Identification

Bass Activity

Where To Fish

Effective Tactics

• These are the edges of slow moving masses of warm air.

• Weather does not change quickly, but often brings thickening clouds and rain.

• Barometric pressure stabilizes and drops slowly.

• Temperatures rise slowly as warm air pushes aside cold air.

• Bad weather that arrives is not usually severe, as it's more likely to be a light drizzle or rain than a hard downpour.

• Bad weather takes longer to leave.

• The most active feeding periods.

• Bass will be pursuing a wide variety of forage.

• Fish will be widely dispersed and moving throughout feeding areas.

• Wherever forage holds.
• Largemouths will likely be in weedy, shallow cover, but are also apt to be moving through it. In the early season, look for a fresh bloom of water plants in south facing bays and shallows. Later, find submerged weed beds, midlake humps and the like. Don't ignore shallow hard structure such as brush, logs, piers and so on.
• Smallmouths prefer solid structure such as riprap and cobble, but will concentrate on forage near seams of moving water.

• Nearly any lure can be effective, but if possible, match it to water conditions and typical forage.
• For largemouths in weedy cover, use weedless plastic worms, jig n pigs, leeches, buzzbaits, and so on.
• For smallmouths, use crankbaits, crawfish imitating soft and hard baits, mid to deep running plugs and so on.

Identification

Bass Activity

Where To Fish

Effective Tactics

• These are the edges of masses of cold air that push in and under warm air.
• This is severe but short-lived weather, characterized by hard, fast moving thunderstorms followed by clear skies and dropping temperature.
• Barometric pressure will fluctuate rapidly, then rise dramatically as high pressure builds.

• Bass will move away from standard feeding situations, usually to deeper water and submerged cover.
• Activity can be as varied as the weather, from short feeding binges to liplocked inactivity.

• Transition areas where bass are moving back and forth between feeding areas and deeper cover and structure.
• Pronounced transition areas include channels  between coves and islands, old river beds, and manmade structures such as underwater railroad beds.
• Subtle transition zones include areas between shallow weed beds and submerged weed lines, or along the sides of sloping points of land.

• Use searching and attracting lures such as rattling crankbaits and bright, big spinnerbaits.
• Once bass are located, cover transition areas thoroughly with slow moving jigs or plastic worms, and switch to big, bright spoons, spinners and plugs.

LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEMS

Identification

Bass Activity

Where To Fish

Effective Tactics

• Air circulates in a counterclockwise direction.
• Air is gathered from closer to the ground, and is thus warmer and usually more moisture-laden.
• Air rises and intensifies the moisture, forming clouds and causing rain.
• Cloud cover prevents radiational cooling, and temperatures don't fall. Instead, they generally remain the same or rise.
• Steady rain causes some air cooling.

• Bass remain actively feeding.
• Fish are well-dispersed throughout their feeding areas.
• Activity is similar to that experienced when there is an approaching worm front, but bass are more widely dispersed and roam about less.

• Largemouths are more into ambushing prey, and they will be found throughout good forage areas.
• Look to the shallows and weeds early in the season, and to deeper structure such as weed lines and submerged weed beds later in the season.
• Smallmouths will be moving less, too, but will be found in their preferred hard-structure areas where forage is plentiful.

• Use searching lures, and cover a lot of water. Feeding fish won't be as concentrated. 
• Use plastic worms, lizards, and so on in the weeds. On weed edges and submerged weed lines, use deeper running stickbaits and crankbaits. Buzzbaits can be deadly.
• For smallmouths, match lure colors to water tint, such as earthy tones for teastained water and fluorescents, silvers and blues for clear water.

HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEMS

Identification

Bass Activity

Where To Fish

Effective Tactics

• Air circulates in a clockwise direction.
• High pressure is literally a high stack of dense air that pushes down and out from the high-pressure center.
• Little moisture accumulates, and there are few clouds.
• The weather is beautiful, and the barometric pressure is high.
• Temperatures tend to fall because air from high altitude is cold and is pushed down to the ground level. Lack of cloud cover causes radiational cooling at night.

• Bass metabolisms tend to slow, both because of colder temperatures and, some feel, because of internal discomfort from the high pressure.
• Bass move to deeper water, or suspend.
• In spring can postpone spawn and push  fish back into staging areas.

• Pre-spawn drop-offs adjacent to feeding areas.
• Transition areas, such as the nearest comfortable deep-water structure. (The fish aren't leaving for the long term, just until the next warm front passes through.)

• Use big, slow, deep-running lures.
• Use lighter tackle and line.
• Go slow and be thorough. Coax the fish into striking.
• Work big baits and lures, such as plastic worms, jigs and sinking crankbaits, through holding cover.