Bass Activity Levels (Attidues)

[papajoe222]

I wrote an article years ago, here is an edited version.

 Although some anglers in the deep south are, or will be dealing with pre-spawn, many of us are dealing with winter conditions, or lakes that are iced over.  You hear that bass are in a negative mood because their metabolism is slowed because of their cold water environment. Don't misinterpret this to mean that their activity level is neutral, or negative. Bass are cold blooded creatures and as such, still function normally under cold water conditions. Yes, they don't need to feed anywhere near as often as in the summer and their strike zone will be small, but their attitudes change just the same.

Here's a quick look at the different activity levels and how to both determine and use them in your quest to catch them, regardless of the water temperature.

 The activity level of fish can be described as their willingness to strike your bait.  A good way to judge that activity level is by the distance they will travel to do so. This is what many anglers and writers call the strike zone, or window. There are a number of factors that can clue you in on the fish’s activity level before you even get on the water and a couple of indicators to pay attention to once you’re out there.
For simplicity, I'll refer to those levels as aggressive, neutral or non-aggressive  and negative, or ‘I ain’t getting off my !$# for nothing attitude’. If the fish are aggressive, they will travel some distance to strike. If they’re in a neutral mood, they may strike your lure, but won't move far to do so.  When they won’t budge, you most likely will have to hit them on the head or surprise them to get any type of response. The good news is they can be caught regardless of their activity level. It’s just more fun when they’re aggressive.
Most anglers know that cold fronts will put the fish in a neutral or negative mood as will cold water and post frontal conditions can often times lengthen that effect. This is the simplest factor to recognize for most of us. Those clear, cloudless days can put a big damper on our outlook for success before ever hitting the water. Unstable weather, quickly falling water levels, low muddy or dirty water that is normally fairly clear and the spawn and immediate post spawn are others. Other, less obvious factors may also come into play including water temperature, oxygen levels and recent feeding activity.  Being aware of these factors helps us in determining where the fish are likely to be and we all know how important fish location is.
Bass relating to structure will venture some distance from it when  feeding (aggressive), suspended off of it when in a neutral mood and possibly abandon it completely in search of some secure area when in a negative mood.  Fish relating to cover will be at the outer most edges when aggressive, in ambush positions that offer some security when neutral and either extremely tight to or buried in the cover when negative .
 How do you determine which? Assume they are in a neutral mood and approach them that way.  If the fish are there, they’ll tell you if they’re aggressive by the way they take your bait and where, or how they are positioned. Aggressive fish often take your offering completely in their mouths, hook themselves or explode on your topwater offering.  Neutral fish will be subtle, their bite is often hard to detect, they’ll be either just barely hooked, or just swipe at your offering. If you don't get bit by changing presentations, after two hours on the water, you guessed it, they're most likely in a negative mood.
You can assume the fish’s activity level by observing their positioning on the structure or cover with your electronics.  Negative fish rarely show up on your electronics, or should I say the average angler won’t see them. This makes locating negative fish that much more difficult. If you approach fishing for negative fish knowing you may only get a handful of quality bites, you will be able to maintain the level of concentration to turn them into catches. 

By adjusting your approach you can take advantage of this and reduce the amount of fishless time on the water, plus take advantage of those rare times when they almost jerk the rod out of you hands.

 

[Swamp Girl]

Good stuff. Thanks!

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

 

Bravo @papajoe222 well said! Those characterizations parallel much of what I've experienced through the years of taunting fish. OK much of that was simply casting practice, hee...hee... Through information I'm doing what I can to change that towards the trend of more catching fish than simply casting at fish.

I will add that as an angler, my mood definitely changes depending whether or not I'm at the water taunting fish. Heck if I'm out goofing off my mood has already improved. My family will occasionally suggest I need to go fishing because I'm frumpy. OK, why argue, right?

 

I'm grateful to you for sharing insights and observations. Appreciate your time and effort to annotate it, then being willing to share it. Be well, Cheers!