Where would you expect the bass to be?

[keithdog]

Today is Thursday. I am planning to get out for the first time in 3 weeks saturday morning. Tonight the forcast is for stormy weather, possibly severe, and all day friday and friday night, more storms, possibly severe. Saturday morning it is a possibility of light rain clearing later in the morning. Then partly cloudy the rest of the day. And I am sitting here wondering, WWKD? That meaning "what would Kevin do"? The lake is a natural lake, not a reservoire, and there are no creek beds, dams, flooded timber or anything like that. It is 89 acres in size, with the predominate cover being cabage weed and lilly pads. Max depth is around 55 feet. The spawn finished a couple weeks ago. Water temp I am guessing is probably in the upper 60's. Several areas in shallower water are cabage or milfoil with it grown to the surface and forming a canopy. The lake has pretty clear water. I've never seen it murky. The lake gets some pressure, but not too bad since there is not much of a launch, just a sandy beach, with just enough road to park along for maybe 3-4 trailers. With all the storms that are supposed to roll through the area from now to saturday morning, I'm kind of at a quandry as to what to expect as to where the bass might be. If the storms ARE severe I expect them to drop into the deeper edges of the weedbeds. But also, I think I could find them in shallower water around 8 foot deep hiding under the weed formed canopies. I'm thinking probably a medium diving crank like a DT10 worked along the outer edges of the weedbeds would work as well as a beaver worked right through the heavier weed pockets. Maybe a large spinnerbait worked over and through the tops of deeper weedbeds where canopies have not formed. How would you approach this situation?

[Dominic]

If the drop is at 8', and there is milfoil or some other submerged grass, thats were I'd start. With the overcast and the spawn being over, those fish might be roaming that edge. Jig, small worm, senko or crankbait on the edge are all good choices. If this didn't work, I'd move shallow and pick apart any cover or holes in the pads with a jig or brush hog, maybe even try a frog through the thick stuff. Good luck.

[TBone66]

Im located in central Illinois and we have had a lot of stormy weather like you lately, just one storm after another. But last night, the last two hours of light and only 4 hours ahead of a major thunderstorm that had 80 mph winds, i was working a popper along the banks and was getting some agressive hits on top. So if i were in your shoes i would try that.

[keithdog]

I'm not so sure TBone, that I will find any bass that shallow just a few hours after heavy rain, hail and damaging winds which is what is predicted to happen durring the night before. I plan to be on the water by 5 AM if weather permits. A few hours before I can see, but have my doubts about post severe storms.

[bassboogieman]

Where would you expect the bass to be?

In the water.

I'd also start on the outside weed edge. Early I'd start with a spinnerbait, cast into the weed and run it out, killing it at the edge, letting it fall, rip it off the bottom, drop rod tip, and resume the retreive. I'd also try running the bait along the outside edge, with an occasional pause allowing the bait to flutter down, then resuming retreive.
After the sun gets up, I'd probably fish a sweet beaver (or similiar bait) in the weeds. I like skipping the bait across the weeds towards a hole or break in the weeds. If a bass is near the break, the skipping bait will get it's attention before it drops in the hole.

[cakalaki_girl]

[quote=bassboogieman;253040]In the water.

WOO HOO! Now THAT'S a good tip. Im gonna start fishing with my line in the water from now on. This shore fishing has got to go. HAHAHA

Just messin with ya, Man

[nofearengineer]

Well, one good thing about topwater...you can usually figure out pretty quickly if they're hitting it or not. If not, I'd go with a mid-depth crank along weedbed edges, like you were thinkin.

[bamabassman]

keith..i would fish the grass man. inside, outside and along the dropoffs. after the spawn, the mamas are hungry and still protecting their fry right? the babies will be in the cover, so that is where i would start.

[Jim80]

Kieth we have had rain for the last couple days and got a few hours of none rain this morning followed by torrential downpours again this afternoon , basically the fish were where we would normally look for them hanging around weed beds and grass and most came out of 2 ta 4 feet of water .


Jim

[hookset on 3]

Keith, don't forget your topwater box. I've been nailing bigger bass lately on a buzzbait and a Heddon Spit n Image. try some froggin in the lilly pads.

Good Luck, Hookset

[CCbass]

This post requires to much thought, post spawn, you said it yourself. Fish the way you would fish post spawn and maybe you will catch fish. Don't worry about the rest of the s*^t, fish post spawn.

[MallenManson]

WWKD? lmao! For years, I had the nickname "Beavis" at work. I swore up and down I was gonna make bracelets sporting WWBD?

[BassinID]

Man! CC you have a very offensive nature about you! even when you are trying hard to help you just insult everyone!

[bamabassman]

yea basinid, he does. and i for one am tired of his crap. i calle dhim out on another thread. look at the time he posted his remark, 3 am. drunk i bet. again.

