Match the hatch?

[Jimlineman]

So I’ve been bass fishing a long time and one thing I’ve always done is try to match the hatch wether it be crawfish, minnows, or some type of bluegill. Recently I’ve been fishing some small lakes and ponds that are packed with small minnows and I’ve tried a couple different small swimbaits and fitness swimjigs which worked at first for a little but also the size wasn’t there, I was catching them around the 10’-15’ range. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this to maybe go off the beaten path for lack of better words and if so, or ideas of what to maybe throw to try something different? 
 

thanks everyone and tight lines!

[Mobasser]

I fish smaller lakes and ponds also. I've caught a lot of fish on chrome rattletraps and bright spinnerbaits, which most guys would use in lakes with shad, but these lakes have only bluegill, crappie, and craws for forage. I don't think you really have to match the hatch that closely. For larger bass on these lakes, I use a jig or plastic worm, fished slowly on the bottom.

[WRB]

Age old ? Match or contrast.

Both work depending the bass activity level and predominate prey source

You are catching bass at 10’-15’ in ponds. I would try CD07 Rapala in silver black back and gold black back. Most bass anglers over look Spoons, the Dardevil IMP 2/5 oz in  chrome should work.

Tom

[Scott F]

Match the hatch is a term used in fly fishing for trout. Bugs hatches will trigger a bite in streams where trout will key in on the insect hatch happening at the time. Using a fly that matches the current hatch increases your chances of getting trout to bite. IF there is a sudden hatch of insects on a lake like mayflies or fry from other fish, matching that hatch doesn’t always work. Bass will often key on the fish that are feeding on the hatch, not necessarily the hatch itself. Paying too much attention to “matching the hatch” while bass fishing doesn’t guarantee success.

[813basstard]

I’ve come to the conclusion that bass eat things that look like food. My ex-wife had the same affliction. Hell, she thought dinner was a competition..

[Big Hands]

I have seen bass put so many things in their mouth that do not resemble anything that they would normally feed on that I don't think it's necessary for them to believe it's what they normally eat for them to strike at it.

 

It may help to simulate their prey, but it's far from necessary. I think they can be competitive, reactive, opportunistic feeders that at times may put lots of strange things in their mouth to check it out just in case it is food the same way a two year old tries to eat sand at the beach. People catch huge bass every year on things like cut bait, cheese balls and all kinds of other weird stuff that was intended to catch other species.

[Trox]

I just throw crap until I get bit and whatever they bite is the "hatch" for that day imo. Of course seasonal patterns, past experiences come into play, etc. In the end though, I can throw a morning dawn dropshot at my local lake w/ 20ft visibility and catch 50 fish/day when I've never seen a pink worm swimming around in my life lol

[jimmyjoe]

   Why choose a lure that mimics a million other look-alikes in the water? Do you realize how slim your chances are that a bass will select YOUR one-out-of-a-million lure? It might be better than the lottery, but not by much.

   Instead, throw something that will incite their territorial instincts or their defense mechanisms. Throw something DIFFERENT. If you throw a lure that blends in rather than stands out, the bass has absolutely no reason to go for it.

   Just my 1/50th of a dollar.       jj

 

 

[schplurg]

43 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

I have seen bass put so many things in their mouth that do not resemble anything that they would normally feed on that I don't think it's necessary for them to believe it's what they normally eat for them to strike at it.

 

It may help to simulate their prey, but it's far from necessary. I think they can be competitive, reactive, opportunistic feeders that at times may put lots of strange things in their mouth to check it out just in case it is food the same way a two year old tries to eat sand at the beach. People catch huge bass every year on things like cut bait, cheese balls and all kinds of other weird stuff that was intended to catch other species.

 

I would think that bass are more willing to eat "anything" with a reaction strike rather than a slower presentation. The Youtubers who catch fish with car keys and stuff like that probably aren't getting bites leaving it sitting on the bottom and crawling it back.

 

As for throwing something different, I get plenty of bites on green pumpkin stick worms. Odds seem pretty good to me.

 

My experience is limited but I find switching presentations/retrieves and locations is more effective than changing a bait style or color. I've caught fish with three different color crankbaits in the same spot within 15 minutes.

[WRB]

Generalizations help little when a angler is fishing cold water pond vs reservoirs in general.

Anyone who has tried to catch bass when feeding on a abundant specific prey source with lures that do not Imamate that source or actually use that source as live bait knows it’s frustration.

