Finding When and Where Fish Feed

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on July 28, 2010 at 9:30am

Was that you I saw in that yellow wetsuit snorkeling by the corkline=)

Tag Watson said:

snorkel

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Aaron,
Do you have any recommendations on where I can find good information about the seasonal patterns of the perch, crawdads and bluegill? I've been looking around and have found some things but is there a good book or some other resources out there that you recommend?


Aaron Echternkamp said:

Bass dont just feed at one time of the day or a certain time.. That is the cool thing about bass fishing. They will bite if you present the lure right place right time of any day.. One thing that will help you is to know what the perch and the crawdads and the bluegill do at certain times of the year. That will help you figure out what they might be feeding on and give you a good idea where you want to start looking.. But there are so many things that can make you daily challenge out on the water change.. Just keep in mind never at any time are all the fish in the lake doing the same thing. you might be catching all your fish in 3' and someone else catching all of them in 25'.. Don't ever think that a bass wont have you guessing everytime you on the water tho thats whay they are so much fun to fish for.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on July 28, 2010 at 9:38am

pay attention

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Aaron,
Do you have any recommendations on where I can find good information about the seasonal patterns of the perch, crawdads and bluegill? I've been looking around and have found some things but is there a good book or some other resources out there that you recommend?


Aaron Echternkamp said:

Bass dont just feed at one time of the day or a certain time.. That is the cool thing about bass fishing. They will bite if you present the lure right place right time of any day.. One thing that will help you is to know what the perch and the crawdads and the bluegill do at certain times of the year. That will help you figure out what they might be feeding on and give you a good idea where you want to start looking.. But there are so many things that can make you daily challenge out on the water change.. Just keep in mind never at any time are all the fish in the lake doing the same thing. you might be catching all your fish in 3' and someone else catching all of them in 25'.. Don't ever think that a bass wont have you guessing everytime you on the water tho thats whay they are so much fun to fish for.

Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on July 28, 2010 at 9:52am

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on July 28, 2010 at 10:16am

Ya I think thats a good point Jon, I dont know how many times I've caught a smallie on a footballhead thats spitting minnows.

I think you three are missing my point...all I wanna know is if any of you guys have any good resources (besides being on the water) for me to learn more about the seasonal patterns of bass forage...thats it

Jon Sessler said:

They are opportunistic feeders, they will eat what is available to them at any given time.

How many times have you caught a bass with a jerkbait only to have in cough up crawdads in your livewell, or the reverse, caught them on a tube, and have them spit up baitfish at the boat, or in the livewell. I think what Aaron said, is that there are no hard an fast rules as to what they are eating, or where they are eating at any given time.

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on July 28, 2010 at 10:48am

Joel- You are not going to learn these seasonal patterns from a book or video. Time spent on the water, paying attention, or having someone who has figured it out show you is your best bet. Moses for example: I have fished that lake for years but its been only in the last 2 that I have started to figure out a couple of "seasonal" bait patterns. And that was by being on the water, paying attention, looking not fishing, and bouncing ideas off of a couple of people. I also think that we would be surprised at how early some bait fish spawn or at least start to get in that mode... To answer your question- ask Hobbs.

Joel Alinen said:

Ya I think thats a good point Jon, I dont know how many times I've caught a smallie on a footballhead thats spitting minnows.

I think you three are missing my point...all I wanna know is if any of you guys have any good resources (besides being on the water) for me to learn more about the seasonal patterns of bass forage...thats it

Jon Sessler said:

They are opportunistic feeders, they will eat what is available to them at any given time.

How many times have you caught a bass with a jerkbait only to have in cough up crawdads in your livewell, or the reverse, caught them on a tube, and have them spit up baitfish at the boat, or in the livewell. I think what Aaron said, is that there are no hard an fast rules as to what they are eating, or where they are eating at any given time.

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

Permalink Reply by BJ Krestian on July 28, 2010 at 10:51am

Joel,

Do a search for this book: "Inland Fishes of Washington" by Wydoski and Whitney. This will give you a starting point in regards to when bass and their forage fish spawn in Washington. I would also search life cycles of Crayfish, and bass feeding studies. I believe there is a paper on Smallmouth prey prefrences in the Snake River that came out of the university of Idaho.

These would be a start for the scientific literature and give you a baseline. Then you can start appending that information with your own observations. And don't just limit yourself to fish and crawdads; there are times of the year that mayflys and other insects come into play as forage.



Joel Alinen said:

Ya I think thats a good point Jon, I dont know how many times I've caught a smallie on a footballhead thats spitting minnows.

I think you three are missing my point...all I wanna know is if any of you guys have any good resources (besides being on the water) for me to learn more about the seasonal patterns of bass forage...thats it

Jon Sessler said:

They are opportunistic feeders, they will eat what is available to them at any given time.

How many times have you caught a bass with a jerkbait only to have in cough up crawdads in your livewell, or the reverse, caught them on a tube, and have them spit up baitfish at the boat, or in the livewell. I think what Aaron said, is that there are no hard an fast rules as to what they are eating, or where they are eating at any given time.

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on July 28, 2010 at 10:57am

BJ-
You make a very good point about insects. Has anyone ever seen the Hex hatch on LK WA or Tapps? They are in very limited areas but it can be really cool!

