Establishing a Pattern By Keith

Most anglers, no matter what level of expertise they possess, can catch a bass or two as a matter of luck regardless of where, when or how they fish. But figuring out how to catch a limit requires more than just good fortune.

The best bass fishermen know they can learn from those first few fish and quickly determine how to eliminate bad water and focus on spots that hold other bass. In other words, they know how to establish a pattern.

Two such anglers are Brad Wiegmann of Springdale, Arkansas (www.bradwiegmann.com) and Todd Huckabee of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (www.toddhuckabee.com). Both men work full-time as multi-species fishing guides (including bass fishing), jobs that require them to pattern fish year-round. Guides can’t put clients on fish unless they establish workable patterns daily.

Wiegmann and Huckabee also are successful tournament anglers, another facet of their bassing portfolios that requires in-depth knowledge of establishing fishing patterns.

Wiegmann, like many anglers, started by fishing local club tournaments. He was president of the Northwest Arkansas Bassmaster Club during two of the four years he fished local circuits, then began fishing Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League tournaments and later FLW Everstarts. He now fishes in FLW Tour events, the FLW Series and the Stren Series. He’s qualified for five Stren championships.

Huckabee is best known as one of the country’s top crappie-fishing pros, but bass fishing is one of his loves as well. He’s competed in club tournaments for years and has more than 40 wins to his credit. He’s placed in dozens more on waters throughout his home state of Oklahoma, including lakes Eufaula, Murray, Texoma and Tenkiller.

I interviewed both these experienced anglers and asked them to share their tips for establishing patterns when tournament fishing, with a special focus on the prespawn period. Here’s what they had to say.

Can you describe the way you begin establishing a pattern on the body of water you’re fishing?

Wiegmann: In early prespawn conditions, I start by finding coves that are protected from cold north winds and have direct sunlight to increase the water temperature. One easy way to do this is to purchase a good lake map, mark these areas and then prefish them before the tournament. Anglers should pay close attention to water temperature in every cove they fish because warmer-water areas tend to have more actively feeding bass this season. Write that information in a notebook or on the map and you can use it again when selecting locations to fish during the tournament.

It’s also a good idea to check for signs of crawfish or shad in the mouths of bass caught while prefishing. Knowing what forage base bass are targeting helps you select the best lures.

Huckabee: When fishing a new lake, the most important thing to start with is the season. If you know what the fish are doing in relation to the season then you can determine where you should start. If it’s early spring, for example, you should start in the back of spawning pockets. If the fish are not there, then you work your way out. Understanding the spawning habits of bass is the main thing to learn. After the bass spawn, you need to know baitfish spawning areas. This is where bass go next.

How often are you successful at establishing a pattern?

Wiegmann: This depends to a large extent on what type of lake I’m fishing. Some lakes are good pattern lakes. On these, it’s usually easy to determine the best pattern and catch a limit of bass under most conditions. Other lakes are more difficult to pattern. I call these “junk fishing” lakes. By junk fishing, I mean, instead of using two or three poles during the tournament, I’ll use seven or eight poles and keep at least that many different lures ready to tie on. On these lakes, I change lures many times while trying to determine the best fishing pattern.

Huckabee: Time of year often determines how difficult it is to establish a winning tournament pattern. I’m usually most successful patterning bass during summer and winter. During these seasons, I’ll determine a good fishing pattern close to 90 percent of the time. Fall is the hardest season, with only about a 50-percent success rate. Spring is a little easier, but still tougher than summer and winter, with about 60 percent success.

No matter what your success rate, having a game plan, or trying to figure out one, is better than just “chunking and winding” at unknown water, right?

Wiegmann: I always have some sort of game plan when fishing tournaments, which is usually determined by things I learn while prefishing. The only time I would just “go fishing” would be if, during prefishing, I could not catch any keeper bass.

Huckabee: Having a game plan is very important. If you go out without a plan, you end up fishing lots of unproductive water. Any time you’re “just fishing,” you’re probably out of the game.

Establishing a successful bass pattern is all about variables, and there are a lot of variables. In your opinion, what are Nos. 1, 2 and 3?

Wiegmann: Number 1 is weather. Cold fronts or inclement weather can change patterns quickly, particularly during prespawn. Number 2 is water temperature. This determines where bass will be. Number 3 is water clarity, which is important to consider when deciding the depth you will fish.

