How long before they feed again?

[Swamp Girl]

How long after a cold front before they start feeding again?

 

I'm fishing tomorrow morning and it'll have been about 36 hours before the front hit. Think I'll catch more than a handful?

[T-Billy]

Since they don't have deep water to retreat to in those bogs, I'd be fishing slow in the thickest stuff I could find.  T-rigs and/or jigs.

[Bird]

I've found over the years that after a big cold front, it could take a couple of days before the fish become active feeders.

 

But don't let it stop you, just slow down.

Our solonar calendar says poor fishing Tuesday, I'll be out there. ?

[Team9nine]

Bass stop feeding??? No they don’t… ?

 

You’ll be good. Just adjust presentation speed to their mood.

[Woody B]

My biggest numbers day last year was less than a day after a hurricane passed through.   

[Swamp Girl]

I just tied a T-Rigged 12", blue, weightless Zoom worm to one of my rods. I'll start with that, just twitching it under the surface. Fingers crossed! 

[Pat Brown]

I really like fishing after cold fronts.  Especially late summer/early fall cold fronts.  I agree that they'll either be in the deepest water that they can find or the heaviest cover they can find.  Weightless worms are always tough to beat but don't be afraid to try your usual stuff. You just never know!!!!

[Swamp Girl]

@Pat Brown: Thanks, Pat. I'll try everything. I was fishing when the cold front hit, which was a buffeting wind and the start of ten hours of rain. Even being blown down the pond, I still caught four bass, so I expect I can catch a few more 36 hours later, when things have settled. 

[gim]

As others have stated already, slow down, maybe downsize, and lower your expectations. I wouldn’t be going out there expecting to pile into 25 sizable largemouth on a topwater again so quickly.

[TriStateBassin106]

We had storms roll in yesterday evening and it totally killed the bite today, during the morning we had blue skies and thin clouds plus wind made it pretty miserable, usually the fish start to return to "normal" feeding patterns a day or two after i'd give it 48 hours. 

[IcatchDinks]

We're having a similar problem here in my neck of Michigan. The weather changed after a couple big storms and the bite has really slowed down. 

[Swamp Girl]

Smaller and slower in thick cover. Got it. And thanks, guys!

[Susky River Rat]

Now if you can time it when they become active again it will be like a light switch! I have noticed right after the front I mean a few hours can be great. Seems like the next 30 or so hours are tougher. 

[Captain Phil]

A bass will strike a lure even when it's not feeding.  What happens during and after a cold front is the bass's strike zone expands and contracts.  Before a front, a bass may chase a bait from 10 or more feet away.  After a cold front passes, the strike zone shrinks to inches.  The first day after a cold front passes is normally not the worst.  The worst fishing is on the calm high sky days that come soon after.   If the temperature drops significantly, it can seem like all the fish left the lake.   Some go to deep water.  Some hunker down in the thickest cover they can find.  This is what Dee Thomas discovered that changed our idea of how bass behave.  I like fishing before a cold front as well as anyone.  I don't worry about what happens after because I know what to do.

[Catt]

13 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Bass stop feeding??? No they don’t… ?

 

Bass are always feeding somewhere...our job to find somewhere!

[Bankc]

In my experience, a second change in the weather will often tell you when the bite comes back after a cold front in the summer.  Once the cold front passes through, the bite usually shuts off here until there's a change in cloud cover, temperatures rise back up, or the wind changes direction.  Often times, this is usually around the third day or so.  

[Swamp Girl]

Well, I went and caught my PB. Story and pics in New PB: The Sequel, which I'm about to write.

 

Thanks for all the input, guys!

[Pat Brown]

Oooooooooooh yes LET'S GO @ol'crickety!!!!!

[casts_by_fly]

14 hours ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

We had storms roll in yesterday evening and it totally killed the bite today, during the morning we had blue skies and thin clouds plus wind made it pretty miserable, usually the fish start to return to "normal" feeding patterns a day or two after i'd give it 48 hours. 

 

I went out Saturday evening and fished 6-12.  The wind kicked up and the front rolled through about 11 PM and the fish shut off completely.  Before that I'd have a hit every 5-10 minutes.  After I had two fish in an hour come up.  They definitely reacted to the storm.

 

[Swamp Girl]

31 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

I went out Saturday evening and fished 6-12.  The wind kicked up and the front rolled through about 11 PM and the fish shut off completely.  Before that I'd have a hit every 5-10 minutes.  After I had two fish in an hour come up.  They definitely reacted to the storm.

 

 

I love fishing before the storm. 

[casts_by_fly]

me too.  No doubt my favorite time to be on the water is the 6-10 hours before a front rolls through.  This year that hasn't been the schedule I've been able to keep though.

[TriStateBassin106]

Yeah I lose all hope if I have to fish right after a front. Sometimes it would happen mid session, i'd start fishing with a nice breeze and puffy clouds. Then the dark ones roll in and it pours followed by cloudy calm conditions that turns it all off. Sucks 

[BFS-Angler75]

Saturdays and Sundays are my fishing days. I'll roll out regardless of conditions. I'm throwing around a wacky rig most of the time and it usually triggers some good bites for me. I'll just swap out the worm. Start with a senko, then move to the trick worms of varying sizes. Usually have a 1/16th or 1/8th jig tied on, but I'll go weightless when I need to.

 

However, the fronts in my home lake tend to shut things down pretty quick, like someone just hit the off switch. 

[Swamp Girl]

2 minutes ago, BFS-Angler75 said:

Saturdays and Sundays are my fishing days. I'll roll out regardless of conditions. I'm throwing around a wacky rig most of the time and it usually triggers some good bites for me. I'll just swap out the worm. Start with a senko, then move to the trick worms of varying sizes. Usually have a 1/16th or 1/8th jig tied on, but I'll go weightless when I need to.

 

However, the fronts in my home lake tend to shut things down pretty quick, like someone just hit the off switch. 

 

I have never used a trick worm. Do you wacky hook them? I also don't use weights when wacky fishing. I've tried them because I like the notion of the weight making the worm flap like a bird when it falls, but the weeds are so close to the surface that weeds are all I catch when I weight a Senko.

[MassBass]

With New England weather especially this season, the only thing consistent is the instability. Post frontal is prime time to look for inflows/tributaries, even just a little trickle of runoff is enough to position fish around it. I personally like if it is a stalled or extended front, and you can get out in the mist or light drizzle.