changes to bass fishing from one day to another.

[Darth-Baiter]

this is what perplexes me most.  we all have shown up fishing all full of hope and wonder.  only to think a few hours later, maybe golf isnt such a bad idea.  then there is that dude that says, "you should have seen it yesterday.."

 

i've seen it with my own eyes.  epic fishing, so good i rush  back the next day or the following only to find the fish have moved on.  nowhere near where they were, or eating what they were eating. we even say things like, "they didnt start biting until 9:30, we have some time"  some fisheries like the very tidal California Delta; i can wrap my feeble mind around that easily.  one spot can change in hours.  days - understandable. 

 

fishing is a puzzle, but it is a puzzle where the image changes.  hahah..  i am going back to my clear mountain lake, maybe friday.  i will kayak to the same spot, throw the same bait at the same stumps.  but i know better.  and i cant hit a golf ball either.  

[Ski]

@Darth-Baiter It has been said Golf is for people that can't fish

[TnRiver46]

Were the fish supposed to do the same thing everyday ? Did you send them a memo? 

[BigAngus752]

Yup.  Lights out one day, 24hrs later it's a nap on the water.  Just remember, if it was easy you'd get bored and sell all your fishing gear. 

[DaubsNU1]

It is exactly this challenge that keeps me coming back for more...EVERY...Dang...TIME!

 

Same with chasing waterfowl, Muley, turkey, roosters, etc...

It it were easy, predictable, and consistent...they would call it "catching" vs. "fishing." And "killing" vs. "hunting."

 

It's a challenge...and we love a good challenge. 

[Pat Brown]

If I landed every fish I got a bite from, wouldn't be very exciting.  If I got a bite every spot I thought there was a fish, wouldn't be very exciting.  If I knew exactly where the fish were gonna be every time I put the boat in the water, wouldn't be very exciting.  Etc.

 

I don't fish for checks or for food.  I like to try to outsmart big apex predators and then do some amateur photography and then some conservation work.

 

For folks like me, it's the unpredictability that actually makes it the most fun.

[Susky River Rat]

I like putting the puzzle together. I’ve had a bite last for 2-3 days. I’ve also had it last for 2-3 hours. What changes and triggers this I have no idea. Could it be when they are “on” it’s a new batch of hungry fish vs when it’s “off” the fish have ate and are sliding out of that area. 
 

Think about humans. You aren’t hungry all the time. You aren’t active all the time. Fish are going to go through the same patterns we would. I know people say they can be opportunistic feeders but, if they are full or inactive they are just that.

Unless you can get a reaction strike out of them.

[Functional]

My wife went to visit her family for mothers day for a extended weekend and I got to fish 3 days straight on my home lake. Every day on the water was different .

 

Day 1: they wanted frogs back deep in the weeds 1-5fow. Sunny, light winds, 80 deg water temp

Day 2: Bang Sticks and swim jigs at the edge to 2ft off weed edge, prefered some structure close by 5fow. Cloudy, light winds, 80 deg water temp

Day 3: swim jigs were the only bite I could get against tree stumps 2-6fow. Cloudy, light winds, 80 deg water temp

 

I usually start off with what was great the day before when I get to fish multiple days in a row, or at least days close to eachother. After that its working the puzzle. Can be frustrating when you go a few hours without so much as a bluegill nibble but the satisfaction I (us) get when you figure it out is quite a high. 

 

 

 

 

[papajoe222]

On 5/15/2023 at 3:35 PM, Darth-Baiter said:

this is what perplexes me most.  we all have shown up fishing all full of hope and wonder.  only to think a few hours later, maybe golf isnt such a bad idea.  then there is that dude that says, "you

 

How dare you even think that.! 

Golf is the biggest waste of good fishing time there is. What else takes three or more hours and has an outcome that is fairly predictable. The few times I've gone golfing, the only thing I thought about was fishing. I've never been fishing and thought about golfing. 

[ironbjorn]

34 minutes ago, papajoe222 said:

How dare you even think that.! 

Golf is the biggest waste of good fishing time there is. What else takes three or more hours and has an outcome that is fairly predictable. The few times I've gone golfing, the only thing I thought about was fishing. I've never been fishing and thought about golfing. 

I have a friend who golfs and is constantly inviting me.

 

Same response every time: "Dude...I fish."

