When to chase the first bite

[813basstard]

Is first bite/catch enough to get into a pattern? How long do you staying chasing the second bite on first pattern before switching gears?

[NHBull]

For me,, 2 get my attention, 3 starts the pattern

[Tennessee Boy]

A question I have pondered many times.  I hope someone has the answer although I'm sure the correct answer depends on many different factors on any given day.

[CroakHunter]

1 is luck, 2 is a pattern for me. 

[Glaucus]

1 keeps me doing what I'm doing and where I'm doing it, if I get a 2nd pretty quickly it will hone me in, and a 3rd is definitely a pattern.

[Rahlow]

I get a smile every time I think about this. I’ve been in the front, wearing my rear deck partner out, he switched to what I was throwing after about my 3-4 fish. Then started complaining about fishing “used water”, lol, so I put his butt up front on the trolling motor, then it was his line,,,,or my line lol.

I’m stubborn, if I catch a fish fairly quickly on a bait, that’s the pattern for me! Lol

[Quarry Man]

one fish is a clue, two means i should be on the right track, three is a pattern, but this time of year i will change baits and locations because fish are more spread out than the are at other times of the year.

[WRB]

Pattern verses spot fishing really depends on the body of water you are fishing. If you are fishing smaller bodies of water like a pond r a small lake patterns are difficult to isolate. A pattern simply means something repeating. How do you repeat something that happens 1 time?, you repeat exactly what you did and it happens again. If the 2nd fish repeated the location, lure, speed etc as the first it's a pattern. 

I like to establish a pattern and make a milk run, but it doesn't happen often where I fish. Often It's a completely different lure and location or spot picking up 1 here and another there.

Just go fishing and determine what prey the bass prefer at what depth and a pattern may or may not develop.

Tom

[papajoe222]

That first one answers a bunch of questions, not the least of which is; How active are they right now?  If my bait got hammered, is deep in the fish's mouth, or the fish had to chase it down, that tells me a lot and I adjust accordingly.

It also answers the depth question. From there on, where and how I catch another is how I develop a pattern. My problem is I rarely am focused enough to remember exactly what I was doing when I catch the first one (old age, you know) ?

and have to catch a second to begin putting the puzzle together.

[riverbasser]

1 hour ago, papajoe222 said:

My problem is I rarely am focused enough to remember exactly what I was doing when I catch the first one 

I feel ya there. Its something I work on constantly

[813basstard]

Real..weather has a bunch to do with it too. I feel 7-9:30 is a window, 10 -noon is a window, noon to 3, and 3-sundown. Patterns change?

[ww2farmer]

This is how I go about it:

 

1 is clue, and I'll keep doing what I did to get that bite for a short time

 

a 2nd one is a good clue, but it better lead into a 3rd one shortly

 

a 3rd one on the same thing, in the same type of spot as #1 + #2 within an hour is something I can work with for a good long while.

[Troy85]

I fish tidal waters, so I tend to spot fish depending on what the tide is doing rather than pattern fish.  Only time I really pattern fish is on a slack tide.  If the tide is moving then the first  or second bite at a spot will generally tell me how active the fish are and what part of the water column they are in.  Usually that information will transfer to other spots nearby, but not always.

[BassNJake]

18 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

My problem is I rarely am focused enough to remember exactly what I was doing when I catch the first one (old age, you know) ?

I read somewhere and I think it was FLW pro David dudley that said, after catching a fish you should be able to give a book report on it. What time, what depth, water color, water temp, weather conditions, where on the lake(up river, mid lake , down by the dam) specific location(west bank on a bluff wall, hump near river channel) ... ... ..

 

As much as I try I often forget all these details from the fish before.

 

[BuzzHudson19c]

It depends for me. Example: Last week I got out early for smallies. Started fast with a buzzbait and caught two but they didn't crush it, just sort of slurped it. So grabbed a squarebill and voila, started stacking them up. Even when I catch fish on a bait I realize there may be a better one to suit the conditions.

[813basstard]

^yes this..how they bite is important too!

[scaleface]

On 6/14/2018 at 4:40 PM, 813basstard said:

Is first bite/catch enough to get into a pattern?

Yes .   After studying the depth finder and finding shad at a certain depth , marking that depth on a point , tossing out a marker buoy , selecting the proper crankbait , fire a long cast and hook up , then I probably have them figured out .

[Catt]

On 6/14/2018 at 4:40 PM, 813basstard said:

s first bite/catch enough to get into a pattern?

 

A pattern is simply something that can be duplicated.

 

Ya aint patterned nuthin yet!

 

On 6/14/2018 at 4:40 PM, 813basstard said:

How long do you staying chasing the second bite on first pattern before switching gears?

 

No I don't "chase" a second bite, I stick to the game plan I hit the lake with. 

 

Now if I catch a second or third that in anyway shows a pattern with #1...Y'all just donated ya entry fee!

 

 

[Brown Town]

For me the first bite is chance the second is a pattern if it was similar location or on the same bait. Location is definitely more important for me and then I can focus on a specific area and find baits that might be more suitable or get better results than what I'm throwing at the time. Finding where the fish are and want to be is more important and usually more difficult than finding what to throw. Love when the pattern is very specific like shaded part of docks or on secluded structure off shore because then you can put more focus on those areas and quickly work other areas in between those points. 

[geo g]

One fish does not make for a pattern bite.  Three fish in a short period of time is a pattern in my book.

[jeff25]

I started fishing a small creek arm a few weeks ago and got my first bite flipping a jig into some brush and though I was onto something, I continued fishing that pocket and one other one next to it and didn’t get a bite, probably 45 minutes to an hour. I then started fishing main lake points with crankbaits and caught 8 in several hours, so i stuck with that the rest of the day.