dudewheresmyboat Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I fished for many years without a boat. Through the years I finally bought my first boat a 12ft jon with a johnson. I fished out of that for a few years and last year finally made a big purchase, bought my first glass boat. I'm still learning how to fish and understand Bass and their movements throughout the season. There are a few members in here that I would consider pro's and would like to hear input from. (deitz,bassnspears and etc....) I'm a shallow fisherman.How and where do bass move from april through september? Where do the big girls hide after the spawn?What type of structure do I look for during the months of July-August in search of big girls and why? What is staging and why do they do it?When and why should someone fish deep?What is inside/outside weedline? Sorry for the many questions, I'm slowly learning! Hope someone can chime in.Dude.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Dude, very good questions, however an entire book could be written to answer it. I wrote this article many years ago, but I think it still applies some.. I will try and quickly answer your questions after the article.My Theory on BassHere's my theory on Bass, and I'm sticking to it....tongue out...*psbrtzst*...a raspberry.Before I write too many articles on this page, I would like for you to know a little about my mind set when it comes to fishing for bass. I think we over complicate things. I like to compare my fishing mind set with that of a very popular poem by Robert Fulghum "All I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten." I have learned many valuable lessons in my fishing career, and the more I think I know, the farther away I am getting from the basics. Everything I needed to know, minus a few major things, I learned the first year fishing.So, this is a back to the basics view of what I think, and howwe as fishermen have over complicated things. Here's my opinion as ofFebruary 1st, 2000 and I'm sticking to it .....*psbrtzst*Micropterus SalmoidesSounds complicated. But are they? Few have mastered the art of catching them,but will we ever? Is it possible, day in and day out to load the boat with monster bucketjaws of our dreams?My answer, simply, NO.What we do know, is that they are a creature of habit. They have to eat, they are curious,and they don't have fingers or hands. That gives us our "in" to catching them. Do we needall the high fangled rootin-tootin gadgets that are in so many of our boats? No, but theysure are a lot of fun.In the balance of this article I plan to state my opinion on a lot of things.I have no real scientific back ground to back anything I say up, but I dohave many hours on the water, which is way better than anything I could havelearned in a class room. What I am trying to say is...no hate mail please ifyou disagree with me. (Note from web master: This gentleman may be reached here)WEATHERDenny Brauer says in his book, "Weather is the most important thing toconsider when it comes to fishing." I can't argue that. However, I don'tthink minor weather changes directly affect bass as much as we think theydo. Minor barometric pressure changes affect fishing in that they affect thelowest end of the food chain. When we are stuck in a high pressure system,the zoo plankton are less buoyant. Thus they stay on the bottom and areunavailable for minnows and other bait fish to feed easily on them. If thebarometric pressure falls, the little creatures become more buoyant. Theyfloat up off the weeds and bottom making them easy prey for the minnow andother creatures. When this happens, the bass follow. Bass are opportunisticfeeders. They feed when its easy, whether they are hungry or not. When theminnows and other bait are not easily available during high pressure times,you can still get them to feed, but they are not out looking for foodbecause they know the food is not out. So, this means you have to go findthem. Conversely, when the pressure is falling and everything is on thefeed, you can throw just about anything in your tackle box and as long as itran near the proper depth and is in an area with fish, it would catch fish.When the pressure is rising, this is the worst time. The fish have endedtheir feed and are now like you and I are shortly after our Thanksgivingfeast-- not in any mood to eat, that is for sure. But, like I said, theywill still eat. A major weather change is something different--especially ifits a cold front. Bass are cold blooded, they have no way of regulating bodytemperature. When we are hot, we sweat. It's not that easy for them. Theyneed to adjust, so you might have to work a little harder than normal, butyou can still get them to bite. I think my favorite quote of all is by Kevinvan Damm, he says "If it weren't for weather we would have nothing butourselves to blame for a bad day fishing."COLORColor is merely our perception of reflected light, and above or below waterit is the same. Certain colors can be seen better than others when the lightis low. This is due to the wavelength of the light being perceived. Thisholds true for the bass in the water as well. The longer the wavelength thatthe color puts off, the better it is seen in low light situations. Longwavelength colors are violets, blues and greens. Short wavelength colorsneed more light to be seen, but are usually brighter. These include reds,oranges and yellows. This is why some colors work better in stained waterand some better in clear water--match the conditions, and you can't gowrong. Blues, greens, violets are all good colors in deep clear water, whilewhites, grays, greens and light blues work well in shallow clear water. Redsand yellows work the best for shallow stained