Do Bass Migrate?

[fishfordollars]

Let me know what your thoughts are. I think some move all their lives and some never leave home.

Jack

[Gatorbassman]

I've always been taught that when you talk about a bass migrating you are talking about the daily or twice daily trip they make from their deep haunts to where they are going to feed.

Now they will make very long moves up and down a large lake depending on water quality but there is no certain time of year that that would happen.

[TRYTOFISH]

on the in-fisherman show (i think) last weekend they did a study over 3 yrs and found that about 70% of bass return to within  300 yrds every spring and fall.

[Catt]

I've always been taught that when you talk about a bass migrating you are talking about the daily or twice daily trip they make from their deep haunts to where they are going to feed.

Now they will make very long moves up and down a large lake depending on water quality but there is no certain time of year that that would happen.

X2 

[simplejoe]

I think a majority of bass migrate to different locations throughout the year, but there also resident bass, that don't move far from their home. the resident bass are usually located in the shallows by a piece of structure, with deep water close by so they don't move far from their location when it gets too warm or cold.

[Raul]

Let me put an example, Lake Zimapán, the lake is 25 sq km in surface, the lake is located between the states of Hidalgo and Quer étaro, pretty much alike all over the lake for one exception, on the Quer étaro side there are hot water springs that pour into the lake, during the winter about 2/3 of the lake is dead water, all the action takes place at the area around the springs because the water is several degrees hotter, on the Hidalgo side the water can be 15-17 °C but on the Quer étaro side the water is above 20°C. Nobody fishes the Hidalgo side during the winter because there are no fish there. During the summer you can fish all over the lake, the fish scatter.

[Md]

There's a VERY good article on this in the newest FLW magazine. It is very surprising...it seems as though it depends on each individual fish.

[Team9nine]

Depends on your exact definition of "migrate", but studies have shown pretty conclusively that many, if not most, bodies of water have two groups of bass, "homers" and "roamers". Usually the "roamers" are the much smaller segment of the population, but again it varies by lake and species (spots vs. smallies vs. greenies).

-T9

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

Look at people, many of them sit in one place much of their lives, and others are always moving and on the go. Fish are not much different in that aspect.

Some like excitement which is why you may catch the same fish 5 times or catch one with plenty of lip jewelery, others only come out of there house after you ring the doorbell 200 times.

On the lip jewelery comment, I caught a 4 lb during spawn 2 years ago that had 2 nice spinner baits, a small crank (bass pro XPS, similar to what I was using), and a half torn senko type worm in bright neon pink... I still have the spinners and crank in my tackle box.

[backpain...]

That is just insane.

[RoLo]

Great question Jack

During my budding years as an angler, Buck Elwood Perry offered several new theories

to the fishing community, but one stood head-and-shoulders above all the others.

Buck theorized that largemouth bass spent the majority of their lives in 30 to 35 ft of water,

a zone he dubbed the sanctuary. Buck explained that bass in the sanctuary are not

actively feeding and only borderline catchable. According to his hypothesis, bass migrate

from their deepwater sanctuary onto the food-shelf where they are active and catchable,

generally twice every day. Buck defined the food-shelf as water that's 8 to 10 ft deep or less.

For several years, "Fishing Facts" magazine also subscribed to Perry's migration theory.

I learned in retrospect that Buck's theories, however intuitive were geared mainly toward

manmade impoundments and were not applicable to natural lakes. Furthermore,

a telemetry study subsequently conducted by the In-Fisherman staff, flew in the face

of the daily migration" theory. Transmitter results revealed that the lion's share of bass are residential,

and minor movements within their home range resisted depth change as they typically

held steadfast to the same contour line (compliant with swim bladder function).

The study also found that a few renegade bass would migrate long distances,

usually across the entire lake for no explicable reason. However, these rogue bass

also resisted depth change by moving in suspension rather than following the bottom contour.

Telemetry studies that followed these groundbreaking findings only reaffirmed In-Fisherman's findings.

The migration theory involving depth change is also rebutted by the purpose and function

of the bass's 'swim bladder' (not all fish have swim bladders). Due to the time required

for the gas sacs to attain neutral buoyancy, a twice-daily depth change from 35 ft to 8ft

would either be physically challenging or highly time-consuming (i.e. absurd).

On a personal note, the twice-daily migration theory involving depth change has offered

disappointing results in New Jersey, New York, Canada, Georgia and more recently, Florida.

To my mind, there's a significant distinction between "daily" migrations and "seasonal" shifts.

I do not visualize cold-blooded fish seeking ideal conditions, but believe that

ideal conditions for "catching bass" ultimately come to all bass at all depths.

When bass residing in 8 ft of water are catchable today, and bass in 3 ft of water are catchable tomorrow,

that will surely create the illusion that the bass have migrated from 8-ft to 3-ft of water.

