Temperature Trends

[Paul Roberts]

OK, Muddy was right: My befuddled Does Temperature Matter... thread was a "lead in"; But kind of an inadvertent one, born of some frustration.

In articles, videos, and fishing reports, so rarely are the specific conditions under which fish are caught highlighted. It's this lure and that, and always..."DEPENDS ON CONDITIONS. What conditions!! That's where the devil is. Tell us more!

I've come to pay VERY close attention to temperature. It's so...predictable, especially in spring. But I never see anyone else doing so on my waters. The changes that matter (the trends) are seemingly obvious (I plan my days by forecast), but how they happen in real time takes some paying attention to.

A couple good examples from the past two weeks I've posted in the Western reports section. Look for "Two More Fascinating Days..." and "Two Interesting Days...".

The keys here were:

-Rapid warming (best following a cold front)

-Light wind to concentrate warm water (it floats)

-Pond/cove topography and shoreline configuration

Nothing new really, but rarely does anyone mention the specific conditions fish are caught in. The odd thing is, on my waters, I'm always alone in this predictability often with my rod bent.

This is spring-time fishing, but interestingly, although the concentrations of heat and fish change some over the course of the year, and other things come into play, temperature trends appear to continue to be important. I'm continuing to keep my eyes open, and my toes in the water.

View the posts. Interesting stuff, or old hat?

I'm wondering if this is a local phenomenon (I don't think so). What do anglers around the country see? What about the far south? The far north? I've already conversed with southern Canadian anglers -fascinating.

Anyway, my request, if you're game, is for anyone interested to think about fishing days in terms of "heating days" -great, good, fair, or poor. Do you see a correlation with either fish activity or fishing success? This should hold until bass move away from shorelines sometime in summer, when they then seek stability, I believe.

Comments?

[RoLo]

There's no doubt about it. As I've posted here many times, I believe that the "trend" of water temperature

is exponentially more significant than the static "numeric" value.

If someone tells you the water temperature is 65 degrees, they haven't told you very much.

Provided you have your own water temperature gauge, you'd be far better informed if you were told

what the water temperature was two-days ago. If it was 60-deg two-days ago, that's a positive condition (uptrend),

but if it was 70-deg two-days, that's a negative condition (downtrend).

Dean Rojas set the all-time BASS one-day record on Lake Toho.

He did so during a powerful warming trend that followed a bitter cold-front...no surprise there.

My boat's been in the shop almost two-weeks now, but I posted the modest results of our last trip (Southeast section).

There was a stiff wind out of the north, and we were working the northern shore (protected side).

It was beginning to look like a blank, so I ran to the south side in search of "rising" water temperatures.

I figured the warmer upper layer (epilimnion) was blowing southward, so it might improve our situation.

Sure enough, we made fish contact in the choppy water and whitecaps along the south side. Here's the irony,

windblown plankton usually gets the credit, but the real reason was rapidly rising water temperatures.

During a stiff wind, the whole lake rotates like a giant waterwheel. As the top layer blows south,

the water on the north side is replaced by cold water siphoned from the deep. The differential was 6 degrees,

which indicates the magnitude of the uptrend on the south shore, and the magnitude of the downtrend on the north shore (3 deg x 2).

Roger

[Paul Roberts]

Roger,

Excellent. The blown plankton thing gets repeated again and again, until it's become cliche. That CAN happen, but that requires a large, and appropriate, plankton population to begin with (not always the case , especially so early in the year). Other things like water surface conditions, bottom disturbance dislodging prey, and, of course, temperature differences, are more often the reason over more waters for a big downwind bite.

Water temperature is a "biggy" and from what I see on my waters, few anglers actually pay attention to the often less than obvious changes that can make or break a day's fishing.

[jrhennecke]

I understand the temperature trend.  When you talk about the downwind bite Paul do you apply the same theory to rivers or do you feel that the current is more important in that instance?

[WRB]

Unless you have a underwater camera with a temperature probe, you more than likely only have a surface temperature probe on your boat.