Huckabee: Number 1 is the season. If it’s still winter and it’s cold, you shouldn’t be flipping in buckbrush. If it’s spring and fish are spawning, you shouldn’t be deep cranking. You need a starting point and that’s it. The season tells you what range to start in and then you pick apart the smaller details.

Number 2 is wind. Wind positions fish on structure the same way current does. For example, wind may push warm water onto points during prespawn, thus making points good places to fish. Knowing how wind affects bass location is very important.

Number 3 is sunlight penetration, which relates to water clarity. For example, if you’re fishing a muddy lake on a cloudy day, bass react to those conditions in particular ways you can determine while prefishing. If the sun pops out during those same prefishing days, you’ll find bass reacting differently. When the tournament begins, then you’ll know where to start fishing based on whether the sun is shining or not. The amount of sunlight penetrating the water not only determines if bass are actively biting or not, but where fish will be as well.

What other knowledge is needed to establish winning tournament patterns?

Wiegmann: One important thing is knowing what lures to use initially. I like to have on a jig-and-pig like the Booyah Pro Bug with a Yum Crawl Papi trailer, a crankbait like the Cotton Cordell Wiggle O and a jerkbait like the XCalibur Twitch Bait. These are good search lures that allow quick coverage of lots of water to find schools of bass.

In addition, anglers should know seasonal patterns of bass and locations on the lake where bass are most likely to be each season.

Huckabee: An angler needs to know how much weight it takes to win on the lake being fished. If you pattern 2-pound fish and catch them all day, you have accomplished something, but not if it takes a 4-pound average to win.

Anglers also should understand how to pattern fish during various weather conditions. A cold front can ruin a pattern any time. During prefishing, it’s best to examine the entire lake and see as much as you can. That way, if you find fish in the back of spawning pockets a few days before the tournament and then a cold front comes through and the fish move to laydowns in cove mouths, you know instantly which coves have the same types of laydowns, for example. Then you can establish a new pattern for that day.

What is the biggest misconception about patterning bass for a club tournament?

Wiegmann: The biggest misconception is that the pattern will hold up when the tournament starts. Anglers should always have a backup pattern or plan if their number one pattern fails.

Huckabee: The biggest misconception is that guys think they need to establish a pattern in which all angles are covered. I hear people talking about the windy side of points facing north on the main lake with water 8 to10 feet deep close to a creek channel, etc, etc. Fish don’t think this way. Bass react. If you’re catching bass on points where baitfish are present, then other points with baitfish will hold bass, too.

If you’ve determined a good pattern previously on a certain lake, does this speed the process of determining the right pattern to use on a new fishing day?

Wiegmann: Absolutely. The more time bass club members spend on the water, the faster they will recognize a pattern and catch bass.

Huckabee: Yes, this helps as much as anything. It allows you to have a starting point. It’s like tracking wild game, where you start by finding an animal’s tracks. When you find tracks, you can follow them to the game. If you find no tracks, you’re hunting blind. In bass fishing, patterns are the tracks that lead you to your quarry.

Fishing Logs

Brad Wiegmann and Todd Huckabee both believe it’s important to keep detailed fishing logs that record variables encountered on each trip. Referring back to their logs enables them to more quickly establish good fishing patterns when they return and conditions are similar.

“I keep a fishing log of every day I spend on the water,” says Wiegmann. “The log records which body of water I’m on, the date, water depth, weather, surface temperature, lure type, lure color, retrieve, number of bass over 12 inches, size range in pounds and other lures I used.”

“I keep a very accurate log of every guide trip, tournament day and prefishing day,” says Huckabee. “I use the log as a guide but never let it override what the conditions are for that day. Too many people get emotionally attached to spots where they previously caught fish that time of the year. Instead, you have to fish the fish.”

Both anglers keep paper logs in notebooks, writing the information they wish to record after each trip. This is the simplest way, but always use indelible ink or pencil. Felt tips and cheap pens have ink that can fade or run and ruin your log.

Preprinted pages with the info you want to record can be put in a three-ring binder to create a simple logbook. A more permanent record can be written in one of the many hardback fishing logs now available. And techie types will find several easy-to-use computer software programs available at reasonable prices as well. For a ton of useful info, do a Google search using the term “fishing log” (in parentheses).

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