Winter Bass behavior

[jiangtao]

Will bass go into shallow/warmer water in the daytime during Winter? Let's say the coldest months are no lower than 30-40 degrees. Just curious.

[BASS fisherman]

According to most who you ask, the answer is usually no. But according to the December issue of "In-Fisherman" that I got yesterday, they dropped one of those Aquaview underwater cameras down through a whole in the ice, and near a bed of coontail. Supposedly they saw bass hanging out in the coontail, in shallow water. Maybe I read it wrong, and maybe the magizine is totally wrong, but I think alot of what we believe about LM bass is sort of sketchy, and is only the beggining of a very long revolution so to speak on what we think we know about bass. Just my opinion.

[Bankbeater]

IMHO, I think that they air pressure effects them more than the temp.  When its cold and you can get a pattern on the LM you can still catch them.

[FIN-S-R]

In winter the general catching pattern is good bite really really early then good bite around noon. I figure this is due to the fact that most folks are bank beaters, and this is the time of day when fish relate to the water closer to the bank. Early bite is due to low light and better ambush conditions, and the later bite is probably a result of warmer temps in shallower water on north banks. Ex. jan 2006 air temp 25-45 h2o temp 42-45. early bite was deep on vertical south banks due to a north wind and presence of bait. Midday bite was shallow on north banks due to h2o temp being 3-4 degrees warmer than elsewhere on the lake, and thats where the bait migrated to. Just my theory.

[one more cast]

My grandpah Clem gates won a numerous amount of bass

and usually didnt fish in the winter but when he did win

those that were in the winter he caught all the bass in shallower

than normal water.

[Catt]

Bass must eat regardless of water temperatures; they are cold blooded creatures, so their metabolism slows. They do require a longer time frame in which to digest their food, thus feeding less often.

The water does not necessarily have to be shallow to be warmer, murky/muddy water will warm faster than clear. Bass will move to warmers areas only if there is structure/food available to support them, they will not move to an area based on warmth only.