Deep or Shallow

[BassinHomer]

Hey all I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on this. I'm consistantly reading conflicting reports and articles in various place on the net and in magazines, some say that larger bass have a small home range that they stay in most of the year, even throughout the colder months but then I'll turn around and read in BassMaster about following the bigger fish out along migration routes towards there "Summer" haunts. Which is it? If a bass has a home range then it doesn't see feesible that the fish would move into a shallow flat from deep main lake structure, especially when considering that big Largemouth are almost strictly ambush predators and got big for the most part by eating the largest meal possible while exerting the smallest amount of energy.Also statistics would seem to back this up as most lunkers seem to be caught in the late winter early spring in the shallows or just adjacent to them, which would make sense because as far as I can tell most anglers move out to deeper water as the water warms. Now if big fish have home ranges I can see them pulling off to say deeper ledges in the creeks and coves they favor but it's hard to picture them moving long distances. I also read somewhere online that bass don't move up and down in the water column that much I.E. if your catching bass in 3ft of shallow water in the morning along the shore and the bite stops the fish are more than likely suspended at the same depth in deeper water, I have a problem with this, again because of the ambush and energy exertion thing, it seems more logical that the fish would just bury deeper in.

Anyways I wanted to hear what you boys thought on this since alot of you guys have been on the water since the 20s or so

[brwnbass]

Im thinking a fish's home range is bigger than you are thinking.I would say it gets bigger as the fish gets older & bigger.The other is,the fish go where the most available food is.In spring with warming water, all the forage fish are going to be shallow, 10' or less.As it gets hotter,they start to move deeper & the fish follow.Bigger fish will always relate to some kind of structure,brush,rocks,drop offs, channels ,ect.usually near deeper water.Locate all of these in an area & you can be sure the fish are there,you just gotta find what they want at the right time. Im esp bad for beating a spot to death & throwing everything in the boat til i get a bite or just give up & move on.

[Mountainman]

"home range" doesnt really apply to fish like it does to say, bear or deer. A deer, for example will live the vast majority of its life, barring a major disturbance like fire, within about 3 square miles. That being said, fish in general tend to be home bodies in that they dont usually make long runs say from headwaters of a lake to the dam area. Some species migrate in that manner, but not bass. Specifically, they might move from the back of a holler where a creek spills in out to a secondary point, and as the year progresses, on out to a main channel point in 80 or 100 ft of water. There are alot of variables at play there, like photoperiod, moon phase, climate and temperature, availability of food, etc, etc. There are a ton of things that will influence how a bass moves through the water column, most of which involve feeding activity, as you said. The thing to remember is that all fisheries science is a bit of supposition. by that, I mean that when dealing with wild animals, especially ones that are under water, its very difficult for us as humans to observe them naturally and deduce a common theme in their movements. Some of this has been done, but, like humans, not all fish act the same. Further, like humans, not all bass act the same. The best and most productive way to generalize an opinion is by experiencing it yourself. Keep a fishing diary and compare all the variables in it when youve got 5 or 6 years built up and you will be able to see common themes among bass in individual lakes and certain parts of individual lakes. Hope that helps, sorry it was a little long winded.

[eastenfish]

There are river bass and lake bass. There can be both types of bass on the same body of water. For example on Watts Bar the lake I frequent. I firmly believe there are bass that never leave larger creek arms off the main lake. As long as there is ample food and water depth to sustain them throughout the summer I don't think they ever leave. However, most fish on the bottom 2/3 of the lake do move to the main lake ledges and humps.

I also believe there are bass that are loners and what I call social fish. Some fish group up after the spawn and travel together with other bass throughout most of the summer and fall months. I do believe there are other bass that call a particular rock or tree home most of the time and sit waiting to ambush. As said previously there are a whole lot of factors that determine these things. Don't get me wrong deep is the way to go right now. However, there are good bass sitting in 10 feet and less water year round 24/7. Just because they don't bite doesn't mean they aren't there. If we knew how many big big bass viewed our lures every trip we go out and decide not to bite we would be so discouraged we would all quit fishing.