Water isn't very thermally conductive, therefor doesn't change qwickly to solar heating or low air temperatures. The surface water down to about 1 foot insulates the water below it. For example the upper layer core water temperature in a lake that is 30 feet deep with a thermocline at 15 feet is 70 degrees. The lake is subjected to a 80 degree warming trend during the day and 60 degree nights for a few days with claim breezy conditions. You check the water surface temperatures at dawn when you luanch at 72 degrees and again later in the afternoon at 76 degrees. You are metering and catching bass at 12 to 15 feet and they really start to bite and you checked the water at 76 degrees.

What is your conclusion? the bass are more active at 76 degree surface water? The water down at 12 feet is still 70 degrees and will not change day or night under those conditions.

Now a cold front comes in and cloudy conditions with light rain occurs over a few days. The same lake, you lauch at dawn and the water temperature is 70, the thermocline is 15 feet and you are catching surface bass working baitfish and the bite stops in an hour, but you continue to cast surface lures without success. By the afternoon you give up and go back to the deeper bass at 12 feet and start to catch them again. You look at the surface temperature and it's 72 degrees, ahhh warmer water, you figured it our again. Or perhaps the bass were active in the morning, shut off becoming nuetral and you starting target more active deeper bass in the afternoon.

The cold front paases through, its windy and colder when you launch, the surface temperature is 68 degrees, you go to where they were biting surface lures the last time and you also know the bass should be tight to cover because of the frontal conditions and you blank. later in the afternoon after flipping and pitching the cover without success, you notice the water is only 66 degrees, so you move down the lake and meter the thermocline at 18 feet and also meter some fish at 16 to 18 feet on a point. There is less wind in the wind protected side of the point and the water is back up to 68 degrees. You worm fish down to 18 feet and start catching a few, the warmer water agian. Or maybe the bass never moved in the deeper water and have been eating worms all week for the fisherman who knew they where holding there.

The big difference with any lake is the lakes classification. Power generating highland reservoirs are different than shallow low land water storage reservoirs; becuase the current is created differently; wind in the lowland and water being drawn in the highland and/or wind. No wind and the lowland doesn't have any current, but the highland can have current on a claim day when generating power.

Bass being cold blooded animals are affected by water temperatures and the temperature controls a big part of their life. Every bass fsiherman should understand that. But you can't change the physics to fit your own beliefs, it is what it is.

I stopped using a depth temperature probe years ago when the first good paper graphs came out and I could meter the thermocline. I still occasionally check the basses core body temperature with a portable digital temperature probe used to monitor my livewell water when filled. If you accept the fact that the surface water is different than the water a few feet deeper, then your sonar becomes your eyes for bass or baitfish you can't see.

Lakes are not like the ocean or rivers where currents are constanly changing and temperature breaks are measured vertically. Lake temperature breaks are usually horizontal layers, unless wind or water movement creates vertical temperature breaks.

I fully agree that high winds can create lake turnover, but it's a rare condition.

WRB

[Paul Roberts]

jrhennecke,

River current is mixing, which would likely overpower any wind generated currents. However certain large rivers would likely have protected (from main river currents) areas that I would expect could attract concentrations of prey and bass. I do not fish large rivers so you'd have to answer that for your river. If you had an oxbow, wind might play a role.

WB,

All my observations are done on small shallow waters. The particular water I described on the 20th and 25th was all of 10 feet deep at the deepest point, and colder below (the very reason that strong wind quashed my expectations on the 20th).

In my small waters the bass respond to conditions along the shoreline pretty quickly following ice-out. The shallows heat rapidly on certain days, and the fish respond strongly. Carp, bluegills, and bass are surface oriented at these times the bass seemingly staying just below the limit of visibility from the surface, then moving further toward the surface as the sun gets lower. It's pretty neat to see. The concentrations can be amazing.

So, what I'm describing on the 20th and 25th is a shallow water phenomenon. However, even in my largest deepest waters (still only ~20ft) the response still happens, but is delayed, yet the same actual temperature numbers still apply. This, I believe, would be akin to the early spring advice for big waters: Find a good shallow flat or cove with access to deep water for spring bass. At one time I spent a lot of time on a really huge lake, Lake Ontario, fishing for trout and salmon with all the electronics available at the time. The southern shore was dubbed the chrome coast during spring, as it warmed well before the north shore, and collected trout and salmon in absolutely stunning concentrations. Bass, however, aren't nearly as mobile as salmonids.

