In this issue
1. Timming Summer Bass. By: Jeff Hughes
2. Understanding Bass part 1. By Roger Lee Brown
3. Quote of the month
4. Funny of the day
***********************************************************************
Get
your bass fishing on the right track. Learn to read conditions and establish patterns based on your own knowledge of the bass,
just like the pros' do.
www.thinklikeabass.com ***********************************************************************
Timming Summer Bass
More
Bass fishermen hit the water during summer than any other time of year. However, this is a time when bass are more stressed
and can be harder to catch than any other time in most parts of the country.
Extremely warm water temps and low oxygen
levels in some reservoirs' can cause bass to become very lethargic. However bass are survivors and they must feed to survive,
So don't put your rods away just yet, because if you time your trip to be on the water when they feed, you could just have
a very productive day.
Bass are cold blooded. They are most active in water temps between 55 and 75 degrees. This
makes them more likely to be active during the cooler parts of the day or at night, during Summer.
Early mornings
from daybreak until around 10:00am will be the peak time for feeding activity on many lakes and rivers', this is when water
temps are at the coolest point of the 24hr day. Bass will often become very active and move off of deep water structure up
onto shallow flats or points and feed then. If you know of a deep water structure that often holds bass during summer look
for bass on the shallow part of the structure or a shallow location near it.
Night fishing is another alternative
which may be very productive on the waters you fish. Bass may become very active at anytime between dusk, until late morning
during Summer, especially on deep clear reservoirs'. One word of caution for a night fisherman. Be sure that you know the
waters very well before getting out after dark. Its' very easy to get lost on a large body of water in the dark. It can also
be very dangerous to operate a boat after dark. make sure that your running lights, and batteries are in good working condition,
and never run over idle speed.
While bass may be most active at night and the cooler parts of the day on many lakes
and reservoirs' this is not necessarily the time when bass will be most active on every lake or reservoir.
Many hydroelectric
dams will generate power during the middle part of the day when ectricity use is at its peak. This will create current in
the reservoir' and stir up forage and move bait fish and bass may be very active during this time. You can contact the Corp
of Engineers or other controlling authority for your lake and they are normally more than happy to supply you with a generation
schedule.
Summer can be a slow time of year for bass fishing. however it may just be a matter of timing on the water
you fish. so try some of these tips. You may just get in on some great action that you never thought possible during Summer.
Good Luck and Better Fishing.
www.thinklikeabass.com ===============================================
One of the most important tools you can have for
finding structure and places that will hold bass, is a good Topo Map. "My Topo.com" is the best resource for customized topo
maps of the water you fish, no matter where in the world it is. Check them out at
http://www.mytopo.com/index.cfm?pid=carterslake================================================
The 3 rules of fishing
Fishing rule #1: The
least experienced fisherman always catches the biggest fish.
Fishing rule #2: The worse your line is tangled, the better
is the fishing around you.
Fishing rule #3: Fishing will do a lot for a man but it won't make him truthful
===========================================
If
you are a pro Bass fisherman, or just an experianced one and have some tips or an article that you would like to share, LET
US HEAR FROM YOU ! If your article or tip is accepted and published, you will get a free ad for your business in Think Like
A Bass. email to
jguide@tds.net ==========================================
Understanding Bass part 1
Bass fishing is a sport
like many others, that when it comes to knowledge and the understanding of the opponent, it allows one to become more successful.
You may look at it kind of like deer hunting...the more the hunter understands the scrapes, trails, food areas, water areas,
runs, and habitats of the deer, the more successful the hunter will become at locating them.
The same is true with Bass
fishing (Bass angling). The more you understand the Bass along with the many different circumstances and conditions
you run across the more successful you will be at catching them. So let's talk about a few key factors when it comes to a
better understanding of the bass. The first one we will look at would be the survival of the bass.
SURVIVAL: A bass
needs three elements to survive which are:
1. FOOD
2. OXYGEN
3. COVER
If any one of these three elements
are not present in a body of water a bass could not survive, and just by knowing why these three elements are so important
for a bass' survival it will already start to make you a more successful angler.