[cakalaki_girl]

I thought it said CG, and for a second I was heartbroken thinking "What did I say?" before I realized you weren't talking about me. Sometimes When I get on here I just took pain meds for my bad back. It makes me run my mouth and blurt things out without thinking. It's not exclusive to just talking. Happens the same way with typing. I went back and deleted a couple of my posts later cause on second glance they seemed offensive. If I ever made someone upset, it wasnt on purpose.

[bamabassman]

we will remember that c girl. just be careful ok? too many meds can hurt more than help.
this guy is a troll, i sujest you put iggy on him. i won't cause i am gonna hound him till he is dead. he has pissed me off that much.

[bassFishingWNY]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

keith..i would fish the grass man. inside, outside and along the dropoffs. after the spawn, the mamas are hungry and still protecting their fry right? the babies will be in the cover, so that is where i would start.

You are well respected, and don't want to fire you up, but.
The mamas lay the eggs an leave. The male builds the nest, then entice the female into the nest, he dose his thing to them, she is gone back out to deep water to recuperate. The male guards the nest till they hatch, then it may be for 3 week after guarding the young.
So in the grass chances are its the male you hook, mamas out in deep water. After she recuperates, she moves into the grass to feed, that may be up to 3 weeks after she lays the eggs.
You guessed it, after the male is done guarding the eggs, and young, he go's out to deep water to recuperate.

[bamabassman]

your correct basswny. but doesn't both the male and female also feed on the grassline? i am not offended at all pal. i am wanting to know if i am doing the right thing here. cause i fish the inside and outside of the grassline and catch fish. yes most are small, and most are males,lol. i guess i am targeting the males and the reason i say this is i am using a lizard when i fish these areas. and i have caught females on these same grass lines, inside and outside after they spawn or lay their eggs.
when you say they go out deep, how dep are we talking here? truly i want to know, this may be the reason i catch so many dinks, lmao. and everybody correct me if i am wrong on this question. but doesn't the male and/or female gaurd the young after they hatch for a little while at least? i was always told that they do. really i was.

[VinnyH]

It's rained something like 17 of 21 days lately.

I went out on a reservoir last Saturday morning and the only success was with a spinnerbait on the inside shallower weed edge Caught a nice 3 1/2 lmb but not much else to speak of. It had rained the night before and thunderstorms were coming in that afternoon.

Best to All,
VinnyH

[bassFishingWNY]

bamabassman:

Like most on the inter net, every one has their say, same as this site. I read a lot of pages on this, and this comes close to what I said.
http://home.comcast.net/~rkrz/infoarch/fyilarge.htm

SENSES: Largemouth bass have the five major senses common to most animals: hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. They have another sense, the lateral line, which is a series of sensitive nerve endings that extends from just behind the gill to the tail on each side of the fish. The lateral line can pick up underwater vibrations as subtle as a swimming baitfish. Largemouth bass hear with external ears located within the skull. They may be attracted by the ticking or popping sound of some artifical lures. But when they hear loud unfamiliar sounds, they usually swim to deeper water or cover. Bass can see in all directions, except directly below or behind. In clear water, they can see 30 feet or more. But in most bass waters, visibility is limited to 5 to 10 feet. Largemouths can also see objects that are above water. Largemouths smell through nostrils, or nares, on the snout. The nares are small passageways through which water is drawn and expelled without entering the throat. Like most fish, bass can detect minute amounts of scent in the water. Bass use their sense of touch to determine whether to reject or swallow an object. Sense of taste is not important to largemouth bass as it is to some fish species, because bass have few taste cells in their mouths.
FEEDING: Newly-hatched largemouths feed heavily on tiny crustaceans and other zooplankton until the bass reach 2 inches in length. Young largemouths eat insects and small fish, including smaller bass. Adult largemouths prey mostly on fish, but crayfish, frogs and insects are important foods in some waters. Wherever they live, bass rank high in the aquatic food chain. A bass 10 inches or longer has few enemies and will eat almost anything it can swallow. Because of its large mouth and flexible stomach, a bass can eat prey nearly half its own length. Bass inhale small foods. The bass opens its mouth quickly to suck in water and the food. It then forces the water out the gills while it either swallows or rejects the object. Bass usually grab large prey, then turn the food to swallow it headfirst. As the water warms, the metabolism of bass increases and they feed more often. Largemouths seldom eat at water temperatures below 50 degrees. From 50 to 60 degrees, feeding increases and from 68 to 80 degrees, they feed heavily. However, at temperatures above 80 degrees, feeding declines.
GROWTH: The amount bass grow in a year depends on the length of their growing season, or the number of days suitable for growth. The growing season in the south may last twice as long as it does in the north. Largemouths gain weight most quickly in water from 75 to 80 degrees. They do not grow in water colder than 50 degrees. Although bass in the south grow and mature faster, they rarely live as long as largemouths in colder, northern lakes. In southern waters, bass occasionally reach 10 years of age; in northern waters, bass may live as long as 15 years. Female bass live longer than males, so they are more apt to reach a trophy size. In one study, 30 percent of the females were 5 years or older, while only 9 percent of the males were 5 years or more.
SPAWNING: In spring, when inshore waters reach about 60 degrees, largemouth bass swim onto spawning grounds in shallow bays, backwaters, channels and other areas protected from prevailing winds. Spawning grounds usually have firm bottoms of sand, gravel, mud or rock. Bass seldom nest on thick layer of silt. Some spawning areas are in open water; others have sparse weeds, boulders or logs. Male bass may spend several days selecting their nest sites. The beds are usually in 1 to 4 feet of water, but may be deeper in clear water. The males seldom nest where they can see other nesting males. For this reason, beds are generally at least 30 feet apart, but may be closer if weeds, boulders, sunken logs or stumps prevent the males from seeing each other. Largemouths spawn when the water reaches 63 to 68 degrees and temperatures remain within this range for several days. Cold fronts may cause water temperatures to drop, which interrupts and delays spawning. A female bass lays from 2000 to 7000 eggs per pound of body weight. She may deposit all of her eggs in one nest or drop them at several different sites before leaving the spawning grounds. After spawning, the female recuperates in deep water, where she does not eat for 2 to 3 weeks. Alone on the nest the male hovers above the eggs, slowly fanning them to keep off the silt and other debris. He does not eat while guarding the eggs, but will attack other fish that swim near the nest. Sunfish often prey on bass eggs or newly hatched fry. In waters with large sunfish populations, the panfish can seriously hamper bass reproduction. Bass eggs hatch in only 2 days at 72 degrees, but take 5 days at 67 degrees. Cold weather following spawning will delay hatching. If the shallows drop to 50 degrees, the fry will not emerge for 13 days. At lower temperatures, the eggs will fail to develop. A severe cold front sometimes causes males to abandon the nest, resulting in a complete loss of eggs or fry. From 2000 to 12,000 eggs hatch from the typical nest. Of these, only 5 to 10 are likely to survive to reach 10 inches in length.