Though I personally rebuff the existence of daily migration, there's no doubt in my mind

that bass do undergo "seasonal migration" which take place more slowly over time.

Roger

[Blue Streak]

Yes. If I fish on the east side they migrate to the west side.They know all of the shortcuts.

[Big Fish Rice]

Yes. If I fish on the east side they migrate to the west side.They know all of the shortcuts.

Haha, good one....We've all been there!

Migration could be classified into several areas. Bass don't migrate like Pacific Salmon (and their long range patterns) but just like any other predator, food dictates location.

If the environment is sustainable, I'm sure some of the species find it tolerable to stay in one area.

I would be interested in a full fledge study; but unfortunately, every lake is unique. What happens in one body of water, might not happen in another.

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

If you think about it, bass had to follow food long before man started blocking creeks and rivers. So some went from natural lakes, up the rivers in the fall and back down in the spring following the bait fish that followed the plankton. Nowadays there are enough dams and reservoirs that most bass do not need to migrate much although some still do. I remember watching bass swim through a few inches of water some years back along a creek to get upstream to a pool below a d**n that had so much greenery year round... and then in spring they went back down to the larger lake.

Caught some nice fish in that small pool late fall through early spring.

edit: with all this new technology, I would think they could study 100 different locations varying from north to south lakes, small ponds (a few acres) to large lakes (great lakes), natural and reservoir, spring fed, small creek fed, large river fed and so on down the line.

[WRB]

I think you first must separate bass into species; LMB, FLMB, smallmouth and spotted bass for the 4 most common. Next you to need to categorize what type of lake the bass live in; pond, river, shallow lake and deep structured lake. To generalize beyond and lump all into one category, then try to answer a complex question is nearly impossible.

Tracking studies* are the most reliable source of bass movement or migration. All bass move seasonally; deep to shallow for the spawn. The balance of the year bass tend to move or migrate as individuals within whatever home range each bass has established. In ponds LMB tend to make daily cruises around the perimeter for example. Deep structured lakes, LMB tend to establish home range depending on year class; small bass staying together and larger bass staying together and occasionally moving away from the group as individuals. Some stay on deep outside structure for several weeks and move to another similar deep outside structure without moving towards shore. Others stay near shore cover and move very little, similar to pond, except back and forth along the shoreline breaks.

Bill Murphy liked to say bass are like local folks, they show up at the local saloon, they all just don't show up at the same time.

Do bass migrate; yes.

WRB

*Mike Lembeck tracking study, 1974 San Diego County reservoirs. 200 bass studied over a period of 3 years. The bass weighed between 1-1/4 lbs to 14 lbs.

[Catt]

One only has to look at the definition of the word

Migrate: to pass usually periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding.

That pretty much somes up a bass's life!

[Bass_Akwards]

Big bass tend to follow changing oxygen levels during the year just like elk migrate to summer and winter pastures. 

[Fishing Rhino]

I would have said no.  Migration, I thought involved considerable distances, involving fish such as salmon, herring, eels, etc.  Fish that remained in the same body of water but moved relatively short distances would not be considered as migratory.  But, I thought it wise to do a search, and here is what I found.

Fish migration

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Many species of salmon are anadromous and migrate long distances up rivers and streams to spawn. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annual, and over distances ranging from a few meters to thousands of kilometers. Fish usually migrate because of diet or reproductive needs, although in some cases the reason for migration remains unknown.

According to the scientific community,  bass (the freshwater kind) do migrate.  Time and distance are not factors.

So, I wake up in the morning, and migrate to the kitchen for breakfast, then migrate to work, or to the pond to do some fishing.

[George Welcome]

I think you first must separate bass into species; LMB, FLMB, smallmouth and spotted bass for the 4 most common. Next you to need to categorize what type of lake the bass live in; pond, river, shallow lake and deep structured lake. To generalize beyond and lump all into one category, then try to answer a complex question is nearly impossible.

Tracking studies* are the most reliable source of bass movement or migration. All bass move seasonally; deep to shallow for the spawn. The balance of the year bass tend to move or migrate as individuals within whatever home range each bass has established. In ponds LMB tend to make daily cruises around the perimeter for example. Deep structured lakes, LMB tend to establish home range depending on year class; small bass staying together and larger bass staying together and occasionally moving away from the group as individuals. Some stay on deep outside structure for several weeks and move to another similar deep outside structure without moving towards shore. Others stay near shore cover and move very little, similar to pond, except back and forth along the shoreline breaks.

Bill Murphy liked to say bass are like local folks, they show up at the local saloon, they all just don't show up at the same time.

Do bass migrate; yes.

WRB

*Mike Lembeck tracking study, 1974 San Diego County reservoirs. 200 bass studied over a period of 3 years. The bass weighed between 1-1/4 lbs to 14 lbs.

By sheer definition of the word - yes: by all tracking studies - definitely: by all experience - absolutely.