Bass, at least in my small waters, do appear to be heat seekers. I understand more and more why they are called sunfish. Very soon, as we approach the spawn, you'll start seeing the posts about large bass lying near the surface, (and un-catchable). These are heat seeking females.

Heat seeking appears to continue until mid-summer, when they disappear mid-day. Peak activity happens in the early AM, evening and at night. Tellingly, this disappearance does not happen in the very northern part of the largemouth's range, where summer temps don't break 75F -according to some anglers I've discussed this with.

Interestingly, during summer my small water fish seem to relate to main lake (pond) basins like big water bass. By then though, the depths in my ponds are already measuring into the upper 70's, or a bit more, throughout.

I believe what I'm seeing is normal behavior for northern largemouth bass. What my small waters lack are the complications of large complex systems, and deep water populations acclimated to depth. I see this as a blessing, in terms of discerning responses to seasonal change in a species pre-historically adapted to shallow vegetated habitats, and has only relatively recently been stocked all over the country.

I'd love to have more of your feedback, considering your research on seasonal body temps in bass. I was unable to locate your article, "The Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar". Would love to bounce things off you as I proceed.

Thanks,

Paul

[RoLo]

Bass, at least in my small waters, do appear to be heat seekers. I understand more and more why they are called sunfish. Very soon, as we approach the spawn, you'll start seeing the posts about large bass lying near the surface, (and un-catchable). These are heat seeking females.

You and I see eye-to-eye on the lion's share of this topic, with one small divergence.

I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but I do not visualize bass in pursuit of optimal conditions.

The direction in which to swim in order to raise or lower water temperatures hinges on a host of interactive variables.

Moreover, since bass are cold-blooded creatures we can assume that they're comfortable in all water temperatures

(given adequate oxygen). Instead, I believe that bass react in a predictable way when given water temperatures come to them.

If optimal conditions occur in 3 feet of water, fishing success will create the illusion that bass have migrated to the 3 ft contour line.

As it happens, over the course of an annual cycle, all water temperatures come to all depths in all parts of the lake.

In short, I believe that bass react, rather than pursue.

I'd be interested in your view on this

Roger

[Catt]

Bass, at least in my small waters, do appear to be heat seekers. I understand more and more why they are called sunfish. Very soon, as we approach the spawn, you'll start seeing the posts about large bass lying near the surface, (and un-catchable). These are heat seeking females.

You and I see eye-to-eye on the lion's share of this topic, with one small divergence.

I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but I do not visualize bass in pursuit of optimal conditions.

The direction in which to swim in order to raise or lower water temperatures hinges on a host of interactive variables.

Moreover, since bass are cold-blooded creatures we can assume that they're comfortable in all water temperatures

(given adequate oxygen). Instead, I believe that bass react in a predictable way when given water temperatures come to them.

If optimal conditions occur in 3 feet of water, fishing success will create the illusion that bass have migrated to the 3 ft contour line.

As it happens, over the course of an annual cycle, all water temperatures come to all depths in all parts of the lake.

In short, I believe that bass react, rather than pursue.

I'd be interested in your view on this

Roger

Exactly Roger  

Temperature is only part of the equation; bass live such a simple live that it goes straight over most anglers' heads.

[Paul Roberts]

Roger,

Agreed. I don't believe that the bass move great distances to seek "optimal" conditions. They get what comes to them. However, within a certain range I believe they will move to seek heat, and get in on concentrated prey. I believe this is the case on my ponds on those days.

[Guest muddy]

While I am not as knowledgable as any of the fellas who have posted here I want to tell of some observation made last spring and this year, at ice out. These obsevations were made at Mauch Chunk and a strippin pit, with extermely clear water as the algae has not started to turn the water green at either body of water.; The observations were made on both and were the same

One week after ice out the water is barely 40 degrees a few bass sighted off the shore.

Water 48 degrees, in the shallows THE BASS ARE CRUSING BIG TIME. They seem to be crusing in groups of 3 to 5 and are just going all around certain areas, close to good spawning sites.

