How many times have you heard or read a newspaper on a bass tournament winner using such and such pattern for winning the tournament. What are they talking about? What is a pattern? A pattern is the method, how, what, sometimes when, and where in a given lake you are catching bass consistently.



There can be a pattern within a pattern and there can also be more than one pattern used during the day. Typically patterns are easier to develop for reservoirs.

Now let us discuss the general tendencies of bass during particular seasons of the year. Once you understand these general tendencies, patterning bass becomes a little easier. We will start with the first season of the year:

Winter:

During this period the bass are most lethargic. They tend to stay in one place and do not move far or fast to eat. One good characteristic of this time period is the fact that the bass will tend to school and if you can find a school you should be able to catch multiple fish. Water temperatures are generally in the 30's in reservoirs, depending on your location.

As the water begins to warm, the bass, based on the life cycle of a bass, move into the Prespawn Stage. All mature bass go through this stage. In the life cycle of a bass, much of their behavior is based on the life cycle and the weather. Prespawn is the stage prior to the spawn. During this period, bass are foraging for food prior to the spawn. They need to feed as much as possible to carry them through the spawning period. Prespawn usually is in the early part of the year and lasts 4 ? 6 weeks based on the weather. Here in central Arkansas, the prespawn usually starts the first week of February and lasts until the last week in March or about a week before the March full moon. During this period bass are reasonably active and feeding thus making a fisherman's life pretty nice.

TIP: Keep your eyes open for the food source whether minnow, shad, or crawfish. If you can find the food, the bass will be close by. Strikes are usually hard and quick because the bass is concentrating on food and is easily fooled.

Spring:

In early spring, March and April, the bass begin the spawning process. When the water temperature moves into the low 60's, male bass begin looking for bedding areas in order to build a nest. During this period, bass are concentrated in one spot ? the beds. They only move to protect the bed or their eggs. They do not eat during this period but will strike baits that appear to be a threat to the nest or eggs. Bass beds are generally close together, so if you catch one look around and you will find more. The spawn on Lake Ouachita, here in Central Arkansas, generally lasts from the full moon in March to the full moon in May. The fish here spawn in waves during March, April and May depending on lake conditions, temperature and moon phase.

TIP: Be sure to wear your Polaroid sunglasses and you will be able to see the bass on the beds.

TIP: Watch your temperature gauge and when it reaches 60 - 65 degrees, the bass will begin moving to bedding areas and starting to build beds.

I personally am not in favor of fishing for bedding fish. That is my preference because the spawn is so important to the continuation of the species in our lakes. If you should catch a spawning big-bellied female, please release her after you have taken pictures.

As the spawn is completed and the eggs begin hatching, you will see thousands of little fry swimming around the vicinity of the beds. The male and female bass are now protecting the fry. The majority of the time the fry will be in a tight bundle and close to the surface. The adult bass will be close by protecting them. Postspawn ends when the protecting bass pass through the fry bundle eating some as they leave. This is a signal to the fry that they are now on their own and begins the Postspawn period. Now these adult bass have not eaten for several weeks and are looking for a quick, easy meal. Bass are going to be thin and lethargic. The key to fishing these bass will be to fish slowly.

As postspawn ends, the adult bass begin fanning out over the lake.

Summer:

The warm weather or summer period begins when the post spawn ends. Bass will gain some weight and become more aggressive. They will begin to school and chase bait. As the summer continues, the techniques and patterns will change. You will have to figure out where the bass are and play with the various techniques until you figure out what patterns will work. When these changes occur is all dependent on the weather conditions. You will have to figure it out for each lake you fish.

Fall:

Fall and summer run together most of the time. For bass, fall is the time of a frenzied activity. The fall is usually a time of frequently changing weather conditions. The weather will have a big influence on what bass do. Keep your eye on your temperature gauge. When water temperature gets down in the mid 70's, fall tactics start being employed.

Winter:

During this period the bass are most lethargic. They tend to stay in one place and do not move far or fast to eat. One good characteristic of this time period is the fact that the bass will tend to school and if you can find a school you should be able to catch multiple fish. Key to fishing this time of the year is to fish slowly.

Now you have enough information to begin developing patterns for specific times of the year based on the general tendencies of bass during specific periods of the year. In Part 2 of this article we will develop some general patterns for specific times of the year and then I will show you how to fine tune the pattern down to specifics.