[Hammer 4]

On 5/15/2023 at 2:02 PM, Ski said:

@Darth-Baiter It has been said Golf is for people that can't fish

I totally Disagree with that. Fact: Golf is a Hard sport to master, not to mention just getting good at it. At 74 and scoliosis and arthritis in my back, I'm still able to shoot in the 70's a good percentage of the time. It's taken me years to get to that point. Give it a try, and you will see what I mean. ? 

[gulfcaptain]

The Gman once said "fishing is the loosingest  sport you will ever play". That's why we call it fishing and not catching.  Some days you can't do anything wrong, other days you can't do it right.  But those days we don't catch,  we'll those are learning days. What was different? What changed? And you figure it out, put it in your back pocket and use that info when that situation comes up again. What makes us better fisherman is learning from our failures. 

[galyonj]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:18 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Were the fish supposed to do the same thing everyday ? Did you send them a memo? 

 

A while back I tried to read a post here to one of them, because I had some questions and I wanted it to have context to help it answer, and all it did was pee on me.

 

Which…I guess is an answer, though it's not the one I wanted.

[Kirtley Howe]

On 5/15/2023 at 9:34 PM, BigAngus752 said:

Yup.  Lights out one day, 24hrs later it's a nap on the water.  Just remember, if it was easy you'd get bored and sell all your fishing gear. 

A few years back I saw a movie or maybe a segment from a TV show:  2 guys are sitting in a boat in the middle of a beautiful lake. One guy asks the other how the fishing is. The other guy says it is fantastic....in fact it is ALWAYS fantastic. First guy says that they must be in Heaven. Second guy says No, we are actually in Hell.

[Zcoker]

Changes in latitude, changes in attitude....it's quite expected, really. I see more changes with fish related to the weather or the conditions. So each day has it own sort of attitude, so to speak, and the fish play into that. Just gotta figure it all out....if there's a will, there's a way!

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Thats not just bass fishing, thats fishing in general, and hunting too.  The "you should have been here yesterday" line is just another motif in the perpetual pursuit of a tight line.

[WRB]

The OP fishes a world famous tidal river system called the California Delta. It can take a lifetime to learn the Delta, some never do!

The late hall of fame angler Dee Thomas and my friend Andy Cooch Caccia knew the Delta and all it’s quicks, few anglers today can catch bass consistently on the Delta.  

The old saying you should of been here yesterday is more like you should of been here a hour ago!

Tom

[scaleface]

On my favorite little lake it is "should have been here last year" . The bass got   sick and died.

[crypt]

not just fishing ................life in general is that way. everyday is new and different. that's why I get up out of bed everyday.

[thediscochef]

time's a flat circle, burritos are just ravioli with spanish or portugese subtitles depending on your view. meaning will dissolve and entropy is coming for us all. might as well keep fishing

On 5/16/2023 at 9:30 PM, papajoe222 said:

Golf is the biggest waste of good fishing time there is.. 

someone once said that country clubs and graveyards were the worst wastes of prime real estate. i tend to agree with him. furthermore golf courses in the desert are a monument to man's arrogance and they should not exist

[Bird]

LoL never played golf in my life.

 

Regarding bass and their behavior ?

I have women figured out better ?

[T-Billy]

On 5/16/2023 at 7:05 AM, Darnold335 said:

Think about humans. You aren’t hungry all the time. You aren’t active all the time. Fish are going to go through the same patterns we would. I know people say they can be opportunistic feeders but, if they are full or inactive they are just that.

Unless you can get a reaction strike out of them.

One of the reasons I'm a heavy cover junky. The ability to trigger that reaction strike when they're holed up just chillin, and not really looking to eat.

 I'm kicked back in my recliner right now, just finished dinner, not the least bit hungry, but...... Drop a Ho Ho in my lap, guess what's gonna happen to it. It works the same with them.

 

[Susky River Rat]

14 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Drop a Ho Ho in my lap

I’m partial to funny bones

 

[geo g]

No two days are ever the same.  Weather changes, wind direction, cloud cover, current, and water temps.  Although I might catch them on the same bait, in the same location, some times they want it dead sticked, sometime just dragged along the bottom, sometimes jerked and moving.  It takes a little while and some exploratory changes to find out the pattern for that moment in time.  It will often change as the day goes bye.  It is always a game of Hide and Go Seek.  Use baits you have trust in and change up the approach to what they want.

[PaulVE64]

I must be very lucky.

The river I fish weekly has a hundred spots I can bank fish or wet wade. From April to October i can pick from about a dozen spots that will reliably produce decent smallies.

Its taken alot of years to find them and I'm still enjoying it immensely.

And yes I do have to rotate through the spots depending on the water level.