Establishing a pattern

[Mr. Aquarium]

Anyone ever struggle figuring out a pattern? Like you’re fishing a  squarebill up shallow bam got hit, and get one. ok cool up they are shallow so you start fishing shallow with cranks, t rig, jerkbaits, flip cover, nothing no more hits. 
then you cast out deeper fish a jig, or a tube and get one, they are out deeper, so you start fishing deeper again nothing. 

 Or you catch one on jerkbait up shallow so you fish the jerkbait, nothing, then you get one on a bladed jig on tree, then nothing, then, then a jig on deeper get one then nothing. Hitting random fish with random baits. 

You think you figured them out but it’s just random fish, even in the spring time. You only may get 2 dink fish on the pattern you think you found only to not get bit 

 

Last year was brutal, I just couldn’t figure them  out, I was grinding for 2 or 3 small fish and not figuring them out. No matter what I threw, where I fished or how I fished.   When I think I found the pattern it’s over.  The last 2 times I’ve gone out, first 2 trips of the year, there’s been no pattern. 
 

[JHoss]

Oh yeah, happens all the time. I've always treated it as  the first bite is luck, second is coincidence, and third is a pattern. When there's no pattern or the pattern falls apart, I go junk fishing with 20 rods on the deck. 

[Pat Brown]

The more pressure the fish around here get the less I pattern fish and the more I junk fish.  Take that for what it's worth!  I like to have a few different baits that I can use to throw at anything that looks good and I rarely stay in an area for long.  I find that if a fish recognizes one of my baits and decides it's not food, the area very quickly turns off for a long time.  This makes for a situation where the best strategy to employ is to make lots of good casts throughout the day to fresh areas.

[scaleface]

8 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

The more pressure the fish around here get the less I pattern fish and the more I junk fish. 

Me too but junk fishing usually leads to a pattern. I might satrt out the day junk fishing several lures but end the day with one rod.

[Pat Brown]

5 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Me too but junk fishing usually leads to a pattern. I might satrt out the day junk fishing several lures but end the day with one rod.

 

 

I usually find a few baits that are working on the lake for a given time of year and for the key types of areas and cover they're in.  Pattern?  Maybe kinda - I think it's more just like they're in the right areas for those baits to work or something like that maybe.  I guess that is a pattern kinda 😂😂😂

 

Now we are into semantics!

 

I guess the reason I'm hesitant to call it a pattern is like - I don't think the spinnerbait getting bit a lot is a pattern - it's just like it's windy and the water is a little dirty and fish are higher in the water column on shallower banks around cover aaaaaand - that bait is pretty solid when the day is set up like that.

 

I'm not gonna take that spinnerbait into the wind protected pockets and fish them the same way.  It's not a pattern - it's just the right bait for the conditions at times in certain areas.

[Mr. Aquarium]

I usually have a few rods with a few different baits tied on. Usually few reaction baits, a soft plastic and a jig. Trying to figure them out. 

[Jar11591]

There are factors like temperature and time of year and forage etc, that will have a majority of the fish doing something similar or to be in a certain location, but I’ve never found bass to have a herd mentality and find myself junk fishing very often. I do get on hot bites doing something specific but it’s usually related to another recognizable factor like time of year or forage. And sometimes for me recognizing that the pattern is no pattern is the ticket.
 

[Pat Brown]

7 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I usually have a few rods with a few different baits tied on. Usually few reaction baits, a soft plastic and a jig. Trying to figure them out. 

 

 

I pay close attention to the types of cover and depth I'm seeing fish in and sort of optimize my selections for that.

 

If the water is cleaner I want to be moving faster and not letting them have as good a look at bait so I'm gonna go with heavier swim jigs and smaller spinnerbait blades - as long as there's some wind - I'll toss that spinnerbait if the fish are super shallow - if I get to an area with clean water where it's slick from being wind protected but I know it's real shallow and mucky bottom - I'll fish a super light swim jig or topwater or weightless plastic because those will efficiently draw strikes from that kind of area etc etc.

 

Always be mindful of your retrieve and try to intentionally impart variations - reel it steady - reel and pause - burn it on the surface - slow roll it with occasional pops - anything you can do to figure out what could work best for a given day.

 

If my swim jig is getting bit when I'm slow, rolling it and popping it, I'll switch to a fluke because I know I can do a cadence and presentation with that bait that is much better and much more efficient. 

 

If the swim jig is getting smoked when I'm burning it, I might switch to a buzzbait because I can much more efficiently burn a buzzbait around in pockets under the surface and get fish's attention. 

 

It's all kind of a puzzle where you're putting things together, which I think is why the word pattern gets used a lot. But I think the key thing to do is to figure out which baits are efficient on your lake for certain conditions and certain areas and types of cover.

[RRocket]

Seems like a daily occurrence when I fish...

[Mobasser]

Sometimes, I can't establish a consistent pattern. On huge lakes, there could be a few different patterns going on. I read years ago that this was a common excuse when folks didn't do well in tournaments. They would say, " my pattern fell apart".                                       I like to have a backup plan, and keep an open mind.

