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Understanding Bass, specifically black bass, with the most common black bass being largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass which are three of the nine species of black bass when including more regional species. Understanding bass includes being able to identify them and their behaviors.
It is import to understanding bass to:
Understanding bass behavior by understanding:
Some suggest bass will eat anything that is alive or was alive and can fit in their mouths, while others suggest bass target specific forage based on local conditions. Those that subscribe to bass targeting specific forage often refer to lure selection “matching the hatch”. This section looks at common bass forage. Common forage are small fish including: Shad, Minnows, Sunfish(including Bluegill), Perch, Blueback Herring, Smelt and Gobies. Also, common forage includes: Crawfish (also known as crayfish), Frogs, Worms, Insects and Leeches.
Bass use their six senses to identify forage, capture forage, and confirm whether it is suitable for consumption or should be spit out. In other words, bass use their vision, lateral lines (feel vibrations), sense of smell, hearing, taste and mouth feel to hunt forage.
Inactive bass typically locate near cover, when available, where cover is an object that provides shelter, shade or an ambush point for opportunistic feeding. Also, bass will locate near structures that provide shelter, shade or an ambush point especially when there is limited cover. Active bass are off cover when they are actively feeding or moving for environmental, seasonal or other reasons.
Structures, sometimes referred to as structure breaks, are types of changes in bottom depths referred to as bottom contours or contour patterns. Structures such as flats and roadbeds feature near uniform depths where ledges, points, creek channels, cuts/pockets, funnel/saddles, humps, holes, and shorelines feature changes in depths sometimes referred to as drop offs.
Weather such as barometric pressure, wind, sun, cloud cover, rain impacts bass movements and feeding activity.
Seasons impact bass’ locations, food supply, actively level and reproduction.
Water temperature impacts bass’ metabolism which impacts bass’ activity level plus it impacts bass’ complete ecosystem including food and habitat.
Water clarity refers to the degree of visibility or transparency or how far light can penetrate through the water column. The actual term of “clear water” is a relative term that can range in depth based on geography norms. For example, what is considered clear water in the north can be different than what is considered clear water in the south. Water clarity is one of the four components of lure visibility.
Bass’ depth depends on the season, species, forage, visibility, thermocline and habitat availability.
Suspended Bass typically refers to bass that are above the bottom which also means they are not using cover to provide shelter, hiding places, or ambush points. Suspended is a term typically used when fishing deep (offshore). Generally, the term suspended also means the bass have little movement, in other words, they are not roaming.
Current is moving water found in rivers, reservoirs, wind blown water plus river mouths, creek cuts, culverts, and heavy boat traffic locations.
Oxygen level, particularly in warm stagnant water or deep summer water, negatively impacts bass metabolism as oxygen is required to generate energy. Oxygen level, also called dissolved oxygen or oxygen saturation, is produced by aquatic plants using the sun for photosynthesis, thus created in shallow water then mixed with deeper water. Oxygen is also introduced to surface water through atmospheric exchange with the water and air. Water’s capacity to hold oxygen is impacted primarily by water temperature, with colder water having a higher maximum saturated dissolved oxygen than warm water.
Thermocline, a summer consideration, is the transition layer between the warmer less dense water near the surface and colder denser water below that has less oxygen. In other seasons the water does more mixing providing oxygen to lower in the water column. Lake stratification is the term to describe all three layers with the thermocline being the layer between the warmer, less dense water and the colder, denser water.
Bass spawn typically on shallow spawning beds, also called nesting sites, in the spring with the males staying on the bed up to a month protecting the eggs, fry and fingerlings.
Some suggest the moon phase impacts when bass are actively feeding. For example, some suggest bass will eat during the night on a full moon and are lethargic during the day.
Spooking a bass is a bass triggered to a threat – scaring or alerting the bass. The threat will deter the bass from hunting some refer to as “being skittish” and may result in the bass to leave its current location.
Black bass species have unique characteristics and behaviors, and, except for largemouth bass which are located almost everywhere, they are found in specific regional locations. Smallmouth bass are common in the northern USA. Spotted bass are found in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. There are also some regional black bass mainly in specific bodies of water in parts of Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.
Cover is an object that provides bass shelter, shade or an ambush point including:
Bass will eat all day but some suggest bass are often activity feeding at dawn and dusk. Some suggest larger bass feed opportunistically midday especially in bright conditions. Tournaments show fish being caught all day with frequency and size varying based on many other factors, often weather conditions, time of year and the lake.
Bass that are actively feeding are typically off cover, either suspended or roaming to hunt for forage. When they stop actively feeding some suggest that’s when they return to nearby cover if available or suspend near the best structure. In some cases, actively feeding bass will push bait fish to the surface which enables birds to also feed on the bait fish.
Reaction Bites are one of the several bass bite types where a bass that is not actively feeding and is triggered by instinct, not hunger, to strike a lure. Some describe it as the lure surprises the bass and the bass simply reacts. Some consider the reaction bite necessary in heavily pressured water where the bass are accustomed to lures.
Shelter is cover that provides inactive bass a safe place for resting, conserving energy, digesting and avoiding predators.
Cover provides inactive bass an ambush point for opportunistic feeding.
All lures are designed for bass and these are some of the common categories based on lure contact:
