Bass Feeding Summer Weather

[Bud Kennedy]

So, as I understand it the metabolism of a Bass goes up in the Summer due to the warmer water.  So, if this is true how much more are they eating and when are they doing it.  At this time the forage environment is a lot more robust and I would guess the bass are not out hunting but laying in wait somewhere and just waiting for the forage to show up.  Question...Am I right?.  Now it also means that the feeding will be more often then in the winter or cool weather conditions?  Is that right?  So overall this means that when the bass are fishing in the spring and fall they may be chasing bait but in mid summer they are hiding in their ambush spot and are not as likely to be moving great distances.  OK so this is what I believe but is all of this true?  No, I am not a dumb a$$ I am just trying to get some level of verification or explanation.  Lets here your comments.  I suspect that this means that a mid day bite in the summer is very likely.

[Cuervo Jones]

Depends on the water body. My local reservoir has 2 populations of bass. One lives shallow and feeds primarily on tilapia, redear sunfish, crawfish, frogs, and rodents. They're mostly active in low-light conditions and are ambush predators as well as cruisers. They feed a lot at night, dawn, and dusk, but lay low most of the day. Lots of guys down here fish for this population and in summer, they have a hard time with them during the midday.
The second populations lives in the main lake on structural elements and chases threadfin and gizzard shad schools. They're more active hunters and follow schools like packs of wild dogs chasing wildebeest. These schools are active at random times but wind definitely helps. Morning and evening are good times, but so is anytime during the day. They also benefit from a slower metabolism due to living in cooler, deeper water, so they can pack on the pounds more quickly.
The two populations are colored different, but also have different body shapes. The open water fish are more football shaped than the elongate, shallow bass. Here's an open water shad-eater caught midday.

And here's an early morning frog chaser. Same lake, same day.

If your water doesn't have pelagic baitfish like shad or ciscoes, your bass might bunker down during midday and be difficult to catch. But if you have open water forage, the midday bite can be outstanding, especially with a bit of wind or cloud cover.


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[Angus]

Cuervo Jones gave a spectacular response.  I can add that during the heat of the summer (right now) while the water temps are in the upper 80s if the sky is clear, the sun is bright, and the wind is calm there is one specific lake where I can just absolutely hammer the LMs.  Why?  Because those conditions put all of the fish under docks or shady overhangs at specific water depths within a certain distance of deeper depths.  I know they are there because I catch them consistently.  The difference I have discovered in their eating habits is WHAT I catch them with.  This is the only time of year that I can throw 10in worms under docks and in shade and catch fish after fish.  Conversely, my #1 bait for catching bass (and preventing a skunk day) when water temps are 35 degrees to 79 degrees is half of a Zinker Z on a Shroomz Ned rig.  And if I throw that right now in that particular lake I will not catch one single fish.  So the difference I see in the eating pattern isn't the "how much" as in number of items they eat, but more in the "how big" as in they want a much bigger meal in the summer.  I'd also note that, as Cuervo Jones mentioned, when I get to that lake before dawn the pattern is topwater near "pinch points" or tapers that herd the baitfish close together.  Then as the sun comes up shiny and bright the pattern described above starts working.

That may not be scientific or even accurate for everyone else but just an observation I've made that has allowed me to develop a specific, highly successful pattern on this one body of water.  IMHO 

[D.W. Verts]

Current. Current changes (fixes) everything.

[Wizard]

I really liked this thread. It contains a lot of good information. Bud, I believe you fish a tidal river. You not only have to time the surge and draw but also be on the best current breaks before they are affected by the tide. I know you're a seasoned river angler. I'm just saying folks often stay on a spot way too long. Also, all current breaks aren't equal. If forage isn't around the sweet spot on the current break at the time of the tidal change, move to your next spot early. My years in DC weren't fun. Fishing the Potomac, a tidal river, made it bearable.

Wizard

[Bud Kennedy]

Wiz, you are so right.  Learning to fish a tidal river is quite a learning experience.  In South Carolina my normal fishing haunts have been Santee, The Cooper River and The Waccamaw River.  Prior to this time most of my fishing was done on reservoir type waters.

Santee for the most part is devoid of current unless you are on the river side of the lake.  On Santee one looks for habitat availability and water depth changes to find some of the better locations on a particular day.  The Cooper and Waccamaw are tidal rivers and is an entirely different ballgame. 

River fishing is especially ever changing.  Tidal influence and other environmental situations are the key clues but can be productive or barren based on tide and bait forage.  Obviously the grass on the cooper is ever important as well.  We don't enjoy the grass on the Waccamaw but it does not take you long to realize that the bass are very mobile on a river and the good spot of yesterday or even earlier in the day will not produce for all that long.  It is an ever changing situation.  My frustration has been that bass behavior in a river is totally unlike a reservoir.  I guess this is what makes it so darn interesting.  I have found that the window of opportunity on the Waccamaw may only be a very few minutes and then it is time to continue the hunt for the migration of the bass and their forage.  Although electronics plays a key role in this search, the analysis of the current requires the anglers personal investigative skills.

[Oldfart9999]

I fish natural glacial lakes, they tend to be dish pan and have grass beds, the current, what there is of it tends to be wind driven, most have a lot of docks. The forage tends to be bluegill, crappie, perch and minnows with craws thrown in. The grass beds are where the life of a body of water thrives so from the outside in to the shore is where the majority of the fish are found. Early morning when the baitfish are up feeding at or near the surface the bass are relatively easy to catch with topwater baits or baits that work just under the surface, the shallower the water the longer you can pull them from the surface. As the sun gets up the bait fish tend to move deeper, into the grass or toward the bottom, or around docks and other shoreline cover, if it's windy the the topwater bite can last much longer, cloudy or raining it can last all day, the bait fish will cruise more and so will the bass.
I've caught my largest bass mostly at or just before dawn with topwater or shallow cranks and from about 10:00 to 2:00 with bottom bouncers, under docks and overhanging trees or down into the grass. I believe, that as the day moves on the bass become ambush predators seeking shadeed or darker areas to cloak themselves. In low light when the baitfish are up and moving the bass can pin them against the surface and pick them off.
Rodney 

[Wizard]

Bud, the local newspapers used to publish tidal charts on local rivers. The ebb and flow on key areas of the river were printed. On the Potomac, you only got to fish a current break for 15-20 minutes before running to get ahead of the change. Look for the sweet spot on the break. Ricky Green called it THE sweet spot on a sweet spot.

Wizard

[Bud Kennedy]

I keep all the tidal information in my favorites.  Would not leave home without consulting the charts.  I know some folks have electronic systems that also offers the ability to go to local tide information.  Terry G pays a lot of attention to it when on the Cooper River.  Just one of those things that becomes a way of life for a tidal angler be it river or inshore blue water

Here is a link to the site I use here on the river.

https://tides.willyweather.com/sc/horry-county/waccamaw-river--bucksport.html

[LgMouthGambler]

I don't know much about tidal water fishing, but I do know that in the summer, the fish go from a 3ft squared strike zone, to a 6in squared strike zone. Lol

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