[softwateronly]

My favorite places to fish on my small natural lake have a large variety in structure/cover in a small geographical area.  I often camp out and work over all these options from multiple angles, depths, speeds, and baits.  I'll catch fire on the first real break from 4-8' and wear them out till it dies, then often the outside weedline in 15-20' can catch fire.  Then I can struggle to find a bite in either type location either here or over there in another proven area.  So was I on a pattern or was there a bite window?  The more time that goes by, the more I think I timed a bite window because I believe these locations I'm referring to always have bass.  So I have no idea how to disentangle a pattern from a bite window on a lake I have been on for over a decade.  I make educated guesses on what type of locations should be best, look for activity, and start there.  Then it turns into everyone's favorite clash song; should I stay or should I go?

 

 

scott

[TnRiver46]

Patterns are non existent on my home waters. It really frustrates the BASS competitors when they come here. All the weigh in interviews are “you can’t pattern these fish.” If you’re trying to “put the puzzle pieces together,” it’s gonna be a rough day.

 

aint no puzzle and there ain’t no pieces, just fish and catch what bites 

 

the highland lakes have patters but not the main river 

 

 

@Bluebasser86 is the king of junk fishin, he will catch them with the entire tackle box on a single day 

[A-Jay]

My style might seems to contradict what so many tournament anglers seem to bank on. 

Of course I'm not fishing derbies.

Either way what I have found is that for me,

establishing/ looking for and especially chasing, a 'pattern' is like digging for "Fools Gold".

Rarely leads anywhere I actually want to be, which is catching big brown bass.

So all of this is a long way of saying that my version of establishing a pattern,

is to be at the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing. 

And on the bigger inland lakes I fish the most, that's a tall task. 

If & when there are some similarities in the places, times & ways I make contact with the fish I'm hoping to catch, it will often revolve around, water clarity, Surface Water Temps, depth, the presence & type of cover and finally wind speed & direction.  The bait that gets used effectively on any one spot needs to be able to be fished effectively as well as have the size & profile of the bait I might think they are there to eat.

Finally my favorite "Pattern" is to have a full tank of gas and plenty to eat & drink.

The rest will take care of itself.

YMMV

😎

A-Jay

 

 

[Pat Brown]

The most reliable pattern for me is the make really good casts pattern 😂😂😂

 

When I get on that pattern I can sometimes get a bite or two.  😉

[TnRiver46]

Just because a human wants the fish to follow a pattern, doesn’t mean the fish have to follow a pattern. They are free to do whatever they want. No work schedule, no time to clock in, no coffee pot, etc.

 

What ecological advantage does it serve a fish to be predictable? 

[F14A-B]

Pretty sure fishing pressure over the years has had a profound impact on the sport. Compound that with environmental issues..

 

My personal belief is you should develop a plan based on science then decide a proper presentation then throw the kitchen sink at them. 😁

[JHoss]

31 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I guess the reason I'm hesitant to call it a pattern is like - I don't think the spinnerbait getting bit a lot is a pattern - it's just like it's windy and the water is a little dirty and fish are higher in the water column on shallower banks around cover aaaaaand - that bait is pretty solid when the day is set up like that.

 

I'm not gonna take that spinnerbait into the wind protected pockets and fish them the same way.  It's not a pattern - it's just the right bait for the conditions at times in certain areas.

To me, I would say it is a pattern if there's some consistency to where you are and are not catching them. Now if it's all over the lake and different types of cover and structure, I'd agree it's just a hot bait and the fish are in the right mood. 

 

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Just because a human wants the fish to follow a pattern, doesn’t mean the fish have to follow a pattern. They are free to do whatever they want. No work schedule, no time to clock in, no coffee pot, etc.

 

What ecological advantage does it serve a fish to be predictable? 

Patterns are extremely common in many animal species. As a deer hunter, we pattern the deer to plan our next hunt. And we can watch their patterns change throughout a season as pressure increases. I've observed the same with ducks, geese, doves, turkeys, bears, etc. I think it's fairly "normal" for creatures to fall into consistent patterns. Not saying that can't change in a second or that if one individual is following a pattern, that the entire population will. But if conditions are making one bass choose a particular area, cover, temp, clarity, forage, etc then I'd think the chances of other fish in that population replicating that decision tree and forming what we call a pattern. 

 

 

[king fisher]

The dreaded one fish pattern.  This happens to me more times than I like to admit.  I get a big fish on a point, and it will be the only fish caught on a point all day.

 

I think the difference between a great fisherman and a hack such as myself is recognizing all the multiple things that make up a pattern.  Early in the morning  I catch a bass on a point in 10 feet of water and determine the pattern is points in 10 feet of water.  What I failed to notice was the point was made up of small chunk rock, had a slight current going parallel to the point and the point was next to a large flat that had a large number of baitfish moving from deep water to the flat along the point.