When bass are off on a poor bite you can bang your head against a wall or fish another lake, take your pick.

Tom

[Jonas Staggs]

The comments in this thread, reminded me of something I was thinking about the other day.

 

You hear about match the hatch, but as mentioned, bass eat all kinds of stuff that doesn't resemble anything. 

 

This is leading me to believe that all lures are triggering reaction bites. The only time your getting actual feeding is if you're fishing with bait. 

[Sam]

Profile and the size of your bait.

 

Although you may throw a silver Shad Rap to  mimic the minnows, you need to throw a Shad Rap that is the same size as the minnows.

 

And don't forget your unweighted wacky rigged stick baits, too.

[Dens228]

I match the hatch about 90% of the time as long as there are shad in the waters I'm fishing.

If there aren't shad, then I'm not matching the hatch 90% of the time......

Shad colors 90%, bluegill colors the other 10%,  

[gim]

Water clarity could play a role in this too.  As Scott mentioned, the term originally comes from trout fishing.  Trout live in cold, clear, well oxygenated waters so a natural presentation in that setting is appropriate.  When I'm fishing in clear water, I prefer a more natural color like a perch, crayfish, or bluegill.  In stained water, not so much.

[mtb.mike]

I don't stress about matching the hatch or forage in a body of water. The most I will do is get a color that is comparable to a sunfish or perch if I am fishing for bass. Most baits come in these color ways by default so I am not going out of my way to find them. 

 

Number one thing is obviously getting lures where the fish are. After that it's all about presentation and action. Vibrations/auditory stimuli and displacement of water are the main triggers in my experience. Visually I think the flash from a spinner blade does more than color. The fish only see a lure for an instant.

[Bankc]

The only time I really concern myself with "matching the hatch" is when I'm casting on schools of baitfish that are breaking the surface.  Otherwise, I just throw things until something gets bit.  I never know what they'll key in on that day until I try.  So rather than spend too much time trying to think what they might want, I just start tossing stuff into the lake and let them tell me.  I'm not a pro.  Far from it, in fact.  But I don't think it's possible to "know" what will work ahead of time.  All you can do is make an educated guess, and use that guess as a starting point.  

[Peddiesake]

When I have bait busting, instead of matching hatch I just use a spoon. Little cleo in fact. Hammered nickel and blue in size of bait being chased.

[WRB]

The reason bass fishing is popular is they react to a wide range of lures
Wild trout are different from hatchery raised fish. Trout micro vision to see tiny insects they eat bass don’t. 
Both bass and trout can be very selective feeders when abundant prey source is available. Matching the hatch has a different meaning between wild trout and bass. 
Tom

[king fisher]

First there must be an abundant hatch in order to make matching it important.  If there is no abundance of a one type of prey over another, than a bass will just be looking for food, which can be almost anything.

      If for some reason there is a huge amount of red crayfish, then bass will key in on one or more characteristics of the crayfish. Enabling them to take advantage of the hatch and catch as many as they can before they are gone.  It may be the red color, a quick movement for a specific distance, a certain size, sound, mud coming off the bottom, or a combination factors.

     In this instance it will be beneficial to an angler to match as well as he can.  He may only need to use a retrieve that imitates the way the crayfish are scooting along the bottom.  It may help to have the color or sound of his lure similar to that of the prey.  An angler most likely wont have to have an exact match, but imitating the movement, approximate size, color and sound will help.

      If a hatch is large and competition for the prey extreme, a bass may be so busy trying to catch whatever is hatching, they might not even notice something they normally eat swimming right by them.  If they are trying to catch crayfish on the bottom, a bluegill may swim right by them and not even be noticed.

    An extreme example is when yellowfin Tuna are eating dime size crabs.  They concentrate so hard on getting as many crabs as they can that they ignore all other live bait.  If there are very few crabs, they go back to eating 8 pound skip jack tuna or other large live baits.  They don't really prefer the crabs over the bigger meal, they are simply so focused on catching the crabs, that they don't even notice the larger bait.

     Most of the time it is not essential for a bass anger to match the hatch.  It is even far less common for an anger to have to match any aspect of a hatch to the extreme. Most of the time an approximate size, color, and retrieve will suffice.

      Matching the hatch is rarely necessary but it can't hurt.  As others have said, if matching doesn't work, than going the opposite and trying to stick out may be best.