water.SCENTA bass will eat anything once, as long as it was easy to catch. They thendecide if it tastes good to them, so they will either reject it or keep it.I have read that there are certain things that bass truly don't like. Theseinclude: Surfactants (the stuff in hand soap, the fake stuff), the stuff insunscreen (cant remember the name), and deet (mosquito spray.) If you haveany of these things on your lure, you better have one heck of a goodreaction time. I use Exude soft plastics whenever I fish soft plastic. They havea baked in scent that is released in the water. Do I think I get more bites because ofthat, I don't know. Do I catch more fish because of that.....You bet! A lurewith scent will be held on to by a bass much longer than a lure that doesn'ttaste good to them. Is that to say that a lure without scent won't catchfish? No, they do, but you have to be a better angler to get those fish.OTHER STUFFThere are a lot of other things that can affect fishing, like line size andlure size. Its a proven fact that the larger the lure, the less chance youhave of having smaller fish picking on you all the time. They will stillbother you, just not as often. Matching lure size to water temperature canhelp as well, but I don't think its a necessary move. I don't think linesize matters as much. I have seen days where a guy used lime green line incrystal clear water and caught the tar out of bass. I think you can use justabout any kind of line you want, and it won't matter that much to the fishas long as the action of the lure is not messed up by the stiffness of theline.IN CONCLUSIONI think that we are getting away from what got us into fishing. I know I amjust as bad as anyone. I cant fit all my stuff into two tackle boxes letalone one. We need to spend more time learning and mastering a techniquerather than looking for a magic color or lure. My new favorite saying is,K.I.S.S=Keep It Simple Stupid--I have it posted on my culling board as alasting reminder that simple is better.Deitz DittrichHow and where do bass move from april through september? In our lakes they can move a ton. In april they will be usually out over deeperwater feeding getting ready for the spawn, when the water temp is right they will move up and spawn, the girls will go back and recover over deep water while the males will stay up and guard the fry., once the spawn is done and fish have recovered, fish will scatter some, some will go deeper some will stay shallow. Once summer is in full roll, fish can be just about anywahere from deep to shallow.. fall starts and many of hte fish will migrate to green weed edges with deep water near by.Where do the big girls hide after the spawn? Usually suspend or hang out deep, they are VERY VERY hard to catch.. they are just in recovery mode.What type of structure do I look for during the months of July-August in search of big girls and why? They can be a couple of different places.. Shallow slop is very good this time of the year.. deep weed edges can be good, and deep rock can also produce very good. Why???? they are following the food!What is staging and why do they do it? Think of it more like getting ready to migrate to thier next spot, and usually its to follow food, or to spawn.When and why should someone fish deep? When the fish are there... LOL.. sorry.. deep is fun because you can often get on a school of fish, I have caught 30 fish from one spot and never moved the boat.. I cant say I have ever done that shallow.. deep water fish are also less pressured.What is inside/outside weedline? An inside weedline is just that, many weeds can not grow in ultra shallow water.. they usuually start in about 2' or so, so the inside weed edge would be from the shore to where the weeds start.. and outside weed edge is just that, where the weeds stop going into deep water.. Sometimes you can see a deep weed edge with your eyes, but most of the time you have to use your depthfinder.Lastly.. I am not a pro, just a guy who gets to fish more than most people.. I am a school teacher.. fisherdude, is only my expensive hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikeslayer Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 yeah baby deitz good stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTBASSER Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 yeah great stuff!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bemidjibasser Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Isn't it great to be a teacher Dietz? I am also lucky enough ot be in the profession, and love it! Where/ what do you teach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katman Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 awesome stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks for the kind words my friends. BemidjiBasser, I teach elem(k-3rd) Grade Physical Education Classes for the Chisago Lakes School District. My school is in Chisago City a stones throw away from both Chisago lake and Green.on a side note I went to college in Bemidji, you have some awesome bass fishing up that way.. untouched bass fisheries!!! My wife is from Bemidji, and my inlaws are still up there. if you ever dine in Bemidji, check out the Peppercorn, my MIL is the general manager there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTW Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks for sharing that Dietz, excellent stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmyboat Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Great Article Dietz and thanks for answering my q's! Now i have a better understanding. Now if only I could get out and try it. Anyone else want to add to this topic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fever Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I