[JB]

bama, I think you are correct about the big mama staying close to the frey for a little bit after they are schooled up in the shallows. I noticed this when fishing ponds years ago, a small group of bass would go by the boat, maybe a half inch in length, and sure enough a nice size mama was near, and willing to bite. I'm not sure how long they will guard the young, but its one of those things about nature you get to observe while on the water. I sure wish sometimes fishing was easier at brookville lake verses my old cattle ranch pond, but I pretty much had worn that body of water out plus the owners got old and sold it. But I really got a chance to learn the basics about bass fishing and nature being there about every nite.

[bamabassman]

thank you wny, very interesting read for sure. but i, like jb, grew up fishing small ponds and guntersville lake along with smith lake and a few others, also the many rivers and streams here in alabama. and i too noticed the females AND males guarding the small fry or newly hatched younguns for a while when i fished. so i am wondering if maybe ther needs to be a new study done or something. i like the article, it is correect in many ways. but i for one think it is somewhat a little off, if you know what i mean.this is what i have learned.........in each and every body of water, the bass are different. same species of bass react in different ways depending on the body of water. it doesn't really matter in reality. our goal is to learn each body of water we fish in order to catch the dang criters,hahaha. that is what makes this FISHING right?
i thank you for the read, truly i do. i read this a very long time ago. although not the exact same way, but still the same ya know? but through my experience in fishing this does not always apply. so the hunt goes on so to speak. thank you again for the article. interesting for us to ponder on eh?

[Jim80]

Originally Posted by VinnyH

It's rained something like 17 of 21 days lately.

I went out on a reservoir last Saturday morning and the only success was with a spinnerbait on the inside shallower weed edge Caught a nice 3 1/2 lmb but not much else to speak of. It had rained the night before and thunderstorms were coming in that afternoon.

Best to All,
VinnyH

Been about the same here vinny , don't worry it will pass sooner or later .


Jim

[bassFishingWNY]

Seeing male bass, and female bass?
All large mouth bass look the same to me. Though I never looked between their leg to check.
So what is the difference, I really would like to know.

[bamabassman]

hahahaha, i gotcha wny. yea it is hard to tell the difference. i guess the reson i say male and female is cause i notice the young fry or baby bass and see a larger bass hovering around them. one will be larger than the other, thus i am "guessing" that the biggest is the female. does sound strange i know. now as i said, i only see this in ponds not large lakes.and i was bank fishing too. but the males are smaller than the females and that is what i have gone by.

and rain? what is that? hahahaha. ain't had any rain in around 2 months here. nuthin but heat and sunshine. LOTS OF IT TOO.