Hot temps in Texas, why are bass hanging out in shallow water?

[kiteman]

I've seen and caught a lot of bass in the 2-3lb range just sitting in 6-12" of water near the banks. Its 100+ degrees here and in past years I was catching fish that size in deeper water. Now I am using square bills, worms and craws in the deeper water and not catching many good size bass at all. Is there any reason for this behavior? It seems the heat would make them want to stay deeper so they are cooler. Any recommendations on lures when bass are behaving this way to try and catch the ones that might be deep (and lazy)? Surely they cannot all be in the really shallow waters. 

[Catt]

Cause that's where the bait fish are at

 

How many degrees does the water temperature drop with each foot of depth change?

[kiteman]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Cause that's where the bait fish are at

 

How many degrees does the water temperature drop with each foot of depth change?

 i have no idea what the water temp does?  understand your comment about baitfish, but why is it just now happening this year?  not enough food in the deeper water?  surely there are bigger fish that are deeper out there that i'm not catching?

[Raul]

Cuz that's where the bugs are and where plankton blooms which maens that's where the food is and bass like food.

 

Wanna know when I've caught most of the beeg mommas ? During the warmest months of the year during the hottest days at the hottest hours. ( in my neck of the woods 90 deg is just a warm day, nothing to brag about ).

[Catt]

9 minutes ago, Raul said:

Cuz that's where the bugs are and where plankton blooms which maens that's where the food is and bass like food.

 

Wanna know when I've caught most of the beeg mommas ? During the warmest months of the year during the hottest days at the hottest hours. ( in my neck of the woods 90 deg is just a warm day, nothing to brag about ).

 

Dog Days of Summer is when the bulk of my Double D's were caught!

 

Anybody can catch em in the spring

 

Ambient temperature means nothing to bass! 

 

Thermocline

[Bankbeater]

Is there a lot of vegetation in the shallows?  The bass might be staying where there is oxygen.

[crypt]

the hotter the better.............

 

[WRB]

Where there is abundant prey source the bass are never too far away. What are the water temps where you are catching very shallow bass?

Bass in that skinny of water are usually very skittish unless they are under some type of cover, you should be able to see them or the pressure wave they make when swimming.

Cast up onto the bank and drag your lure into the water.

Tom

[clh121787]

I'm at a lake in east Texas now. Thermocline is set in well at 15 feet. 

[kiteman]

Very heavy vegetation, especially on the bottom. You can't really fish weighted lures, they just catch vegetation even weedless. I can't see any bass from the bank. Pulled in a 3.5lb about 10 feet from the bank with a frog in 2-3ft of water today and never saw the bass until I was hooked and had a good view. But honestly it's a mystery how to fish this for me. Nothing can penetrate the vegetation without being covered itself, and most of the lake is pretty deep. The water is very clear and if I see a bass usually it is away and running if I'm within 30ft.

[Catt]

Seriously!

 

I fish Toledo Bend & Rayburn, which are both known for an abundance of vegetation.

 

Night fishing Texas Rigs & Jigs!

[kiteman]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Seriously!

 

I fish Toledo Bend & Rayburn, which are both known for an abundance of vegetation.

 

Night fishing Texas Rigs & Jigs!

My family isn't far from Rayburn! I can't fish really at night unfortunately. Any veg tips you have I would love to hear. I only have a couple hours a week to fish so I don't have a lot of versatility in my equipment, so any advice you can give is much appreciated.

[scaleface]

12 hours ago, kiteman said:

I've seen and caught a lot of bass in the 2-3lb range just sitting in 6-12" of water near the banks. Its 100+ degrees here and in past years I was catching fish that size in deeper water.

 

I run into the same thing up here in  Missouri . Im catching most of my fish in shoreline brush like it was May . Cant explain it but as long as I'm  catching them I'm happy .

[Turkey sandwich]

lots of good advice.  Location of prey, oxygen content, shade, and ability to ambush are almost always big, but especially this time of year.  There will always be shallow fish.  Finding active, roaming schools can take a ton of work (especially if you don't have a ton of free time to spend on the water).  I'm admittedly awful at finding active roaming schools.  In addition to the time and work, if they're suspended and sitting on the thermocline mid day being lazy with no baitfish nearby, those might be the hardest fish in the lake to catch.  Come this time of the year, most of my fish come beating shoreline shade lines, weed edges and pockets, and pinch points on lakes where there's current and ideally deep water access.  Lots of fish can be caught this way, and they're usually pretty easy patterns to switch between without necessarily heading deep and fishing 20+ feet of water. 

[chadmack282]

thermocline, greener grass in shallows, oxygen

[LxVE Bassin]

They are following their next meals 

[scaleface]

I've notice on my depth finder that the majority of the fish have been much shallower than the thermocline this year. I can only assume there is a comfort zone there .  Maybe more 02 . I still expect the fish to go deeper every time out . Last week the thermoclne was at seventeen and the fish were congregated at ten foot .

[frogflogger]

oxygen - oxygen - good time for topwaters

[Paul Roberts]

Temperature is important, but food and cover can trump it.