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Summer 2023
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A good tip is to use a compact bait easily sucked completely into the mouth so that your hook hits home. A long bait like a plastic worm is easy for a bass to pick up by the wrong end and carry it out of the nest without the hook ever being in the mouth of the bass.
Once eggs are laid the female leaves the nest, and the male locks onto the nest to guard it. These males are less easily spooked and will eagerly bite a lure solely to kill it or move it out of the bed. Hopping a jig or even a swimbait will aggravate the guarding bass, and eventually will cause the bass to flare its gills, suck in the bait, and crush it before spitting it out.
Sunfish species eagerly feed on bass eggs, so any lure imitating a sunfish is a good choice while guarding eggs or fry. The males stay in the shallows while guarding fry, particularly around weed beds which provide shelter for the fry and a source of plankton for their food.
Female bass move offshore after spawning, and rest. They could be just outside the first major drop where they have more depth for security while resting. They often suspend over deep water where they can warm from the sun’s rays but still have deep water to move to if threatened. Either a finesse approach or at times a suspending jerkbait can solve the riddle how to make these lethargic and resting bass to bite. These are tired fish that are resting; they will not likely chase a fast- moving bait unless it stops in front of their mouth.
SEASONAL SHIFTS
Starting with Winter, in regions with four seasons bass tend to be in resting mode more than feeding. When water becomes colder than 50-degrees, there is a corresponding slowing in metabolism since bass are cold- blooded animals. When a bass consumes a meal in cold water, it may take a week to digest. That same meal may be fully digested in a single day when water temperatures are 72-degrees, which is generally the peak metabolism for largemouth bass.
Make no mistake, if the opportunity presents itself with an easy meal in the winter and conditions are optimal, bass will feed. The point is that throughout the winter season there will be more “resting” and less “feeding” during this slow-growth period.
Then comes Spring, and it begins with a pre- spawn feeding binge as bass store energy for the spawning season. Once optimal spawning conditions occur, bass shift their behavior and focus on procreation. After depleting their
stored energy to build a nest, court, spawn, and protect the nest and off-spring, they revert back to a resting attitude for a short period of time. Generally, the females rest just after spawning, and are very difficult to find and catch. Males stay active longer to protect the fry from predators and will often strike at anything that threatens their off-spring. Once the fry have scattered, the males rest briefly during this post-spawn season.
The Summer brings warm water temperatures and increased metabolism, so the need to feed is greater and spread out over a wider territory and longer time period. Feeding occurs day and night with few rest periods so bass can grow rapidly. Generally, these resting periods correspond to weather conditions poor for feeding opportunity. High pressure conditions bring blue-bird skies with ultraviolet light and no wind, which can shut down the bite.
The Fall season brings a drop in water temperature and shorter daylight periods. Nature programs bass to stockpile energy by feeding often knowing that soon Winter will arrive and feeding opportunities will decrease. The Fall also means larger prey are available after the fast-growth summer period. The slower metabolism resulting from the cooling water coupled with this instinctive drive to feed results in the energy gained from eating the larger prey is converted into fat reserves instead of growth in length. Resting periods are driven by factors that decrease feeding opportunities. One day the bite could be wide open, and a change in weather could then cause you to blank.
THE FINAL BITE
Awareness of Eat, Rest, Spawn activity of bass explains where and why bass either feed or don’t. Recalling this and applying it during your fishing day can improve your success by adjusting your presentation to
suit the mood of the bass. If preparing for a tournament
strive to find more than one population of bass utilizing
different depth zones and regions during pre-fish. If
one population shifts on tournament day to resting
due to a weather change,
another group may still
be feeding. Consider
how tournament results
show that while most
may struggle due to a
change in conditions,
there always seems to be
someone that overcomes
and brings in a heavy
bag. Remember bass are
doing one of three things:
Eat, Rest, or Spawn.
Adjust accordingly and
be the one with the
heavy bag. Ciao, Marc
Marcantonio. •