Here is what caught my attention the most, especially at the stripping pit , where there is a steep shore and we can see well into the water. On that side of the pit, with a trout style thermometer the water was as much as 4 degrees higher than the other side. There were the same amount of bass on either side, I was with another guy and we split up and compared notes. THE FISH ON THE WARMER Side were only cruising back an forth at distances no farther than 20 yards, just kept going back and forth THEY DID NOT GO TO THE OTHER SIDE WHERE THE WARMER WATER WAS.

The FISH ON THE COOLER SIDE, did the same cruised in small area and never left.

When they did go out of sight on either end it was going into deeper water than reappearing in about the sites they disappeared in.

I have no idea what this means but we spent a couple of days watching this. ANY CLUES TO WHAT THIS MEANS APPRECIATED>

PS There were a number of bass in each group that had some distinctive markings so we are sure the same bass were in an area 8-)

[Paul Roberts]

Muddy, great stuff. Reads like my fishing journals! Observations are like puzzle pieces. Save em and eventually you may find where they fit into the bigger picture.

Here's my take:

As Roger and Catt mentioned bass seem not to go searching out optimal conditions. They react to what they have. And they can operate well in a variety of temperatures (But in a different gear so to speak).

In most good waters there are bass occupying many if not most areas. If there's food, they'll exploit it. Oftentimes we catch bass only in certain areas because those areas fit our style of fishing, or we hit fish there once and discovered something about the area. When we revisit it we have some knowledge to bring to bear on it, and the confidence that goes with it an area with "history" as I put it. Doesn't mean there aren't fish in other areas though.

The bass you saw:

As WRB had mentioned, water heats very slowly, and likely the bass groups on BOTH sides of your pit were cruising in 40F water. The 4 degree difference was skin deep. Try this: Take a temp at 3 deep and at 10 deep. In early spring there will likely be a 4 degree difference right there! I've standardized my surface readings at 6 deep. Thus, when I mention a surface temp, it's at 6. Eventually, and it takes a while, the water warms deeper and deeper. The surface temp readings I have are an indicator of the general seasonal warming trend, not the whole immediate story. I have to interpolate from the occasional temperature profiles I take. I've developed a feel for how quickly water masses warm, and how they are affected by cold fronts, heating days, and wind.

In my shallow ponds, I don't normally SEE shoreline related bass until the surface water has warmed further about the mid 50s, and especially by 60F. Many bass are already shallows related though, but holding further off, often in the mouths of the coves and flats that will soon warm further, and draw in both prey (bluegills in my ponds) and bass behind em. No, these are not all the bass in the pond, although on some small waters with only a single major cove or flat representing the majority of good habitat, I likely have a significant proportion of the bass right there.

Now, I don't follow temperature blindly. If I find a pond with 60 on one shore and 50 on the other, the temperature isn't going to stand alone. There has to be a food shelf, an area that will attract prey fish bluegills in my case. Also, cover is important the more convoluted the cover, the more prey fish the shore seems to hold. If the good habitat elements are non-existent on the warm side, I'll fish the cooler side, and adjust my presentation accordingly (see my post, Two Interesting Days... in the Western reports section of this site).

Bass are heat seekers (notably the females), but they don't follow it blindly either. It comes to them in areas that will support their needs -good habitat. And they respond with sheer CARNAGE!! That's the place to be!

[Guest muddy]

Thanks Paul: Couple of more questions. These fish did not seem to be eating or doing any nest building just crusing back and fort, and we have spent a few hours watching them WHAT ARE THEY DOING? Do the fish in each group act like deer Males in one group and females in the other? These may seem a litttle dumb, but we are just trying to figure out whats going on.

As the water warms to around 52 we start seeing the spawing routines starting.

PS we can't take temps in 10 ft of water because all this is occuring in water 4 ft and under. We cant see from where we are what they are doing when they get out of sight into the deeper water, if we are in the boat we can watch them you can see clear to the bottom at this time of year, but we do not want to disturb what they are doing by putting the boat right on top of them.

