Northwest Fishing Reports

1. Cold water [winter]- Fish tend to hold on deeper structures and the most vertical break lines, fish tend to bunch up.
Fish tend to be easier to locate with electronics', here a good lake map is a must.

2.Prespawn- Fish moving in and out of shallows, moving in small groups, fish staking out bedding areas,some fish spawning.
Through all 3 phases of the spawn is usually the time for "sight" fishing, actually seeing the fish your trying to catch.

3.Spawn-Bedding fish, some just moving in, some fish found in super shallow water, FISH SPAWN IN CYCLES moving in then out.
Fish guarding nests extremely vulnerable to lures near their nests.

4.Postspawn- Some fish hold shallow some shift deeper onto the flats, some fish will continue to move in and spawn. Fishing slows
The flats is where I spend most of my time during post spawn.

5.Pre-summer- Warmer days and nights, spurs weed development and lillypads emerge, Late spawners, Fish in all zones-Shallow,Flats, and Deeper developing weeds. Water warming from the warmer nights.

6.Summer- Weeds fully developed, lillypads fully developed, warmer water, Lake is in HIGH GEAR good fishing all around.
- Fish tend to be shallow early mornings and evenings, deeper weedlines by day, some fish remain shallow depending on cover/ food and water temp/ weather.

7.Post summer- Lake is cooling with cooler nights, shallow weeds start to die, fish tend to turn on, fish shift to deeper green weeds

8.Turnover- Lakes with distinct thermocline, upper layer as it cools sinks and mixes with cooler layer. Transition- poor fishing

9.Cold water [Fall] fish bunch up on deeper structure and deeper weedlines. Fish are quite active and easier to locate.

Pre/pre-spawn is a cold water period with bass moving in and out of shallow areas, taking an early look at areas they have spawned in past years and cruising shallow feeding.

Both cold water periods are killer, Cold water of fall and cold water of winter moving into early spring transition. I catch bigger fish in the colder, prior to pre-spawn, transition. Water temps mid 40s and rising.

I don't catch anything during the cold water period. Give me summer any day. "-)

Amx wrote:I don't catch anything during the cold water period. Give me summer any day. "-)

I'm with you on that 1 Amx,..I'm a TERRIBLE Winter~Basser,..HaHa,..not that I haven't tried,..trust me I've had many days on the water in the Winter,..SLOW is just not my cup of tea I guess,..I've caught some but man they are few~n~far~between,..like you said I'll take the Spring and Summer,..not a fan of the DS and draggin football heads in 45'-50' of water is just blah!

TGL~BB

spindog wrote: I catch bigger fish in the colder, prior to pre-spawn, transition. Water temps mid 40s and rising.

that would be like right now-ish? where are you spending your bassin time right now?

Rather than share my early season spots, I would recommend reading my post in "cold water tactics".
Your favorite lakes offers as good as opportunity as mine. Ya, your right on that "yes" now-ish. Now is the time.
Fish movents dictated by water temp,available forage and "the need to reproduce" . Fish go shallow
alot sooner than most believe. Colder temps prior to pre-spawn anywhere from 38-45 and the first
fish that come in are usually some of the biggest bass in the lake. At first they tend to pop in shallow
for a look and then move back out onto the flats or to the nearest drop this is when you need to be on
the water. Remember this is the bass's first foray into the shallows and these fish can be extremely
spooky.

I was working this little pond that is full of very small SMB's. nothing over 1, to 1.5lbs, most are under 1lb. I went out there about three weeks ago and couldn't get a nibble to save my life. threw everything in my tacklebox at them. I'll head out again this weekend and see if I can't improve.

Dustin07, Start journaling your outings and note weather, water temp, and whats mother nature doing. What I mean by this is: See bee's, bugs, did the grass start growing in your yard, what about buds in the trees. These things can tell you alot about whats going on in your favorite lake, I've been journaling my trips for 10 plus years and know whats going on at the lake prior to gett'n there. You'll start taking notice to which tree blooms first in your neighborhood and the last and what it means to your lakes. You can repeat your outings year after year, trust me they'll be there.

I had my best day ever in 46F degree water. 2 of us in the boat and both caught limits over 24 lbs, and combined our best 5 went for just under 29 lbs. We were fishing in a couple feet of water with spinnerbaits.

