Bass and the Weather

[D4u2s0t]

I've been trying to do more research about how bass react to weather paterns, and what that means for your fishing.  I've found some good info online, but need a little more for it to really mean anything.  It's been cold and rainy here for what seems like forever (few weeks) and the fishing has been for crap.  Usually the bite on my lake is amazing, and it's almost hard to NOT catch fish.  Can't go more than a few casts without pulling something out.  The last 3-4 times i've been out have been awful.  Tonight I got skunked, sunday I was out all day and got 1, saturday was out all day and got 2-3.  Last week was the same.  I would assume it's because of the weather.  Now the real part of the question is assuming I have some info that tells how bass react to warm fronts, cold fronts, high & low pressure systems, how do I find out which of these systems we're having?  Seemed simple enough, but I couldn't find any of that info.  Also, from people with more experience, have you found that the weather has a big part in what the fish do, and if so, how do you change up your techniques?

Sorry if these are silly questions, I tried looking for answers and couldn't really find anything.  Thanks for the help!

[Big Phish]

I assume your reffering to this cold front and endless rain we've had in NJ.  

Just check out weather.com and i'm sure this site has articles about fishing in the rain.

[bassinri]

Hey D4. Im in Rhode Island 300 miles north of you and am experiencing the same thing as are many of the anglers I have spoken to. A tuesday night series I fish was terrible this past week and we were fishing on one of the best bass resivours in the state. Not one team got the 10 fish limit. I fish 7 days a week and since last saturday I have caught 4 fish! In RI we are going through a cold front and with the rain it is high barometric pressure which spells S-K-U-N-K-E-D.  I am the furthest thing from an athority on this it's just what I've read and heard through the years. I am totally convincened that these factors make for terrible fishing. Also if you look at the moon phase charts that tell you which days are better for fishing, last week and the beggining of this week were all in the poor range. I know this maybe didnt answer your question totally but I hope it helps. My questiion is what stage are the fish going to be in when this weather finally starts to get back on track here on the east coast. I hate to say it but to be honest I suggest taking a few days off. Trust me, it kills me to stay home and not fish especially since I fish 7 days a week but its probably gonna take a few days to get back on track. I am going to go do some salt water fishing from shore just to switch it up a bit. Good Luck!

[D4u2s0t]

thanks guys. I've been coming to this lake for probably about 2 years since i have a good friend that lives here, and now that I live here I get out more often. In 2 years of fishing i have only been skunked here twice. yesterday was the 2nd time.

Thanks for the tip about weather.com, i go there almost daily but never knew they said anything about fishing!  thanks bro.

[Crestliner2008]

It's been really bad up here in MA too. I mainly fish the Quabbin Reservoir and the water temps are a good 10 - 15 degrees cooler than last year at this time. It hasn't even set up a thermocline yet!

What this means for the bass fishing is that the big females, which normally set up on the deeper, cooler structures at this time of the year; are now, instead, staying shallow, are scattered and roaming. It's almost like an extended spawn period instead of a post spawn. They may not be on beds, but they are certainly roaming the shallow shelfs and reef instead of setting up on their summer time haunts. Makes finding them a lot more difficult, requiring a "power-fishing" approach with a lot of boat movement.