[Paul Roberts]

I know this is different from what you've probably read but, from my observations, I break the spring into 4 periods:

Initial Heat-Up bass are heat and food oriented.

Pre-Spawn bass are spawning site oriented

Spawn bass are pairing or paired, eggs dropping

Post-Spawn males are guarding eggs/fry; females are recuperating/feeding.

Males become spawning site related first or at least visibly so. They pile onto spawning shorelines roughly a month after ice-out (in my ponds). This is when I call the behavior pre-spawn. Males cruise in very loose groups (not seeming to be relating to one another) along spawning shorelines. They are often quite visible. They also may make premature beds, only to abandon them as conditions (water temps) fail.

Females are very different. When they come out of winter they are grouped tightly in groups of 3 to 8 (in my waters). They are quite recognizable at this time in three ways: They are larger than males, they have notably swollen pearly bellies, and they tend to be noticeably grouped relating to one another.

Groups of females appear visibly along shorelines occasionally well before the spawn. I've seen them as much as two months prior to the actual spawn. When I see them they are often cruising in a string I call these "parades". (I've also seen them simply holding, bunched up in a tight group. I assume they are just not cruising at the moment). Originally, I thought these parades were moon influenced, as I've seen them several times on full moons, and once just last spring, on a new moon. But I'm not convinced there's a real relationship there. I'm still watching. If you see such a group, I'd really like to know the date and water conditions of your sighting.

At a certain point these female groups break up and individual females may be seen sunning: They are either slowly cruising close to the surface, in the immediate shallows, or holding by some cover piece. Eventually, when conditions are right, they appear at spawning sites ready to spawn.

I remember reading, and then hearing, Kevin Van Dam talk about pre-spawn and post spawn females holding up off bottom, and often related to vertical cover like a fence post or tall stump. But he didn't elaborate. I now know what this is about. Heat is VERY important to female bass. And interestingly, in my ponds, it doesn't just end at post-spawn either.

[Paul Roberts]

Oh! I wasn't suggesting you take temps at 10 feet deep (unless you want to familiarize yourself with temp profiles). I was suggesting you take temps at 3 inches and 10 inches in early spring. The difference will likely surprise you. You'll probably get something like 48F at 3"(inches) and 44F at 10"(inches). Heat does not penetrate water (by direct conduction) very well.

So, think inches, then re-read that post!

[Guest muddy]

GOTTCHA and thanks

[Catt]

You're still only looking at part of the equation

What were the weather conditions?

Since you are talking pre-spawn & spawn then the weather will either be pre-frontal, frontal, or post frontal.

It is often stated that to have success during winter wait until the middle of the day when temperatures have warmed; then please explain this scenario.

Lake: Toledo Bend Reservoir

Season: Mid-winter

Surface temperature: Low to mid 40s

Time: Day break

Depth: 15'

Structure: Main lake point

Wind: North east 15 mph

Lure: Rat-L-Trap

After the sun rise the water temperatures came up 3 or 4 degrees the bite shut off so I move to the shaded side of the point where the temperature dropped 3 or 4 degrees and the bite picked up again.

This is a very common winter pattern on many Texas lakes; it flies in the face of every thing we hear about how temperature affects bass. First the bass should be seeking warmer water and secondly the bass should be to lethargic to chase bait.

[RoLo]

There is yet another thermal phenomenon that tends to apply year-round to largemouth bass.

I should point out though that's it's most pronounced on shallow natural lakes where vegetation is the predominant cover.

During a typical warm-front there are moist winds out of the southerly hemisphere that tend to haze the skies and elevate water temperatures.

With each passing day of fair and stable weather, bass tend to suspend higher-and-higher within the weed bed.

There is no lateral movement, only an upward lofting within the same water column.

By the 3rd or 4th day of the warm-front, bass will generally be aggregated near the water surface,

above submergent weed beds rather than alongside the weed line.

Eventually a cold-front always moves in to end the gravy train. The winds shift into the northern hemisphere,

the air is cold and dry, hazy skies give way to crisp blue skies and water temperatures decline.

During a cold-front, most fisherman believe that bass migrate laterally into deeper water.

Remarkably, underwater studies conducted by In-Fisherman made an astonishing revelation (when Ron & Al were at the helm).

