John's Journal...

How Understanding Weather Helps You Catch More Bass with George Cochran

Day 2: How to Catch Bass During Warm Fronts and Stable Weather with Pro Fisherman George Cochran

Editor’s Note: With the 2014 Bassmaster Classic taking place at Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, February 21 – 23, Night Hawk talked with George Cochran, a past Bassmaster Classic winner about ways to always catch bass. Cochran of Hot Springs, Arkansas, passed a milestone in his fishing career, earning over $2 million in tournament winnings. According to Cochran, “I believe my understanding of weather and its effect on bass has helped my fishing career. Any bass angler who wants to regularly catch more bass must know what various types of weather do to the bass he’s trying to take.” To help us get a better understanding of the importance of weather in successful bassing and how you can change your fishing patterns to react to the weather like the bass do, I’ve asked Cochran to pick weather situations, tell us what happens to the bass under each weather condition and explain how his fishing changes with the weather.

Click for Larger ViewClick for Larger View“When a warm front moves onto a lake, the bass generally will feed more actively during daylight hours,” Cochran mentions. “If the weather stays stable, then the bass are easier to pattern than when the weather conditions are changing. For instance, if you find bass holding on a small, secondary point just outside a bay, then more than likely you’ll locate bass on almost all the little points outside bays all day. If you find the bass holding beside stumps during stable weather conditions, then for the next 3 or 4 days you can fish stumps and consistently catch bass. As long as the weather remains stable, the bass will be patterned easily. Once you decide at what depth of water and in what type of cover the bass are holding, then you usually can fish that same type of cover and depth of water for several days to take bass regularly. Once again, the problem that many bass fishermen have is that once they set-up a pattern for catching bass and the weather changes, they don’t alter their tactics to try to locate the bass.

Click for Larger ViewClick for Larger View“Something else that will happen when a warm front comes on a lake is that bass will suspend up off cover. For example, if the weather’s cold, the bass are holding on stumps in 8 feet of water, and the fisherman has been catching bass fishing either a spinner bait, a pig and jig and/or a plastic worm, then when a warm front moves in, those bass will float-up closer to the surface over the stumps and hold suspended in 3 to 4 feet of water. If the fisherman continues to fish these same lures on the bottom, he’ll be angling below the bass and probably not get a strike. But if the angler will change to a minnow-type bait like the Rebel, the Rapala or the Bomber Long A, he can catch these suspended bass. Casting out a minnow bait, reeling it down a foot or two under the surface and jerking and twitching the bait will make these suspended bass bite. To be successful on the water, anglers must understand that when bass suspend, they’re coming closer to the surface to absorb the heat from the sun. To catch these bass, the fisherman must use lures that will pass through the portion of the water where the bass are holding.”

To learn more about bass fishing, get John E. Phillips’ Kindle ebooks, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro,” “How to Win a Bass Tournament” and “Catch the Most and Biggest Bass in Any Lake: 18 Pro Fishermen’s Best Tactics” go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the names of the books, and download them to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.

 

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About the Author

John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.

Tomorrow: Bassmaster Classic Winner George Cochran Explains How Rain and Blowing Wind Impact Catching Bass


Check back each day this week for more about How Understanding Weather Helps You Catch More Bass with George Cochran"

Day 1: How to Catch Bass During Cold Fronts and Rising and Falling Water with Pro Fisherman George Cochran
Day 2: How to Catch Bass During Warm Fronts and Stable Weather with Pro Fisherman George Cochran
Day 3: Bassmaster Classic Winner George Cochran Explains How Rain and Blowing Wind Impact Catching Bass
Day 4: Pro Fisherman George Cochran Explains the Impact of No Wind and Wind Direction on Catching Bass
Day 5: Pro Fisherman George Cochran Explains the Effects of the Moon and Barometric Pressure on Bass

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Entry 756, Day 2