Do bass feed more aggressively after a bad winter?

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

So, I would say that the bass in my CO ponds do share a LOT with bass... the world over. Therefore, none of them should be waved off as simply "different", and therefore of no use to someone elsewhere

 

Nobody waving nothing off!

 

While a bass is a bass every body of water is an individual ecosystem & effects bass behavior differently. 

 

Do bass feed more aggressively after a bad winter?

 

Give me a couple week & I'll tell y'all 

[frogflogger]

After 70 + yrs. of chasing bass my response to questions about bass behavior is the word "maybe".

[.ghoti.]

I believe the correct answer to the original question is “sometimes”.

[Catt]

On 2/24/2021 at 12:24 PM, frogflogger said:

After 70 + yrs. of chasing bass my response to questions about bass behavior is the word "maybe".

 

5 hours ago, .ghoti. said:

I believe the correct answer to the original question is “sometimes”.

 

Cajuns have a saying, "C'est tout fini" pronounced "Say too fin E" means that's all, it's finished.

[Paul Roberts]

@Catt LOL, You realize we've been at this for... what, a dozen years now? Seems we're on the opposite side in some ways of an invisible fence, that strikes me as what can be known. Not sure if this is a glass half empty, glass half full, or... cup runnith' over thing! ? Beyond my wife, at times, pointing out my glass half empty tendencies, when it comes to fishing, and other "in the wilderness" stuff, I admit that my cup runnith' over with expectations. 

 

Realize, though, that I was once a 6-yr old who looked up at the "Nature" shelves towering above me in a (tiny) local library and said to myself, "Someday I'll know it all!" I've been tempered some over the decades; Time has a way of 'wounding heels'. But... I'm not dead yet!

On 2/24/2021 at 11:07 AM, Catt said:

While a bass is a bass every body of water is an individual ecosystem & effects bass behavior differently. 

Yeah, that we know... Then what? Maybe, and sometimes, or... depends on conditions, just doesn't cut it.

 

On 2/24/2021 at 11:07 AM, Catt said:

Do bass feed more aggressively after a bad winter? Give me a couple week & I'll tell y'all 

Yeah, I'd love to be able to see how this Spring comes into fruition this time around? How will the weather vs climate battle (environment vs endogenous rhythm) play out this year? Which means measurements -something most fishers would rather not spend their time doing. Don't blame them. Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of commission for the time being. Will pick this life-long quest back up when things settle out here. And it'll likely be in another part of the country. That will be interesting. I'm educated-guessing (remember that 6yr old, 50-some years later!) that I'll recognize what's going on with those same critters pretty quickly. Worked for me so far, as far away as The Philippines. That last one was a bit of a stretcher though. But, not out of the ordinary for LMB in the sub-tropics. Just had to know that, or learn about that, going in. Otherwise, yeah, it could be  , where anything might be possible. "Anything" and "everything" are not real possibilities.

[J Francho]

I eat a lot during a bad winter.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

"Anything" and "everything" are not real possibilities.

 

Typical scientific answer, all that to get to here ?

 

In my estimation of things, anything & everything are very real possibles.

 

We just had it happen last week when many lakes across the deep south froze over. We had coves on Toledo Bend & Rayburn with a sheet of ice across them.

 

That was an anything or everything

 

How did it effect the pre-spawn that was going on. In typical fashion the bass dropped back but this time instead one breakline it was two.

 

One week later with a fast trending warming spell they're back to normal.

 

Lake Fork & Toledo Bend both have radio telemetry tracking going on.

[WRB]

The arctic clipper we use to call severe cold from the north coming down through the Midwest usually isn’t longer then a week doesn’t chill the water core, just the surface. It has more effect on shallower small lakes.

My limited experience is Big Bear lake that ices over about 1-2 months. As I recall the longer iced over periods the bass seemed more aggressive. That could also be the longer we wait the more aggressive we are.

Tom

[Catt]

August 29, 2020 category 4 Hurricane Laura the more powerful storm to hit the Louisiana gulf coast with sustained winds of 149 mph & gusts as hight as 180+.

 

October 5, 2020 category 2 hurricane Delta came ashore ar almost the exact location.

 

Throw a tropical storm in between there somewhere!

 

Then finishing with a historical ice storm.

 

Our Wildlife & Fisheries biologist have a lot of data to examine.

[Paul Roberts]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

One week later with a fast trending warming spell they're back to normal.

 

Hmmmm.... fast-trending and back to normal. Who woulda thunk? I mean it coulda just gone back to fall! 

 

Unlike John, I eat a lot, good year or bad.

[Trox]

Not saying that there's any real correlation, but O.H Ivie just cranked out 4-5 legacy class sharelunkers (13+lbs) the week after one of the worst winter storms in recent Texas history... Both the largemouth and smallmouth lake records were broken. Smallmouth record was broken, then broken AGAIN the folowing day lol. It was rediculous... We were even able to pull out a healthy 5.5lb smallmouth ourselves... apparently it was the one of the only lakes without ice on it when this bite started. Coincidence?