too am in the profession... High school Biology & Anatomy. My students have a countdown going already Deitz... Something to the effect of 44 more school days left. Crazy to think about a summer off again and nothing but time to fish.... can't wait. Any way, NICE Words of wisdom. Thanks Deitz! I think we all need that reminder from time to time. It is so easy to over think and over complicate Bass fishing. I'm as guilty as anyone. Stick to the basics.... good advice! It is difficult these days though with numerous tempting new lures coming out each year.... All lures and tackle that is tempting (Gotta have) stuff... Media pressure does have a slight negative impact in my opinion there.... Off topic and random but what day is Bass opener for us here? Is it Sat. of memorial weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bemidjibasser Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Fever- Opener is the 23rd of May.Dietz- You're right about the good bass fishing around here. Most days I am the only guy fishing bass on the entire lake. Did you ever fish around Park Rapids for smallies? There are some awesome lakes around there that aren't hit that hard too...What was/ is your favorite lake for bass up here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecil Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I have been to a couple park rapids lakes and caught a smally or two. Also fished some great potholes up there with the little boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Bemidjibasser.. Yikes, too many to name.. tell you what, I'll e-mail you my short list.. 8-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonkaBass Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 very well written Dietz! I enjoyed reading it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 thanks, its old, like I said, written back in 2000 from the looks of it.. I need to get back to more writing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 and I didnt want to kill the post, please if others have advice to the original question, even if it proves that I am wrong.. please post it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Shutterbug Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Nothing to add, just another question. Have you found that when the wind is from the east, the fish bite least, and when the wind is from the west, the fish bite best? Personally, I've had horrible luck when the wind is from the east or north. Unfortunately, the majority of the summer, the wind does seem to come from the east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SledNeck Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Fever- Opener is the 23rd of May. is it?LARGEMOUTH May 23, 2009- 6and SMALLMOUTH Feb. 28, 2010BASS (either or (May 9, 2009-combined) Feb. 28, 2010,north and east ofU.S. Hwy. 53 fromDuluth to InternationalFalls andPelican and Ashlakes in St. LouisCounty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SledNeck Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 bass fishing isnt very hard once you have the right lure at the right time of year and you fish the right spots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Nothing to add, just another question. Have you found that when the wind is from the east, the fish bite least, and when the wind is from the west, the fish bite best? Personally, I've had horrible luck when the wind is from the east or north. Unfortunately, the majority of the summer, the wind does seem to come from the east. X- its really quite accurate, but maybe not for the reasons people think. Most low pressure systems come in and rotate around an axis at a clockwise direction in our midwest. The jetstream pushes from the north quite a bit in our area, and so as a store comes in we have a west wind here. Pressure is dropping, fishing should be good as the storm approaches. As it leaves, we often get the bluebird sky and winds from the east.I have had a few times where east winds have been great, but its usually when a high pressure system stalls over wisconsin, and we have stable weather for a few days. On a side note, if I ever see a storm coming from the NE and have an east wind.. I GET OFF THE LAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those are usually not so good and I will sacrifice a few fish and not risk it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SledNeck Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 man, I love fishing in a 20mph north wind. The wind blows into my favorite big smallmouth points when it comes from that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoreGuy1984 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 "Largemouth Bass; an In-Fisherman handbook of Strategies" is a great book to read. I have learned so much from this book. If anyone wants to learn more about Bass, you should read this book ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmyboat Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 So when your out fishing, early morning do you start shallow and work your way deep or vise versa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverBassGuy Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Awesome thread! Nice posts guys, it was great to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmyboat Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 bass fishing isnt very hard once you have the right lure at the right time of year and you fish the right spots sled, thats my problem! hahaha! Its going to be an exciting year, hope the SI will help with all of this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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