figure when to cover as much water as possible with moving baits versus when to focus on thoroughly fishing pieces of cover. For example in my experience midday is better to focus on specific cover and mornings better to focus on covering open water. 

[sully420]

 

Maybe I should leave out the schooling aspect. Mainly I'm trying to figure when to cover as much water as possible with moving baits versus when to focus on thoroughly fishing pieces of cover. For example in my experience midday is better to focus on specific cover and mornings better to focus on covering open water. 

I think you have the right idea. Just be willing to adjust from there and you will be fine.

[RoLo]

 

For example in my experience midday is better to focus on specific cover

and mornings better to focus on covering open water. 

 

I totally agree; light level is a key variable.

To that end, bass tend to stray farther from cover on windy days and during overcast skies.

 

Roger

[WRB]

Bass behavior can be very simple and predicable and complex at the same time.

Bass are bass but not all bass behave the same. Largemouth bass in ponds or very small lakes have a different predominate prey source then LMB living in a large lakes. LMB behave differently than smallmouth bass and spotted bass behave differently than either LMB and smallmouth bass, but all these bass are predators that must hunt prey to eat.

In a predators world there is a pecking order, the best hunting areas go to the top predators. 

Add to all this is inactive bass are extremely difficult to catch, they are not interested in hunting prey at that time. Active bass are hunting bass and looking for prey, easier to catch. 

Where are the top predators located? Wherever the prey is located. Bass roam to hunt certain types of prey and hold to ambush other types of prey that come near them. 

I have watched pond/pit bass cruise the parimeter of their domain and watched those same bass suspend under cover waiting for prey to come near them. Bass in small ecosystems have grown up there and know every inch of their home waters.

It's up to you to figure out where the bass are located, what prey source they are feeding on and when they are active.

Tom

[FCPhil]

 

Bass behavior can be very simple and predicable and complex at the same time.

Bass are bass but not all bass behave the same. Largemouth bass in ponds or very small lakes have a different predominate prey source then LMB living in a large lakes. LMB behave differently than smallmouth bass and spotted bass behave differently than either LMB and smallmouth bass, but all these bass are predators that must hunt prey to eat.

In a predators world there is a pecking order, the best hunting areas go to the top predators. 

Add to all this is inactive bass are extremely difficult to catch, they are not interested in hunting prey at that time. Active bass are hunting bass and looking for prey, easier to catch. 

Where are the top predators located? Wherever the prey is located. Bass roam to hunt certain types of prey and hold to ambush other types of prey that come near them. 

I have watched pond/pit bass cruise the parimeter of their domain and watched those same bass suspend under cover waiting for prey to come near them. Bass in small ecosystems have grown up there and know every inch of their home waters.

It's up to you to figure out where the bass are located, what prey source they are feeding on and when they are active.

Tom

What causes them to be active versus inactive?

[IndianaFinesse]

 

What causes them to be active versus inactive?

A huge variety of conditions and variables, we only understand a few of the triggers and there are still to many to list here.  We don't completely know what makes a bass become active or inactive, but there are a few general rules of thumb.

 

 For the first 3-5 days after a cold front moves through, bass will likely be inactive and in deeper water/closer to cover.  Immediately preceding the front the bass will be extremely active.  The more cloud cover/wind/rain or any weather condition that reduces the amount of light penetration tends to make bass more active.  Time of year also playes a huge role in activity level, in the prespawn bass are very active, spawn less so, post spawn active, summer neutral, early fall and mid fall active, late fall ranging between inactive and active, and winter inactive.  These are just a few very general factors, there are many more.  Bottom line is that younhave to make an educated guess as to their activity level, then experiment on the water with an open mind.

[WRB]

 

What causes them to be active versus inactive?

Dailey rythym, bass are active feeding about 3 out of 24 hours each day then rest becoming less active to inactive. In general terms bass are active about every 4 hours for about 30 minutes each day and night when they hunt and feed. Every lake is different and every bass in each lake is on it's own time table. It takes time on the water to determine when bass are active in the locations you fish. Recognizing that trying to make inactive bass to bite is wasting time and spending time to locate active bass is time well spent will improve your catch rate. If there is bait and bass the bass will turn on, you just need to be there at the right time and place.

Tom

[RoLo]

 

On 5/9/2017 at 10:47 PM, FCPhil said:

What causes them to be active versus inactive?

 

 

That's the million dollar question.

Every angler would love to know the answer, but no angler does.

 

Biologically speaking, feeding periods are founded on circadian rhythms, which are unyielding,

but are complicated by light levels and water temperatures which are variable.

 

Roger

[davecon]

The guy that made the films Big Mouth and Big Mouth Forever, Glen Lau, addresses this issue. Watch those two videos and you should learn a lot in short order. Try a google search. You'll be glad you did.