During a full-blown cold-front, largemouth bass simply sank to the bottom of the water column

with no lateral migration at all. Using underwater optics they saw bass with their noses on the bottom of the lake,

at the base of the densest available vegetation with their tails angling upward. These bass were in a torpor and virtually uncatchable.

Always bear in mind though that bass in a negative disposition feel no discomfort at all, it's no more uncomfortable than sleep.

Meanwhile, bass in deeper water with the benefit of a layer of water insulation,

may be unaware that the cold front exists (unless it's major and prolonged).

A typical scenario on the heels of a cold-front:

Two anglers spend half the day working hard in 4 feet of water but blank out.

They move to a spot in 8 feet of water and both fisherman make bass contact.

Now I dare you to tell those gentlemen that bass are aggregated in 4 feet of water.

One of them is sure to reply with a smug grin on his face:, "Whatever you say pal" :

Roger

[Guest muddy]

Hey Roger: Did you learn that fishing those weed beds by the Long Pond Marina and on the shore side of Chapel Island, thats were I first noticed that :

 That is why on the Chunk as the warm front digs in , in the summer The best bite goes from jigs to t rigged plastic stik baits, And when a warm front is really entrenched the topwater late night summer bite is intense!

 The period around ice out, fronts and such seem to make no difference in bass movement, that seems to come later on much after the water stays over 50 degrees up here.

[RoLo]

Hey Roger: Did you learn that fishing those weed beds by the Long Pond Marina and on the shore side of Chapel Island, thats were I first noticed that :

That is why on the Chunk as the warm front digs in , in the summer The best bite goes from jigs to t rigged plastic stik baits, And when a warm front is really entrenched the topwater late night summer bite is intense!

Actually, the only lakes where it may not hold true are manmade impoundments. Particularly reservoirs with infertile soil or fluctuating water levels that prevent adequate plant growth. On these lakes, "wood" plays the major role followed by "rock" (but only by default).

The period around ice out, fronts and such seem to make no difference in bass movement, that seems to come later on much after the water stays over 50 degrees up here.

I'll drink to that.

Again, that's especially true on impoundments where it's usually a bladebait game until at least 48 deg.

Roger

[Paul Roberts]

Catt,

I'm sorry, I'm not understanding the first part. You asked: What were the weather conditions? What/when are you referring to?

I'll take a stab at explaining winter bass activity, and then what you describe on Toledo Bend.

I'm not convinced that you have to wait for the middle of the day to catch bass in winter. As mentioned by others here, bass can be active and capable hunters in a full range of temps, over the course of the year. They acclimate to a given temperature and can be effective hunters. If you peruse the reports boards during winter you'll find many instances, from all over the country, of people catching a bunch of bass in really cold water often to their surprise. I know a guy who catches smallmouths on topwaters in winter in 40F water! People also catch bass through the ice. Some die-hards target them and say that the hard part is finding them since they are often bunched up.

Bass can feed in winter, and may feed if the opportunity presents itself. One scenario that I hear about every winter, and I'm guessing is what you may be referring to, is the crankbait bite that comes on in many waters in winter. How can a bass chase down a crankbait in mid winter?

A good explanation is that they do so because it's worth the effort. Winter is a time when many young of the year fishes weaken and die, and can be easy prey for metabolically slowed bass. Some years are better than others in offering up weakened prey fish. This pattern is especially common in reservoirs with shad, which commonly weaken and die during winter. The fishing can actually get better following real cold snaps because more shad suffer from cold shock. The bass may not experience much of a drop in temperature in their winter quarters but find weak shad easy prey.

Adding to the scenario is eagerness. Bass, with prey in front of them, and their target screen set, are more willing to chase at any temperature. As are bass in high competition with their cohorts. Winter bass are rarely alone.

In the specific case you mention: 15 feet of water, the sun, or shade, won't affect temperature at that depth. Something else is on going on. Unless you are talking about surface oriented fish, but even then the 3 or 4 degree temps you mention, are likely surface temperatures that are only skin deep. The sun, as mentioned earlier, cannot heat water much more than inches deep in a matter of hours and that's a summer sun! Where I live anyway, the winter sun is simply too low in the sky to heat the water much at all.