 

An observant fisherman would have noticed these other factors and realized the bass caught on the point may have been a straggler, and the majority of the bass had already moved up on to the flat.  While I continued to fish the point the bass would be feeding heavily on the flat.  May be all the other points I tried didn't have current, weren't close to a flat, had large boulders, or gravel rock etc.  All I noticed was the bass was on a point and the depth.  

 

A great angler would take the information given and expand it to the rest of the lake.  They would go to other flats, next to deep water with long points leading up to the flat.  I really savvy angler may also take it to the next level by anticipating the move back to deep water after the feeding on the flat, and come back later in the day to fish the point and see if they could intercept the bass moving back out.

 

Where I only see one aspect of a potential pattern, A better angler may determine multiple aspects, that may help them turn a one fish day in to a bonanza.

 

Some days the bass are completely random, and even the best angler can't capitalize on any similarity, but most days an observant angler can at least determine the depth, type of structure, what part of the lake, forage, and general presentation needed to catch multiple bass.

 

Also, It may be better at times to try and pattern the forage, instead of the bass.  Find the bait, and the bass wont be very far away. 

[MassYak85]

I feel like I have the opposite problem where I can usually figure out a pattern but it's all 2lbers 🤣. I need some of your big fish magic haha. 

[JHoss]

Big fish don't usually hang out in the same places as the dinks. Sometimes a pattern is only good for a certain size class of fish. If you want to change size class, you have to change your pattern. 

[Bird]

Well right now with water temps in the low 50's the expectation is, it's gonna be slow for LM bass.

Being simple minded " myself " can help or can hurt.

If I catch a fish on a certain bait in certain cover then the hypnosis is underway,

That's what I'm going to do for hours right or wrong.

I've only caught 4 fish in 10 hrs of fishing the last couple of days but all 4 came on slow rolling a spinnerbait off the outside edge of dead grass mats.

If 4 fish in 10hrs is " getting on a pattern" then yes.

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

The dreaded one fish pattern.  This happens to me more times than I like to admit.  I get a big fish on a point, and it will be the only fish caught on a point all day.

 

I think the difference between a great fisherman and a hack such as myself is recognizing all the multiple things that make up a pattern.  Early in the morning  I catch a bass on a point in 10 feet of water and determine the pattern is points in 10 feet of water.  What I failed to notice was the point was made up of small chunk rock, had a slight current going parallel to the point and the point was next to a large flat that had a large number of baitfish moving from deep water to the flat along the point.

 

An observant fisherman would have noticed these other factors and realized the bass caught on the point may have been a straggler, and the majority of the bass had already moved up on to the flat.  While I continued to fish the point the bass would be feeding heavily on the flat.  May be all the other points I tried didn't have current, weren't close to a flat, had large boulders, or gravel rock etc.  All I noticed was the bass was on a point and the depth.  

 

A great angler would take the information given and expand it to the rest of the lake.  They would go to other flats, next to deep water with long points leading up to the flat.  I really savvy angler may also take it to the next level by anticipating the move back to deep water after the feeding on the flat, and come back later in the day to fish the point and see if they could intercept the bass moving back out.

 

Where I only see one aspect of a potential pattern, A better angler may determine multiple aspects, that may help them turn a one fish day in to a bonanza.

 

Some days the bass are completely random, and even the best angler can't capitalize on any similarity, but most days an observant angler can at least determine the depth, type of structure, what part of the lake, forage, and general presentation needed to catch multiple bass.

 

Also, It may be better at times to try and pattern the forage, instead of the bass.  Find the bait, and the bass wont be very far away. 

Well said. I agree with that, why was that fish there. Instead of they are on a point let’s only fish points. Instead of they are on gravel, let’s fish gravel.  I fish from a kayak in smaller ponds and lakes 200 acres max. 
So there is probably only one point with gravel on that whole lake maybe 2.  
 

My fish  I caught yesterday  were in a rocky cove, unfortunately another guy was fishing the other cove so who knows if they were in the over cove as well.  

[Catt]

About the time I think I have them figured out they prove to me I don't!

 

Some days the pattern is there ain't one.

[FishTax]

Glad to see so many others saying what I feel as well. Very rarely do I find a 'pattern'. I think the closest thing to a pattern I ever find is about 3x a year I find a school of hungry fish that don't get scared off from me hauling them in. But.. 95% of the time it's one bite and on to the next thing because they learn fast and turn off the bite as soon as I hook one.

I feel like I get a pattern more in late summer and early fall than any other time, but that could just be a coincidence. 

I'm fishing highly pressured waters and am thankful to land 3 decent fish in a day (in the winter make that any single fish), so it's not really possible to have a pattern when you don't catch a limit  

[A-Jay]

24 minutes ago, FishTax said:

But.. 95% of the time it's one bite and on to the next thing because they learn fast and turn off the bite as soon as I hook one.

  

I'm pretty sure I've experienced that a few times.  Sometimes retaining the first 5 legal size bass for a short period can help keep the rest Biting. So when and where regulations allow possession, I have no problem dropping them in the live well.

As long as they seem OK and are not bleeding profusely, in they go. 

I call it The Pool. I always release them before I move spots.

Something to think about.  

A-Jay