Seasonal Patterns for Bait

[Bobby Saffel]

After reading what Fly has been doing with the mapping it got me to thinking about the moving patterns of bass and how much of it is gray to me. I understand that bass will not be far from food most of the year, but what does the food do throughout the year? What I am looking for is a general break down of the 3 main types of bait, crawfish, bream, and shad throughout the year and a seasonal pattern. To me, if you can figure out what holds bait to a ceritain area during a certian time of year then you can typically find fish. Thanks everyone

[Flyswatter]

Bobby,  as you can see I'm a guy with lots of questions,  not afraid to ask and feel like you have joined the party.  There's strengths in numbers.   

Recently,  I took a ledge fishing class per referral from GRR884 with Dave Stewart, renown fishing guide on Kentucky Lake.   It was an intense  eight hours but I sure learned some things and most importantly a different way to approach fishing.  The irony is Mike Cork here on UB is one a knowledgeable fisherman.  His thoughts and suggestions parallel to what I have learned.   So this old dawg typing on the keyboard is open to learn some new tricks.     I sure do not have anything figured out concretly but I'm making progress in that direction.  With that said here is what I have come to know.  Hmm....  I'm always open for corrections so folks don't hesitate.  My skin is thick.

Shad in general are the most prevalent forage for bass in most cases.  Crawfish are the easiest to eat.  Bluegill/ Bream,  I don't know enough to comment on.  Shad in general being cold blooded react critically to temperature change.  The stress easy and can die.  So in their realm they look for stabilized water.  Typically deep in the heat and cold.  Mr. Green fish is not far behind.

Shad go shallow when the water temps heat up, their metabolism speeds up making them hungry for photoplanktan and zytoplankton (notes not in front of me).  Mr. Bass being a predator is not far behind.  Pre-Spawn time is here!!!   

Looking for others to comments going forward.

[Bobby Saffel]

Fly I might be making this too complicated but I'm going to try. What temperature ranges are too hot and too cold that shad will move deep and the bass will follow. I know not all bass move offshore but some do. I consider myself a good shallow water fisherman but want to become better at offshore fishing. Here in Louisiana we don't have many lakes that you can do that but there are some.

[Flyswatter]

What I come to learn is shad cannot tolerate a quick swing of 4° in water temps (rare).  IF they don't move to more stabilized water they will RIP!!!

[coldfront]

Shad in general are the most prevalent forage for bass in most cases.  Crawfish are the easiest to eat.  Bluegill/ Bream,  I don't know enough to comment on.  Shad in general being cold blooded react critically to temperature change.  The stress easy and can die.  So in their realm they look for stabilized water.  Typically deep in the heat and cold.  Mr. Green fish is not far behind.

couple other things to possibly consider: 
Shad:  they're either gizzard shad or threadfin.  Gizzard shad get very large...we tend to think of them as the little guys in the huge schools we run across...but the big adults(9-12 inches) tend to feed on bottom 'stuff'...often picking up things like leaves, etc off the bottom ... I think to get to the organisms that hide/live in that stuff.   Threadfin are much more pelagic (open water) and behave entirely differently.  It's too cold up here to see threadfins...anecdotally, one lake that 'had' them illegally 'introduced' had the bass behavior completely changed...

then, there's that other 'shad', the blue-back herring which is even more different.

Bluegill, crappie all school differently and in different locations.  Most folks think a jig is a great crayfish imitator.  It is just that.  It's also a great bluegill imitation...and I suspect when working it in/through/around brush piles...it's more of a bluegill pattern than a crayfish.

Just some random thoughts.

[jboswell]

couple other things to possibly consider: 
Shad:  they're either gizzard shad or threadfin.  Gizzard shad get very large...we tend to think of them as the little guys in the huge schools we run across...but the big adults(9-12 inches) tend to feed on bottom 'stuff'...often picking up things like leaves, etc off the bottom ... I think to get to the organisms that hide/live in that stuff.   Threadfin are much more pelagic (open water) and behave entirely differently.  It's too cold up here to see threadfins...anecdotally, one lake that 'had' them illegally 'introduced' had the bass behavior completely changed...

then, there's that other 'shad', the blue-back herring which is even more different.

Bluegill, crappie all school differently and in different locations.  Most folks think a jig is a great crayfish imitator.  It is just that.  It's also a great bluegill imitation...and I suspect when working it in/through/around brush piles...it's more of a bluegill pattern than a crayfish.

Just some random thoughts.

So... up here in SW Iowa it is Gizzard shad only then?

Bluegill, Crappie are different critters, I just purchased some in-fisherman method books on crappie so that I can get better at catching them year round with my son but I plan to also use that knowledge  to help me chase bass feeding on crappie 

[Bobby Saffel]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, I'd love to hear some more. If someone else has something to chime in with that will be you a better "bait follow" please do.

[TeamLoBudget]

Flyswatter, I also took Dave's class on Eliminating Unproductive Water back last fall. I can't tell how much that helped me in being more productive during the day and not just hitting spots cause I think they should be there. After looking at the lakes I fish it became clearer why I catch some in the same old places in the past which led me to look for more of the same. Plus all the guys help with the pics I have been posting should help with my plans of attack this year.

[coldfront]

So... up here in SW Iowa it is Gizzard shad only then?

probably.  it was Mozingo where the 'ill-fated' threadfin intro occurred. 

think the ice on the lake a couple years back took good care of that little problem.

[Bobby Saffel]

I'm probably showing my ignorance but what are the main difference between thread fin and gizzard shad? I know down here we have both and that's about it.

[coldfront]

I'm probably showing my ignorance but what are the main difference between thread fin and gizzard shad? I know down here we have both and that's about it.

try starting here...

Some decent info on shad in these articles...I prefer the depth of the info that the FLW site presents...BASS is pretty 'dumbed down' and leaves a lot out that would help an angler start to piece to gether the 'logic' of the behavior...and then extend to how bass would follow/position.

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/fishing-articles/features/142249/hanging-shad/



http://www.bassmaster.com/tips/understanding-bass-forage-shad

http://www.bassmaster.com/understanding-bass-forage-sunfish

regarding bluegill, or 'bream' depending upon your location...extrapolating from the shad pieces, it looks like 3-5 inch fish might be in the more 'preferred' size range.

I do fish some lakes where I occasionally run across open water schools...but just about 'always' I find schools of these fish hanging out either in or around weedbeds...or in my case where we have a lot of brushpiles put out as fish attractors...they'll often school up over the top of the brushpiles...or some other type of cover...

if I look over an expanse of water and see a 'pod' of surface activity (typically feeding bluegills engaged in 'sipping' behavior) most often there is brush, weeds or rock underneath them or just off to the side.  My eyes are old...but I'm thinking that they're possibly feeding on emerging insects ('midges' for you fly anglers).