BJ Krestian said:

Joel,

Do a search for this book: "Inland Fishes of Washington" by Wydoski and Whitney. This will give you a starting point in regards to when bass and their forage fish spawn in Washington. I would also search life cycles of Crayfish, and bass feeding studies. I believe there is a paper on Smallmouth prey prefrences in the Snake River that came out of the university of Idaho.

These would be a start for the scientific literature and give you a baseline. Then you can start appending that information with your own observations. And don't just limit yourself to fish and crawdads; there are times of the year that mayflys and other insects come into play as forage.



Joel Alinen said:

Ya I think thats a good point Jon, I dont know how many times I've caught a smallie on a footballhead thats spitting minnows.

I think you three are missing my point...all I wanna know is if any of you guys have any good resources (besides being on the water) for me to learn more about the seasonal patterns of bass forage...thats it

Jon Sessler said:

They are opportunistic feeders, they will eat what is available to them at any given time.

How many times have you caught a bass with a jerkbait only to have in cough up crawdads in your livewell, or the reverse, caught them on a tube, and have them spit up baitfish at the boat, or in the livewell. I think what Aaron said, is that there are no hard an fast rules as to what they are eating, or where they are eating at any given time.

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on July 28, 2010 at 11:11am

Thanks BJ I will check that book out.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on July 28, 2010 at 2:58pm

I bet only Josh Potter knows what I am talking about....

Mike Bess said:

BJ-
You make a very good point about insects. Has anyone ever seen the Hex hatch on LK WA or Tapps? They are in very limited areas but it can be really cool!

BJ Krestian said:

Joel,

Do a search for this book: "Inland Fishes of Washington" by Wydoski and Whitney. This will give you a starting point in regards to when bass and their forage fish spawn in Washington. I would also search life cycles of Crayfish, and bass feeding studies. I believe there is a paper on Smallmouth prey prefrences in the Snake River that came out of the university of Idaho.

These would be a start for the scientific literature and give you a baseline. Then you can start appending that information with your own observations. And don't just limit yourself to fish and crawdads; there are times of the year that mayflys and other insects come into play as forage.



Joel Alinen said:

Ya I think thats a good point Jon, I dont know how many times I've caught a smallie on a footballhead thats spitting minnows.

I think you three are missing my point...all I wanna know is if any of you guys have any good resources (besides being on the water) for me to learn more about the seasonal patterns of bass forage...thats it

Jon Sessler said:

They are opportunistic feeders, they will eat what is available to them at any given time.

How many times have you caught a bass with a jerkbait only to have in cough up crawdads in your livewell, or the reverse, caught them on a tube, and have them spit up baitfish at the boat, or in the livewell. I think what Aaron said, is that there are no hard an fast rules as to what they are eating, or where they are eating at any given time.

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

Permalink Reply by Chris Blandi on July 28, 2010 at 7:49pm

Damn, Dez asked for so called sticks and he got THE sticks, Aaron, Don, and Tag is quite a combo. Keep on asking for the sticks to chime in, I like it.

And Kimihiko, you make some valid points too my man !

Permalink Reply by BJ Krestian on July 28, 2010 at 8:10pm

Mike,

I have seen Smallies on Pendoreille lake in Idaho eat Hexagenia adults; and I also think when there is a good hopper year the bass notice them. I have seen this happen at Sprague lake many years ago. The largies would really go for a yellow and white deer hair popper near the reeds early and late. Also some nice bluegills and crappie on hopper patterns in the evening.

Mike Bess said:

BJ-
You make a very good point about insects. Has anyone ever seen the Hex hatch on LK WA or Tapps? They are in very limited areas but it can be really cool!

BJ Krestian said:

Joel,

Do a search for this book: "Inland Fishes of Washington" by Wydoski and Whitney. This will give you a starting point in regards to when bass and their forage fish spawn in Washington. I would also search life cycles of Crayfish, and bass feeding studies. I believe there is a paper on Smallmouth prey prefrences in the Snake River that came out of the university of Idaho.

These would be a start for the scientific literature and give you a baseline. Then you can start appending that information with your own observations. And don't just limit yourself to fish and crawdads; there are times of the year that mayflys and other insects come into play as forage.



Joel Alinen said:

Ya I think thats a good point Jon, I dont know how many times I've caught a smallie on a footballhead thats spitting minnows.

I think you three are missing my point...all I wanna know is if any of you guys have any good resources (besides being on the water) for me to learn more about the seasonal patterns of bass forage...thats it

Jon Sessler said:

They are opportunistic feeders, they will eat what is available to them at any given time.

How many times have you caught a bass with a jerkbait only to have in cough up crawdads in your livewell, or the reverse, caught them on a tube, and have them spit up baitfish at the boat, or in the livewell. I think what Aaron said, is that there are no hard an fast rules as to what they are eating, or where they are eating at any given time.

Joel Alinen said:

Thanks Bess thats deep...main question I have is when do these species spawn? I think they spawn right after the bass? Also when do bass prefer one over the other. I have kinda created this idea in my head that they feed on craws in the early spring and late fall and then move minnow and other fish during the summer months when the water warms.

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