Daily Bass Patterns

[Josh254]

Hello everyone, I've lately been reading up and studying seasonal patterns when it comes to bass and I have to ask; what are the daily patterns around the various seasons?

 

It's fall right and the bass follow shad to shallow water and stage at flats, points etc. but within fall, there are still going to be different things to influence daily behavior like clouds, wind, barometric pressure; so what do these things mean amidst different seasons and how do they influence overall bass behavior in different seasons?

 

What do these individual things listed above do to bass? I'm new to bass fishing and I'm trying to gain basic understanding in order to start catching fish.

[Harold Scoggins]

Hey Josh, have you checked out these articles? There is a ton of information on bass during the fall here and some are very good reads.

https://www.bassresource.com/seasonal-fishing-articles#fall

[Josh254]

Just now, Harold Scoggins said:

Hey Josh, have you checked out these articles? There is a ton of information on bass during the fall here and some are very good reads.

https://www.bassresource.com/seasonal-fishing-articles#fall

No but I will now that you told me about it, thanks Harold

[Harold Scoggins]

One of my favorites.

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fall_strategies.html

[Josh254]

4 hours ago, Harold Scoggins said:

One of my favorites.

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fall_strategies.html

Harold, thanks for your support thus far but can you break this down possibly further? Ex. It's fall time right now and it's sunny, and very little wind; though it's fall and they're normally shallow, if it's sunny would they still be shallow or would they move to the depths but not to deep?

 

Like I'm understanding the seasonal patterns but the catalysts of everyday climate are kind mucking things up a little bit. ??

[Tennessee Boy]

34 minutes ago, Josh254 said:

Like I'm understanding the seasonal patterns but the catalysts of everyday climate are kind mucking things up a little bit. ??

Keep in mind that it’s always “mucked up” when it comes to fishing.  You’ve asked good questions and it’s good to seek answers but a complete understanding of the seasonal patterns and weather will never allow you to just evaluate the conditions and determine exactly where the bass will be.  It will hopefully allow you to eliminate some water and refine your search.  Bass don’t always follow the rules and every lake can be different.

[Josh254]

59 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Keep in mind that it’s always “mucked up” when it comes to fishing.  You’ve asked good questions and it’s good to seek answers but a complete understanding of the seasonal patterns and weather will never allow you to just evaluate the conditions and determine exactly where the bass will be.  It will hopefully allow you to eliminate some water and refine your search.  Bass don’t always follow the rules and every lake can be different.

Well since it's like that I suppose that's where and when the fun and time come in to exploring the many different aspects of the great outdoors. So If it'll help eliminate some water and I know the basic area of where they'll be, using a fish finder to refine my search to pinpoint them; is that how the pro's do it? I can't help but feel like using sonar would be cheating.

 

And I know that there no such thing as normal in bass fishing because the variables are limitless as to the many combinations of change to the environment within the season no matter how insignificant they can be to a novice such as myself. 

 

I just wanna catch some fish and I plan on getting a kayak because on the bank I catch nothing, though it'll be late winter and staging for spawn season by the time I get it along with my fish finder. But I want to be that guy that doesn't need sonar on a boat if I already have an idea of where they are based on seasonal and natural weather patterns.

[Oregon Native]

It's interesting your take on sonar....a LOT of people with sonar ..... suck....and many don't.  All fishing takes a commitment to learn....some good info above.  This time of year you can't go wrong with points....work shallow to deep....all points have fish....not likely....just as all bathtubs don't have purty people in them.  But.....it is likely.  

The pure form of bass fishing may be a wooden john boat....and a cane pole with a jig....

Tight lines

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, Josh254 said:

Well since it's like that I suppose that's where and when the fun and time come in to exploring the many different aspects of the great outdoors. So If it'll help eliminate some water and I know the basic area of where they'll be, using a fish finder to refine my search to pinpoint them; is that how the pro's do it? I can't help but feel like using sonar would be cheating.

 

And I know that there no such thing as normal in bass fishing because the variables are limitless as to the many combinations of change to the environment within the season no matter how insignificant they can be to a novice such as myself. 

 

I just wanna catch some fish and I plan on getting a kayak because on the bank I catch nothing, though it'll be late winter and staging for spawn season by the time I get it along with my fish finder. But I want to be that guy that doesn't need sonar on a boat if I already have an idea of where they are based on seasonal and natural weather patterns.

Yes the search is what we’re all obsessed with.   The search for fish when we’re on the water and the search for knowledge when we’re not.  
 

Welcome to BassResource.   It’s a great community and a great place to learn.

[Josh254]

22 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Yes the search is what we’re all obsessed with.   The search for fish when we’re on the water and the search for knowledge when we’re not.  
 

Welcome to BassResource.   It’s a great community and a great place to learn.

Tennessee Boy, thanks for the welcome and I'm glad to be here. Just promise to throw me a cup o' sugar every now and then when I come a knockin. (No ****)

[Sam]

Josh, good question and you can see the different answers.

 

Bass, as a species of fish, will migrate during the fall months to 1) gouge themselves for the winter; 2) find a safe place to rest and hide to wait for an easy meal to float by; and 3) go deep to hide and rest unless they go shallow to feed or enjoy the warmer water warmed by the sun.

 

Bass have "highways" they use to get from point A to point B and they follow these underwater highways each season. Get to know where they are and what characteristics they have.

 

Bass also may have their own "milk run" where they go from place to place; however, in the fall they usually stay in one local area looking for crawfish and baitfish.

