Does water temperature vary bait choice?

[gone_fishin48]

Hi,

I was wondering if the temperature of the water can vary which bait to throw.

Sometimes when it's hot the bass near me only bite certain baits, the same during mild or cold weather.

 

Thanks,

      gone_fishin48

[scaleface]

Absolutely.

[WRB]

The warmer the water temperature is the higher the need for bass to eat, metabolism increases. The opposite is true the colder the water temps reduces need to eat.

How to apply this to bass fish can only be a general statement because bass tend to do what want in lieu what I want them to do.

The one thing that seems to hold true is offer something that looks like the predominate prey source at the moment.

 If the bass are targeting 8” rainbow trout in cold water use a trout swimbait. 3” Shad in mid summer use a shad imitator lure. If that doesn’t work keep fishing until something works.

Tom

[Cbump]

Yes definitely. 

[GRiver]

When I lived in Nc, it definitely had factor on bait choice. Here in Fl not so much. 

[geo g]

In Florida not so much.  It's more the type of cover,  structure, and baitfish activity.  We now have constant 90* water temps in what most would call very shallow waters.  My big hope now is to find some waters with seepage along the bottom from the aquafer which is a constant 72* at the seepage point, and provide some O2 higher waters.  This can provide some cooler spots that may attract some bass in 10 to 12 foot depths.  Just slow down and fish the deeper spots.  I don't change trusted baits to achieve this, just adjust speed and presentation.

[Captain Phil]

9 hours ago, geo g said:

In Florida not so much.  It's more the type of cover,  structure, and baitfish activity.  We now have constant 90* water temps in what most would call very shallow waters.  My big hope now is to find some waters with seepage along the bottom from the aquafer which is a constant 72* at the seepage point, and provide some O2 higher waters.  This can provide some cooler spots that may attract some bass in 10 to 12 foot depths.  Just slow down and fish the deeper spots.  I don't change trusted baits to achieve this, just adjust speed and presentation.

 

Florida is a swamp.  The swamp has been drained and filled, but the swamp remains. When the water temperature rises, the fish are more active.  When the temperature drops they slow down.  Other than that, I have not noticed a difference in bait preference.  As stated above, our bass relate to cover.  Most lake bottoms are featureless.  Here in Central Florida we have natural springs, some are quite large. The water temperature in those springs is constant year round. They can be great places to fish during extreme weather fluctuations.

[Catt]

I do not have warm water lures & I do not have cold water lures.

 

I have bass fishing lures, I throw them year round, just in different locations.

 

While it is true a bass's metabolism slows down during winter, that does not mean they go dormant. All it means is they don't need to feed as often. When they do feed it quite often will be just as aggressive as a summer bite. 

 

Minimum output, maximum in take!

 

[river-rat]

 

I don't change my approach or lures whether it's warm water or cold water although I will make adjustments during winter.

 

For example, I still use a 1/2 oz. jig but I'll thin out the skirt and use a smaller trailer to give it a smaller profile. I do this when the crawfish are just starting to come out and they are still small. 

 

Or, I may change to a 5/8-3/4 oz. spinnerbait with a single spinner in order to slow roll in deeper water. 

 

I don't know if those changes make any difference. It's more of a confidence thing on my part.

 

 

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

Funny thing is I don’t switch it up!!! I don’t bass fish much in the summer. But I use the same baits in winter as summer but I’ll add a few more summer baits.

[Pat Brown]

Here in NC it seems to matter a lot.  The seasons really seem to be clearly defined and fish key in on different things like clockwork as the seasons change.  If you're not aware of their schedule and trying to present baits in line with where and what they're feeding on, you're gonna have a tough time.

 

Classic example would be that right now a frog seems to be the most productive technique along with a worm.

 

Most of the year they won't touch a frog.  Worms work year round but the size and rate of fall and action of the bait that I choose in the summer will be different from the size and rate of fall and action I choose in the winter.

 

Finding active fish and figuring out what they're eating can help dial in your presentations seasonally.

[Skunkmaster-k]

The purple worm is the deal all year long. 

[roadwarrior]

32 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

The purple worm is the deal all year long. 

Well, to some extent that is true, but other colors work better on some lakes and rivers

at different times. For example, green pumpkin/ red flakes is VERY effective and more

specifically, Okeechobe is a great color on Tennessee River reservoirs.

[Pat Brown]

And sometimes they want the 6 inch and sometimes they want a 3 inch.

 

Sometimes they want it fast.  Sometimes they want it slow.

 

Sometimes they want it to fall like a rocket.  Sometimes they want it to float.

 

Bass are weird but it's fun.