Article Contributor – Logan Ardry, Caney Fork Outdoors Fishing Team Member

To start things off, you should first ask yourself, “What is a bass pattern?” A bass pattern is simply evidence of repeated bass behavior in a given period of time. What you do with that information will dictate how you form a pattern. Your ability to form a pattern is what separates you from the rest of the field. An important tool to develop a pattern is listening to the fish. When you catch a bass, it’s not random. You must take into account several factors such as where the fish was, what type of retrieve you were using and at what angle were you casting. Also, weather conditions matter such as wind speed and route, was it sunny or cloudy? All these things need to be taken into account every time you catch a bass. What if you aren’t catching a bass? That’s ok because everyone needs a place to start. Focus on seasonal patterns. Bass tend to do certain things at certain times of the year. It’s not a perfect science but it gets you closer than you would be just standing around on a boat ramp. Understanding your seasonal patterns and weather conditions will give you a confident starting spot and prevent you from junk fishing all day.

One thing that a lot of anglers will tell you is that the fish aren’t biting. That’s not true. The fish are always biting. Think about it, there is always a winner in a bass tournament. The winner gets on the winning pattern. Sure you may get lucky junk fishing and win a small club tournament, but larger tournaments like the 2015 KBF Open in March will not be won by junk fishing. It’s a 2 day event. If you can’t catch bass two days in a row, then you’ll take a hard loss. The winner of the 2015 KBF Open will have had a pattern. This is why bass patterns matter.