Q&A AI
What seasonal behavior can be expected from bass in late July and early August in Western Pennsylvania, considering the unusually hot summer with air temperatures often in the 80s for weeks?
Absolutely, I'd be happy to help with that!
In late July and early August, particularly during an unusually hot summer in western Pennsylvania, bass behavior can be quite interesting and somewhat predictable based on the patterns observed in similar conditions.
Key Points to Consider:
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Water Temperature and Thermocline:
- As the air temperatures frequently hit the 80s, the water temperature in lakes can rise significantly, often reaching the upper 80s or even low 90s in some areas.
- Many lakes will develop a thermocline, which is a distinct layer in the water column where the temperature changes rapidly with depth. This usually forms between 15 to 30 feet deep.
- Bass tend to stay above the thermocline because the oxygen levels are better in this zone.
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Behavioral Patterns:
- Deep Water: During the hottest part of the summer, a significant portion of bass will move to deeper water structures such as main and secondary points, deep breaks, and offshore humps. This is where they find cooler, more oxygen-rich water.
- Shallow Water: Interestingly, some bass will move extremely shallow, almost as shallow as they get during the spring spawning season. This can be due to the presence of baitfish and slightly cooler temperatures in shaded, shallow areas.
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Feeding and Movement:
- Early Morning and Late Evening: Bass are more likely to be active during the cooler parts of the day. Early morning and late evening can be prime times for topwater action and shallow water bites.
- Midday: During the peak heat of the day, bass will often retreat to deeper water or find cover in shaded areas such as under docks, overhanging trees, or thick vegetation.
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Bait and Techniques:
- Deep Water Fishing: Techniques such as deep crankbaits, Carolina rigs, and drop shots can be very effective for targeting bass that are holding on deep structure.
- Shallow Water Fishing: For the bass that move shallow, consider using baits like frogs, jigs, and Texas-rigged soft plastics. Focus on areas with heavy cover or shade.
- Suspended Fish: Some bass may suspend in the water column, chasing schools of baitfish like shad. In this case, swimbaits, jerkbaits, and underspins can be effective.
Example from Video Context:
From the video "Why Bass Move Shallow In The Hottest Part Of Summer" by Randy Blaukat, it's noted that during the hottest part of the summer, a portion of bass will move super shallow, almost as shallow as they get during the spring spawning season. This behavior is attributed to the maxed-out water temperatures and the search for more favorable conditions.
Tips for Western Pennsylvania:
- Check Local Conditions: Always monitor local water temperatures and clarity. Western Pennsylvania lakes can vary, so understanding the specific conditions of your fishing spot is crucial.
- Adapt to Weather Patterns: If you notice a cold front or significant weather change, adjust your strategy accordingly. Cold fronts can sometimes trigger feeding frenzies as bass become more active.
By understanding these patterns and adjusting your techniques accordingly, you can increase your chances of success during the hot summer months in western Pennsylvania. Happy fishing!
Related videos
Transcript
Video01:16
03:39
Why Bass Move Shallow In The Hottest Part Of Summer by Intuitive Angling With Randy Blaukat → summer and they get on the bottom a lot of times those fish will get out deep on those main and secondary points they'll get down there on those breaks that's when you hear these guys catching these big mega bags fishing offshore deep crank and that type of stuff and normally by about the first part of july those those fish start to break up a little bit that are out on those deeper structures and they start to spread out a little bit there's still fish out there but there's more fish that begin to suspend there's more fish that start to you know chase shad and just break up those schools a little bit and then as you get into august which we're getting into right now normally this is the time of year that the water temperatures are the hottest i mean it's not uncommon in in my part of the country for water temperatures to get 90 degrees or hotter you know in some of the coves and uh you know that's the time of year we have normally our warmest temperature and one of the things that i found out in the summer time on about any man-made lake is when it gets the hottest when the water temperature maxes out there's a portion of the bass in the lake that will get super super shallow almost as shallow as they get during the spring when they're spawning it's really a weird deal
Transcript
Video01:07
03:45
THIS Is What Hot Weather Does To A Bass by Intuitive Angling With Randy Blaukat → affects bass and heat when we're talking about heat specifically we're talking about water temperatures in the middle of the summer when it gets really hot now a lot of it has to do with weather patterns because you know certain summers you just are just hotter than others there's other factors that play into that like with water levels in correlation with the with the water temperatures but here's basically what happens uh for the most part you know as far as in the summertime when you're dealing with heat there's two different elements to it you've got some lakes that stratify and develop thermoclines some lakes do have a real definitive thermocline some lakes sort of have a weak thermocline some lakes don't have a thermocline but what usually happens and for the most part this is around july somewhere when that surface temperature starts getting you know really warm you have different you know variations and in layers of water temperature you develop a thermocline usually anywhere between 15 to 30 feet deep depending upon a lot of different variables that occurs during the hottest part of the summer now not that bass can't go below that thermocline but for the most part they like to sort of stay above it because oxygen levels a little bit better that's one of the primary things that how heat affects bass in the summer on the deeper fish but the point of this video here is