In general, as I understand it, winter is a time when bass seek temperature stability, usually provided by the dense water in the depths. I doubt the bass, even as close as 5 feet below the surface, experience any appreciable temperature changes. Once water hits about 40F, that's it. Any colder water will not penetrate it. If midday sun helps it's likely something to do with the visibility of lures, or a primary food chain event, invigoration, ...who knows? There is a reason, and it may not have anything to do with temperature changes of the bass.

In general, angling is often a very poor indicator of bass behavior too many variables. A real clinker in the process that could explain it is that to experience 4 degrees of warming in winter you would likely have to have a sunny day, or at very least bright day (you're in Texas after all). Could it be that when the sun pops up, and the water is at all clear, just casting a lure over fish near the surface would likely send em running?

What are your thoughts? I don't fish in the south. Exactly why I posted this temperature stuff to begin with. I'm here to learn. And I'm really appreciating your feedback very much.

[Paul Roberts]

Roger, I'd really like to get that IF article. Do you have any specifics on it?  Was it in the magazine? I'll go ahead and contact them and see if it's available. Any info would be helpful though.

What do you attribute the vertical movements you see to? Slowly rising surface temperature?

[Catt]

For Paul:

During you observations what were the weather conditions?

Was the weather pre-frontal, frontal, post frontal or stable?

For Roger:

Was this phenomenon strictly thermal or is it a combination of weather conditions; barometric pressure, cloud cover, wind direction ECT.

[Paul Roberts]

Catt,

Four days in March were highlighted in those reports. Here are my weather descriptions from those reports, and my answers to your question in CAPS:

(March) 11th was a nice fairly rapid heating day, sunny and high in mid 60's. I watched water temps go from 47F to 55.5F in 3 hours. POST COLD FRONT (2nd day)

...

(March) 14th ended up a great day for this, ending up at a miserable 38F with rain and sleet by late afternoon. The pond was 49.5F when I started, warmed to 51F in three hours, until the front descended and it fell back to 49 and 47 (at different shoreline locations). COLD FRONT

...

March 20th, 2008

Brilliant sun and high temps (65F) forecast awesome heating day. I was gonna KILL EM!!! But Mother Nature threw me a curve; No confusion just another fascinating day. POST COLD FRONT (1st day)

...

March 25th 2008

Warm spell following good cold front. Monday was to hit mid 60's but a strong wind came in that made me decide to hold off a day. Tuesday was calm, and promised 65 and sun, which was realized. I was almost trembling in anticipation. POST COLD FRONT (2nd day)

...

Essentially, I target post cold front days in early spring, because of the intense warming trends they bring. In fact, I cheer on those cold fronts as they prolong the cold water period, and set up intense warming days.

In the post, Two Interesting Days... , I purposely chose a cold day, not a warming day, to fish, just to compare a known group of bass response to a non-warming day. It wasn't falling temps which I truly risk being skunked on. I thought the results were interesting. Yes?

On the 20th (post Two more Fascinating Days...) a good post frontal heating day was forecast, and happened, but a big wind rolled up the mass of cold winter water from the depths of the small lake and nixed the heating. The fishing was very tough. I know my waters very well, including some individual bass. The carnage I was hoping for, never set up.

The 25th (same water as the 20th) was the 2nd day following a cold front. I passed on the first day because of the forecast for high wind again, even though it would have been warm and sunny and a good heating day (if not for the heavy wind).

I'm self employed, so I can often pick my fishing days. I do so by weather forecast. In early spring I follow up on heating days, especially those immediately following cold fronts. I often choose the first day following especially if it's likely to be a very warm sunny day. If it's a bit cooler I may choose the second day. It can be good right up until the next cold front as each night tends to cool the shallows again (Colorado nights are always clear and crisp). I want rapid heating of the water. At this time of year the sun is high enough to do the job. The bass respond with CARNAGE!!  It's really something to see. Bluegills lying right on shore and bass ripping through em.