 

In his book, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, he wrote:

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

 

So know your enemy. It is that little green creature that can make grown men cry.

 

Charge!!!!!!
 

[Josh254]

1 minute ago, Sam said:

Josh, good question and you can see the different answers.

 

Bass, as a species of fish, will migrate during the fall months to 1) gouge themselves for the winter; 2) find a safe place to rest and hide to wait for an easy meal to float by; and 3) go deep to hide and rest unless they go shallow to feed or enjoy the warmer water warmed by the sun.

 

Bass have "highways" they use to get from point A to point B and they follow these underwater highways each season. Get to know where they are and what characteristics they have.

 

Bass also may have their own "milk run" where they go from place to place; however, in the fall they usually stay in one local area looking for crawfish and baitfish.

 

In his book, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, he wrote:

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

 

So know your enemy. It is that little green creature that can make grown men cry.

 

Charge!!!!!!
 

Hell yes

[Angry John]

3 hours ago, Josh254 said:

Well since it's like that I suppose that's where and when the fun and time come in to exploring the many different aspects of the great outdoors. So If it'll help eliminate some water and I know the basic area of where they'll be, using a fish finder to refine my search to pinpoint them; is that how the pro's do it? I can't help but feel like using sonar would be cheating.

 

And I know that there no such thing as normal in bass fishing because the variables are limitless as to the many combinations of change to the environment within the season no matter how insignificant they can be to a novice such as myself. 

 

I just wanna catch some fish and I plan on getting a kayak because on the bank I catch nothing, though it'll be late winter and staging for spawn season by the time I get it along with my fish finder. But I want to be that guy that doesn't need sonar on a boat if I already have an idea of where they are based on seasonal and natural weather patterns.

Dont try and learn everything at once.  If your going to get on the water, spend time learning your vessel, boat control, loading unloading and how to pack your yak/boat so you have what you need and know where it is.  Spend that sonar money on a better rig and upgrade to sonar next year.  Reading the conditions, boat control and a good plan is important regardless of the other gadgets you get to help you out.

[TnRiver46]

Sonar can help find fish but it wont help you catch them. If its cheating then we all should get our money back because it doesnt translate to immediate fishing success. Most water is full of fish and you will see them on sonar. You still have to position the boat, make the cast and correct presentation, blah blah blah the list goes on. I cant count how many times ive seen fish on sonar that wouldn't bite. I was the one being cheated in those scenarios

[WRB]

When I was a young bass angler and treid to put all the variables together the task became over whelming. What did was put what I learned the first 20 years into perspective and came up with "The Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar"* in 1974.

Prior to this bass bahavior was by seasonal periods was the spawn, everything else was lumped together. I divided the bass behavior into seasonal periods using the bass body/water temperature. Everyone could agree that bass spawned in the spring when water was warmer. 

What I did was put a temperature probe into the basses throat to determine what it's body temp was after catching them over a 10 year period. A pattern evolved every year and repeated regardless of weather patterns. Weather change what calendar months the bass would spawn because of the changes in water temperature. Bass being cold blooded the water temperature is the key element affecting seasonal behavior.

I also broke down daily bass behavior using what I called rythym into activity levels.

My belief that depth of light based on the Suns horizontal position triggered activity based on catch rate success. Weather directly affects lighting condions but isn't predictable in advance, it must be factored in.

Take a look at the Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar for a guide to answer your question.

Tom

* do a Internet or site search.

 

[Jermination]

On 12/9/2019 at 1:24 PM, Josh254 said:

Well since it's like that I suppose that's where and when the fun and time come in to exploring the many different aspects of the great outdoors. So If it'll help eliminate some water and I know the basic area of where they'll be, using a fish finder to refine my search to pinpoint them; is that how the pro's do it? I can't help but feel like using sonar would be cheating.

 

And I know that there no such thing as normal in bass fishing because the variables are limitless as to the many combinations of change to the environment within the season no matter how insignificant they can be to a novice such as myself. 

 

I just wanna catch some fish and I plan on getting a kayak because on the bank I catch nothing, though it'll be late winter and staging for spawn season by the time I get it along with my fish finder. But I want to be that guy that doesn't need sonar on a boat if I already have an idea of where they are based on seasonal and natural weather patterns.

Sonar is pretty useless in shallow water. Usually if i'm fishing a big flat or something i completely change my HDS up front to the map chart. Once you really learn how to read the things they can be helpful in shallow water, but 9/10 times when fishing shallow water I am trying to cover as much as possible rather than pinpointing one random fish in 3 feet of water. There are fish deep & shallow at all times of the year, I'd recommend getting the Navionics app on your phone and set up shading on certain depths. Check these spots out & then use your sonar to pinpoint unique cover within the spot. Really about the only time i catch fish that i see directly on my sonar are fishing for smallmouth, carolina rigging/football head offshore structure, and skipping slips. Those Texas lakes around you are full of big fish. When i was down there this past summer caught 17-18 2.5+lb fish paralleling rip rap with a square bill in about 2 hours. The ponds around you all you need to do is wacky/neko a red shad senko or yum, guaranteed fish. I suppose I would focus more on learning what type of cover the fish in your lakes relate to then apply time of year/water temp/water level. On several of the lakes here in East Tennessee there is really no reason to ever fish anything other than rocks. In the summer i fish deep rocks, in the spring/fall i fish shallow rocks, in the winter i fish deep rocks. Deep is obviously relative to your body of water but I rarely if ever catch fish deeper than 25-28 ft.