The first element we will talk about
is FOOD. Contrary to popular belief, shad is NOT! the primary 1st choice of a bass. Although shad is a very common food for
the bass as well as other natural baits, the number one food choice of a bass is a crawfish (also known as crayfish, crawdads,
etc.). A study was performed several years ago where 100 Crawfish and 100 shad were in a tank of water with all species of
bass (Smallmouth, Spotted, and Largemouth), and to much surprise the crawfish were eaten 8 to 2 over the shad. There are several
reasons for this, but the most important one is that a crawfish is an easy prey for a bass to catch, and they are fairly easy
for a bass to find. And once again contrary to popular belief, studies show that there are actually more crawfish found in
vegetation areas than around rocky areas (or as some may know as Rip-Rap.)
A bass will eat just about anything at any
given time such as: Rats, Mice, Ducklings, Frogs, Snakes, Salamanders, Worms, Lizards, Grubs, Baitfish, Insects, Leeches,
etc. (Is it any wonder why all the many different tackle manufacturing companies have so many different shapes and types of
artificial baits on the market today?) but, there are certain types of artificial baits that bass will usually prefer over
the others, and a lot of these I cover at my 3-day Bass Fishing School.
The next element of the three is OXYGEN. Oxygen
is an element that any living creature needs to survive. The main reason an angler should pay attention to oxygen is that
a bass requires it to survive. By knowing water oxygen content in various areas an angler will develop a better understanding
why a bass acts the way it does under the many different conditions. When a bass has a limited supply of oxygen, it tends
to get more disoriented and much slower or lethargic. The "Key" in understanding the rules of oxygenic water is that the cooler
the water, the more oxygen content and on the other side of the coin the warmer the water the less oxygen content. The more
oxygen a bass can get usually during the warmer months the more active it will be. Usually during the summer when the water
temperature hits the 80 degree mark or higher, the oxygen in the water will start to diminish.
How does this relate
to bass fishing?.... well, a bass will usually do one of two things in a condition such as this. A bass will drop down (usually
under the thermocline mark) to water that is cooler for a larger supply of oxygen, or a bass will usually head for vegetation
areas because of the constant producing of oxygen that aquatic plants provide. This is mostly the case during Spring, Summer,
and early Fall.
Here are some areas where ample supplies of oxygen can be found during these seasons:
1.
Rivers - because of the constant flowing of the water.
2. Mouths of Creeks - again, because of the constant
in-flow of fresh water.
3. Deep water areas - remember, the deeper the cooler water a better supply of
oxygen.
4. Vegetation areas - constant oxygen producing aquatic plants.
5. Around
Trees, Stump, & Log areas - because of the porous wood that will hold oxygen.
6. Power Plants - because
of the constant discharge of oxygenic water.
7. Wind Blown Banks - a constant oxygen source.
and there
are many others........
The third element we will talk about is COVER. Cover is an extremely important element when
it comes to a bass for many reasons, and I would like to cover some of the most important ones.
One of these reasons
would be for protection. A bass, being known mostly as a "Ambush Fish" will use cover such as vegetation, rocks, stumps, trees,
fall-downs, docks, structures, holes, etc.... to dart out after it's prey. A bass really is a lazy-by-nature type of fish
and will extend the least amount of energy for the greatest amount of benefit. Bass are also known as a territorial fish and
will not travel a great amount of distance.
Another reason a bass needs cover is because of it's eyes. A bass does
not have eye lids like you or I and prolonged exposure to the Sun's rays, a bass will eventually go blind. This is one of
God's way of protecting their site. Take notice next time you see a bass fishing show on television, you will usually see
bass being caught in shaded areas, and in and around cover areas, these are some of the reasons why.
Now, understanding
a bit more about cover and why a bass will usually be found around it should help you "Key-In" when it comes to "Blue Bird
Skys" (high pressure periods) and "Overcast or Cloudy Days" (low pressure periods).
I teach my students at my 3-day
Bass Fishing School a much more in depth study about the understanding of a bass during the different seasons, daily conditions,
weather fronts, etc. and how they would put a pattern together under many different circumstances. This article I hope will
help you with a better understanding of a bass to become a more successful angler. If you have any questions or wish to enroll
in my 3-day Bass Fishing School you can contact me at either of my web sites at:
www.capital.net/~rlbrown or
www.fishing-boating.com/basscoach or you can Email me at:
rlbrown@capital.net or you can call me at (518) 597-4240.
Until next time!...... Take Care & God Bless!....."The Bass Coach"
Roger Lee Brown
___________________________________________________
Qote of the month:
"Give a man a
fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and his wife may divorce him"
_______________________________________________
LEARN
TO THINK LIKE A BASS!
www.thinklikeabass.com 
