Bass pros know surface temperatures play a key role in bass activity during the pre-spawn period, especially in March when instinct tells the big fish to move shallow.
At Barnett Reservoir, for instance, fishermen know the biggest migration will hit its peak when water temperatures reach 58 degrees.
“That’s the trigger for all bass to move in,” Gene Bishop said. “When it hits 58 for the first time that year, you can bet the big ones are moving up to join the buck bass.
“You need to get on them quick, because there’s a crowd of fishermen coming and the bass will get hammered pretty good and they get tougher to catch.”
But there are other times when a slight change in water temperature can trigger a bite long before the 58-degree mass migration begins.
“Anytime you can get a quick 3- to 4-degree rise in the surface temperature — even if it’s, say, 41 degrees up to 45 — bass are going to take advantage of it and feed,” Pickwick Lake’s Roger Stegall said. “It might not be warm enough to trigger a mass move to the bank, but it is enough to trigger the feeding instincts.
“I’ve had some of my best days in late winter when we get a three- to five-day warming trend, fishing the back end of that warming period right before the next cold front.”
Bass pro Pete Ponds of Madison agreed.
“Any change in temperature is going to impact fish feeding,” Ponds said. “When it rises just 2 or 3 degrees, it will turn them on, and a 2- to 3-degree fall will turn them off.
“If you see a nice warming trend in the forecast, get your gear ready.”
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