As spring progresses the ponds take on more heat and the intensity and concentrations lessen, as fish are less enamored with the immediate shorelines, as the depths begin to warm. Then pre-pawn has begun and it's another game altogether. The smaller males appear on shore in numbers and are substrate oriented. I'm after females though, and their groups begin to break up about now and then it's a search for isolated cover, and feeding bluegills. The bass remain very much heat oriented though.

The early spring warm-up period is a spectacular time, at least in small waters. And it's not just a Colorado thing; I did the very same thing in New York when I lived there. Although Colorado weather is more intense, and predictable. I get multiple shots (weekly in fact) at these events.

You know, as I get to dabble in the consistency of Colorado weather more and more, I'm becoming less enamored of magical things like moon phases and cold fronts. I still have more observing to do, but I think things are much simpler, as you suggest above. Or, at least the complexity lies in other places.

[Catt]

Here's the question I asked: Water temperature & the seasonal affects on bass

Here's the answer: Both play a major role in how bass behave

Although bass adjust to changes in their environment, they're easier to catch during certain times of the year because they're easier to find and more willing to eat. That's why fishing can be so good in the spring and early summer and again in the fall. It's a mistake to say bass prefer one season or another or that they "like" a certain temperature range.

Bass are cold-blooded, so they are more active in warmer water because their metabolisms are faster; their bodies use more energy, so they need to eat more often. But that doesn't mean they aren't active at all in cold water, they just eat less when they're cold.

Water temperatures change as the seasons change, and although temperature and seasonal variations both play different roles in bass behavior, the two are linked. We all know that lakes, rivers and ponds are colder in the winter, hotter in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall, but do you know bass move as the seasons and temperatures change? That's why we catch them in shallow water sometimes and in much deeper water at other times.

I still don't fully understand how natural variations in weather and seasons affect fish. Nobody really has all the answers. But based on my lifelong experience as a bass angler and biologist, I have a good understanding of where to find bass as the seasons change and as the water temperatures rise and fall. They really don't move that far. It's more of an up and down movement. They go shallow and deep all within the same relatively small area as the seasons change, but they don't migrate from one end of the lake to the other.

For much of the year, temperature really isn't that important. Bass can tolerate high and low temperatures pretty well. I only pay attention to my thermometer when it's very hot above 85 degrees or very cold which is anything below 50. But if it's between 55 degrees and 85 degrees, temperature really doesn't affect bass behavior all that much.

Food is what really dominates the lives of bass; in the spring and fall, the "grocery store" is usually close to the shoreline and around cover like aquatic grass, rocks and docks. Small fish, crawfish, frogs and other creatures are most abundant and most active in shallow water, so that's where the bass will be. Oxygen is a limiting factor all fish need it to survive.

Ken Cook

[Paul Roberts]

Ken,

Agreed, bass don't move over the length of a water body. We discussed that above. (Although telemetry has shown that there are always individuals that are incredible wanderers.)

And I agree that temperature becomes generally less critical (for anglers) outside of the coldwater season, excepting mid-summer. I see these here too.

But, what I believe I am seeing is a behavior in (most notably) female largemouth bass in the small waters I fish and observe. What I am seeing is heat seeking in females and it affects their location in the water column, at least in spring and into summer peak (early summer), until high temps send them, apparently, sulking. I believe I saw it again in early fall last year. I'm not putting in for an elk permit this year (a mind blower to my friends) because I'm dying to know if it appears again next September.

I'm suspecting this is related to their "metabolic engines" for lack of better at the moment, and should include males but I haven't been able to factor them in yet. I'm beginning to suspect this may play a more important role than atmospheric pressure, solunar, lunar, etc... . I realize that's a bold statement, and I've got more observing to do. But what I'm seeing (with my own eyes in my small shallow waters) is really intriguing.

I'm a die-hard angler, but I'm a naturalist first, and a former university researcher (in physiology and circannual rhythms). Small waters give me a literal window into the bass' world. I have more limited experience with big waters, so I'm curious how such seemingly important behavior could possibly manifest itself in large deep systems.

And I'm wide open to constructive criticism of my thinking, and welcome other's observations from around the country.

Agreed. Food rules! Food abets the prime directive to reproduce successfully.