Right on Nik now thats what I'm talking about! "Big fish, shallow water, cold water!" Thank you
Ive found that the most important thing when going fishing for bass "What condition is the lake in
or 'Calendar Period". This is a case by case issue. Is your lake in the cold water, prespawn or are
the fish spawning? Have summer periods developed? Deep weed lines? Are the shallows void of
developing weed growth and weeds just starting to grow? Is the lake cooling? Post summer going
into a [fall] or cold water period, this HAPPENS on every body of water. The MAIN POINT is that
these periods are all distinct and arrive at different times for each body of water. They even arrive
at different times on a specific "lake" from one year to the next. If you can apply these calendar
periods or "condition of lake, or what stage is the lake in?" it helps me with location and lure/ presentations.
On the original Topic post, I mentioned my favorite periods...Cold water- Just prior to presawn... Prespawn and
Summer, where deeper weed lines have developed, weeds and lillypads in the shallows are fully developed
and the Cold water of [fall]. Whats common to all? Fish activity! Bass are fairly active during these calendar periods
and it "means" good fishing, dont be intimidated by cold water look at" Nik- 46 degree water spinnerbaits and 30lb of
bass shallow". Once you can determine locations, its about picking the right lures and techniques that match what
the fish are doing, and trigger strikes. Horizontal or Vertical? Slow or Fast? Smaller or Larger baits? Shallow or Deep?

OK Spin here's my .02 cents worth.
Cold water. The time when smallies go deep but will still bite. Largemouth are really hit and miss here in WA.
Transition to prespawn. The smallies will quickly move up and start eating heavily. Largemouth are moving up and down, and really aggresive one day, totally lockjaw the next based on weather, water temps etc.
Spawn. Catchable fish, hitting lure to protect area, not to feed.
post Spawn. Fish are tired from spawning activity, but can be caught, with right presentations.
Summer - feed me time. Lots of activity, lots of bites, lots of fish
Fall- As summer ends and winter begins, we don't have the tradition fall turnover and bite like other parts of the country on the westside. Fishing can be fantastic one day, horrible the next. Eastside different story. Very noticable change with great fishing.
Late fall / early winter. Very tough on the westside. Great on the eastside of the mountains. Have had some of my best smallie days on Banks this time of the year.
So I break it down to 7 periods. Very similar to yours, I just try to keep it a little simplier in my mind. I only have 10 fingers and I need 3 to remember the truck, the boat, and the fishing tackle, so that left me with just 7 to use.
As a tournement angler, much of what I do and look for has become instictual. There very best person I seen at this instictual fishing was my dad. That guy could find a limit of bass in a bathtub if he had too. I have never seen anybody with the fishfinding insticts of him. I only wish I was half as good as he was. He teases me and says " He wished he had half the attention to detail and mental toughness" I have. Which leads me to the point of fish to your stregnths. Know what they are, and use them to your best ability. Know what your weaknesses are and work on them. Mine is finding fish on new bodies of water. I make it a point everytime I go out fun fishing or in practice to look at new water. I have been fishing Lake Washington for 5 years now and tomorrow when I go out, I will purposely look at and fish new water.

Mark

spindog wrote:Bass of coarse don't go by our 12 month calendar. Water temp, available food and the need to reproduce
will dictate fish movements. Cold water, prespawn and summer peak are calender periods that have numbers
of fish confined to small areas- means good fast fishing! Each period on any body of water is different in length
depending on the makeup and location of the lake. Here are the 10 calendar periods.
1. Cold water

2.Prespawn

3.Spawn

4.Postspawn

5.Pre-summer

6.Summer peak

7.Summer

8.Post summer

9.Turnover

10.Cold water
Pre/pre-spawn is a cold water period with bass moving in and out of shallow areas, I don't think winter,spring,summer,fall,expand!
Both cold water periods are killer. I catch bigger fish in the colder, prior to pre-spawn, transition. Water temps mid 40s and rising.

Thanks Mark, you added some really good information to this topic. I think this will help newer bassers. I went back to
my original post and edited the opening since it had so much blank space. What I forgot to add was that from prespawn
through the spawn bass are all in different stages on a specific body of water, meaning not all the bass are doing the
same thing! Some spawn early, some later. On a larger body of water it could be one area before another.

winter,spring,summer,fall-broke into 7-9 periods. Each season is really broken down to what the fish and lake are doing.
Thinking in seasons only, wont get you thinking like a BASS. LOL

Good Bassn to you

Hey Spindog, I really like the idea of journaling about what is going around home and knowing what condition the water is in. As I Get older I realize I can't remember it all. Now if I can just be disciplined enough!

Well I'll have to say the Bass sure don't know it's only the end of February!! We're probably better than a month
ahead of what's normal for us. Our change in weather brings the importance of "Calendar periods", reminding us that
bass pay no attention to man's calendar or clock, only to the "conditions of" or "what stage is" the lake in. Warming
trends play a key role in tricking the Bass into thinking they ought to be thinking of spawning locations, and will drive these bass into cruising the shallows feeding and holding on shallower cover.
At the lake I was at today, besides everthing in full bloom [blossom], the entier lake just had a major hatch with bugs
everywhere on the surface of the water, which normally doesn't occur in the end of February! Bass are checking out
the shallows and some are allready holding on docks, this should be an awesome year for Bass! I'm going out again
Monday, Highs of 61!.....unbelievable!!!!