How Water Temperature Affects Bass Behaviour

Author: Dean Taylor

Living in Canada, it is often hard to gauge what advice from American sources are applicable in the north, especially in the case of bass fishing as our seasons and waters are often drastically different than that of the Southern United States where most of the bass fishing content is written. Water temperature is no exception to this confusion, as charts and tables showing bass behaviour at certain temperatures are only partially relevant due to the limitations of our short summers and long winters. This article will attempt to clear up this confusion and make judging water temperatures on Canadian waters a much clearer task.

Fish Behaviour

Water temperature has a major impact on many aspects of bass behaviour such as how they are feeding and how deep of water they will be feeding in. Bass are cold blooded so they tend to be most active in warmer water as their metabolisms are faster and they are able to expend more energy tracking down prey. These warmer temperatures make bass much more aggressive and less tentative making power fishing techniques, such as the use of reaction baits much more applicable. In colder temperatures however, these fish will not likely expend the same amount of energy when hunting for food, making the fish much more tentative to take large or fast moving baits. In terms of locating fish, water temperature can also impact the depth in which the fish can be found. As the weather starts to warm and bass begin to spawn, the fish will move shallower as their eggs require sunlight and warmth in order to hatch. Bass will stay in these shallow areas for the majority of the spring and fall, chasing bait and cover around docks and shorelines. Despite these tendencies to follow bait, hot mid summer temperatures typically drive bass into slightly deeper areas, seeking cooler water and stable oxygen levels should the water reach high temperatures in the mid 80's.

Understanding Water Temperature

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when looking at water temperature is that weather and temperature trends are much more important than the weather of that particular day. For example, although the water temperature might be 62 degrees on the day you are fishing, it does not necessarily mean that the fish will be behaving as if a cold trend is occurring if the water had been even cooler the days prior. These trends can make reading water temperatures very confusing as typical cold water techniques may not be applicable if the overall trend of the water temperature is increasing.

Take-Away's

• Warm(ing) Water

  • Reaction Baits

    • Jerkbaits, SpinnerBaits, etc.

• Cool(ing) Weather

  • Finesse

    • Dropshot, Wacky Rig, etc.

• Watch for trends, not temperatures