Transcript
Video00:00
03:07
Late Summer\Early Fall Cold Front Bass Fishing by BassGeek → hey bass kick here I'm with my buddy Dylan and today we're fishing a late summer cold front so we hit the lake this morning at about 6:30 the air temperature then was about 62 degree the water temp was about 77 the highs forecast today for 80 degrees it's been overcast for most of the day partly cloudy as the days went on we've got it like I said we've got a low pressure a cold front moving in we hope that's going to get the bass up and active the daytime chimps have been in the 90s for about a week now so a drop of about 10 degrees in the day and nighttime temps coupled with a drop of the barometric pressure with this cold front coming through should get the bass up and feeding water clarity is 12-foot and better in some places we started today looking for signs of a top order bite or a shallow bite but we never had any takers we stumbled across a group of deep bass as we made our way to fish some of the shallow areas so we abandoned the shallow bite pretty quickly and found large schools chasing deep baitfish the primary bait fish in this lake are large our wives and large gizzard shad so they're gonna feed on that it's a prime time to throw the swim bait guys stead of flat but if I get back you don't fall
Transcript
Video25:34
28:01
Here It Is!…A 40 Minute Seminar On How Weather Affects Bass by Intuitive Angling With Randy Blaukat → September as it is in July so you don't really have much of the change in the bass movement and personality and behavior from mid part of June to Mid part of September and again the I think one of the reason there's well two reasons the weather patterns don't play that big of a role in the summertime is I think the bass are committed to what they want to do regardless you've got a population of the fish again that start to live shallow in the summertime and a population that are deeper I think in most lakes across the country you get you've got a 50 50 split between shallow fish and deep fish during the the all summer long and depending upon the makeup of the lake and the type of lake that you have and the species of bass there may be a little bit larger percentage shallower or deeper just depending upon some variables like water Clarity and and the structure that you have in the lake but you're going to find that um whether the you you simply don't notice that if you have a bad cold front roll in in July which is pretty rare you don't notice it if you get one of those days where like it's it's raining and windy which is pretty rare in the summertime the bass it's not like they make a sudden move to the bank or anything the fish that are there may be
Transcript
Video05:23
07:54
The Summer Transition…Why Most Bass Anglers Fail To Recognize It by Intuitive Angling With Randy Blaukat → stringers that you see like at lakey fall in alabama grand lake and oklahoma most of that happens in june in the early summer what you have though is when that water temperature starts to warm up to that 80 degree mark and normally it starts to warm up in that 80 degree mark sometimes and sometime in july the first part of july maybe the maybe sometimes you know towards the end of june like right now it just depends on the geographical location there and those baths that that were out there on those deeper hard structure places and they were schooled up they began to start to disperse a little bit more and here again you got to remember we're talking about different populations of fish because i'm not saying every bass in the lake is in an early summer you know pattern where they're out on these point ends you've got a lot of bass that live shallow all year long they never go out there but a large percentage of those fish that are offshore or on those deeper structures schooled up when that water temperature starts to get in that 80 degree mark these fish will start busting up a little bit the schools bust up the fish start to disperse a little bit you start to get a thermocline event that forms in the lake and that thermocline is going to pull some of those bass
Transcript
Video28:10
30:47
Here It Is!…A 40 Minute Seminar On How Weather Affects Bass by Intuitive Angling With Randy Blaukat → they do start playing the big impact where weather has a huge impact is in the mid part of fall and the late fall once that water temperature starts getting down about 10 degrees below its warmest point so say for example in Missouri we have our water temperatures are probably mid 80s in the summertime once that water temperature takes a 10 degree drop and it starts to get down into the low 70s say for example mid-october mid-october so that's when you start to have a lot more bass you know mixing and moving throughout the lake you've got house that are suspending you got bass that are deep on the bottom you got Bachelor starting a new shallow you got a lot of different variables and that's again when when factors like clouds and wind come into play that's when you can really take advantage of it um the the percentage of the bass that are shallow in the fall time of the year they will react more than any other time of the year to weather changes more than the summer or excuse me more than the winter or the spring if you get some nasty conditions after you've had some you know a week or so of bright sunny conditions and say you get a heavy overcast I had a 15-20 mile an hour wind you'll notice that they pick up immediately and they'll start biting baits like spinner baits and chatter
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