Seasonal Patterns

[Go2fish]

Could someone shed some light on seasonal patterns by water temp.

ie; water temp between 50-60 degrees bass are generally.....some good presentations during this time would be.

I mostly fish tonka and would be most interested in info for fishing Tonka.

I can catch them when I find them but I find them difficult to find and miles and miles of areas where they could be.

[fishcast]

Patterns change water to water, and day to day and sometimes hour to hour. Lots of variability due to differences in the water (depth, clarity, cover), and forage, and local weather conditions, etc.

This is just general patterns from my experiences

Around Opener on memorial weekend in the metro water temps are usually in the 60's and bass are can be in pre, spawn, or post spawn stages. This means many tactics and areas of the lake could work. But Generally, I will be fishing shallow cover related water from opener till atleast mid June. Mid June I usually do really well with frog type baits in shallow slop often adject to sunfish beds. Weightless soft plastics, topwaters, and spinnerbaits are pretty popular during all of June.

Late June to early July once water temps start making it towards upper 70's, lots of bass transition to deep weedlines. Usually around the 4th of July I have some of my best good size fish numbers of the year on distinct areas fo the deep weedlines. You can get on a pod of fish and hit them back to back to back soemtimes. I usually throw jigworms and texas rigs a lot. Crankbaits and jigs are popular with a lot of people too.

This time of the year (and pretty much all year) the shallows (docks slop etc.) can still be hot too.

Summer "patterns" you find in late June/early July will usually hold up through August.

Once the night start cooling off a bit late August and early September I usually like hitting up the shallows again with frog baits and buzzbaits, but deep stuff can still be holding up good too.

In October I've been really inconsistent but with water temps in the 50 degree range I have had really good days on jerkbaits in mid depths. But I have even had some insane days with scum frogs usually over the last of the lily pads.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Good question.. however very long answers are needed... the above post covers it pretty good.. But as weather changes so do patterns, and lake to lake can be different too.. there really are no set "rules"... Early season while the water temps are in the 60's and even low 70's I fish a lot of inside weed edges and pockets in the weeds... around mid june I will start working weed edges, but thats not to say that I wont check edges earlier. I often will start shallow in low light situations year round looking for active fish. Fall I start looking hard for rocks.. and shallow areas again.

[Go2fish]

Thanks for the input, this definately helps narrow things down. I think the best thing I can do is just get out there more....as all of us probably think!!

[TonkaBass]

Go2fish- I wrote about one technique that I like for Tonka that time of the year in the tip of the week thread. Otherwise like dietz said there are no set rules. With those temps you can catch bass in a lot of different depths, but I would focus on the 10' and shallower for numbers.