      A bass can and will eat almost anything, but there are times, when for some unknown reason they key in on one food source, and completely ignore all others.   

 

[roadwarrior]

50 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Most of the time it is not essential for a bass anger to match the hatch.  It is even far less common for an anger to have to match any aspect of a hatch to the extreme. Most of the time an approximate size, color, and retrieve will suffice.

 Some version of a plastic worm has been the most successful artificial

bait for decades. If bass relied on a diet of earthworms they would be extinct.

 

[king fisher]

26 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

 Some version of a plastic worm has been the most successful artificial

bait for decades. If bass relied on a diet of earthworms they would be extinct.

 

Maybe plastic worms work so well because much of the time there is no hatch, and they  look like something good to eat.  When there is a hatch they can be retrieved in so many different ways, come in a variety of sizes, enabling an anger to imitate the hatch with them.  Twitched on the surface they can look like dying shad, crawled on the bottom they can resemble crayfish, sculpin, bullheads, or other bottom dwellers.  The versatility and the ability to look like something alive at any retrieve speed even still on the bottom is what makes plastic worms work so well.    

[roadwarrior]

Well, I am pretty boring with my Senko presentation. It is the same every day,

every season and has been every year for 25 years. It looks just like a Senko.

I don't crawl it, I don't twitch it, I don't fish it wacky and I have NEVER fished one

weighted.

 

I think the Fat Ika "matches the hatch" a little better, but I have never seen 

a squid in any of the lakes or rivers I fish.

[WRB]

King Fisher we share the experiences of the Baja Pacific coast, ridges and islands including Gordo bank, Golden gate, Mag Bay, The ridge, Cedros, Alljos, Guadalupe, etc, Memories are full of birds crashing bait, big tuna and marlin at sunrise and sunset with suns green flash. Tailers, fast feeders, jumpers, porpoise schools, frigit birds, whales....match that hatch! I love bass fishing but mis the blue water....hook up!

Tom

[king fisher]

56 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Well, I am pretty boring with my Senko presentation. It is the same every day,

every season and has been every year for 25 years. It looks just like a Senko.

I don't crawl it, I don't twitch it, I don't fish it wacky and I have NEVER fished one

weighted.

 

I think the Fat Ika "matches the hatch" a little better, but I have never seen 

a squid in any of the lakes or rivers I fish.

Does your Senko always catch fish?  Does it always out fish other baits?  My theory is when there is no hatch which is a majority of the time, a bass or other game fish will simply be looking for something to eat.  A Senko definitely looks like something to eat.  When there is a hatch (crayfish, insects, shad, minnows etc.)  they will most likely key in on certain aspects of the hatch in order to become more efficient predators, making them appear to be selective, but most likely are simply extremely focused on a certain trait of the bait that helps them find and catch that particular bait.  If the bass are busting shad on the surface, you may still catch bass with a dark colored Senko on the bottom, but you might do better with a white one twitched on the surface, or a shiny spoon allowed to flutter below the crashing fish.  Even if an angler doesn't want to match the hatch with their lure.  Finding out what fish are feeding on will give an anger an idea of where to fish, as well as time of year, water temp. day light, etc.  If they are feeding on a variety of bait, than an angler will most likely can catch them on a variety of lures, in a variety of locations.  Just a theory.  My reply's may only prove I spend to much time trying to think like a bass and not enough time bass fishing.  Matching the hatch has been productive for me with many species of fish, in both fresh and Saltwater. I have also had success catching the same species of fish on lures I can't imagine matched anything a fish would eat.  In my experience the larger the hatch, and smaller the bait being eaten, the more selective the game fish appear to be.  When bass are feeding on large bluegill they probably wont turn down a crappie.  When feeding on small schooling shad, the large crappie may swim by unnoticed.  Again just a theory.  Many people that have far more experience catching bass than me may think I am way off base, and I am the first to admit it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.  Most of the time an exact match is not necessary.  Maybe only a certain movement, is all that is needed, and size and color doesn't matter.  Sometimes size is most important, and many speeds will work.  If the crayfish are bright red, you may only need a small part of the lure to be bright red.  I do believe it doesn't hurt attempt to generally  match the location, action, size, color and sound (in that order), to what the bass are eating.  If an anger finds the fish to be selective, and keying in on one particular type of abundant bait, then they might have to find a closer match in their box.   If that doesn't work something completely opposite might.  If all else fails, Senkos work great.

[Catt]

Caught on a Chicken McNugget!