Thanks to research over the past 25 years, however, we now know that's not the case. Bass spawn in waters ranging all the way from 55 to 80 degrees. Michigan's bass pro Kevin VanDam (see photo) thinks water temperature is still a bit overrated in terms of the emphasis anglers put on it for catching fish. He cited a week's worth of fishing small lakes around his home as the basis for that take on things.
"I came up with several other variables that I believe trumps water temperature," he said, starting with length of day. "Keep in mind, the water temperature in Michigan had just barely reached 40 degrees...that's cold water! Yet, the bass already had made a move to the bank in the 3-to-5-foot zone.
"To me, the lengthening of daylight hours during the spring has far more to do with moving fish to the bank than water temperature does. Yes, water temperature naturally increases with daylight hours, too, but when a front slams the water back down to 37 degrees and the fish still are up there in 2 or 3 feet of water, that's the photoperiod telling them it's time to get ready to spawn, not the water temperature."
Another variable VanDam cited was moon phase.
"I fished through the full moon in April," he said, "when the water temperature was 40 degrees, and I saw fish already up cruising around like they were spawning. They obviously weren't on beds, but their behavior was identical to spawning behavior. I've seen this before, and I'm convinced it's a sort of false spawn that is triggered by the full moon. It's almost like a practice courtship, even though the water is still 40 degrees.
"In my opinion," he continued, "lunar influences play a larger role in positioning fish than water temperature throughout the year. Lunar cycles not only affect bass themselves; they also govern the activities of so much aquatic life: sunfish, shad, crawfish, mayflies, frogs, etc. You can bet wherever this prey is being summoned by a full moon, the bass will be there to take advantage of it, despite the water temperature. The latter plays a major role in finding fish when you change locations."
Yet another variable VanDam tossed out was current conditions.
"Bring in a warm wind on 40-degree water temperatures, and bass will get active," he said. "The actual water temperature reading on my graph may not budge on a south wind, but the bass sure do!
"Also, if the sun beams down into 40-degree water on a cold spring day, any dark object on the bottom becomes a fish magnet. Again, the water temperature itself may not move much, but dark rocks, clumps of dormant vegetation, even rotting leaf debris all create solar-heat sinks on the bottom, and bass love to get on them."
For a long time, the fables of bass fishing dictated that bass in cold water wouldn't eat fast-moving lures. The reasoning was that bass metabolism is so low in super cold water they would only eat slow lures that had very little action.
"I'm calling 'fake news' on this one, too," noted the Michigan pro. "I catch plenty of fish on a Red Eye Shad and a jerkbait in 40-degree water. In fact, I experienced a new benchmark when I caught bass on a KVD 1.5 squarebill in 38-degree water. That really opened my eyes in terms of just how far you can push a squarebill in cold water."
In conclusion, VanDam pointed out that water temperature is just a number.
"Don't get me wrong," he said. "Water temperature does play a role in the fish-finding process, but the main thing to be aware of is a change in water temperature with a change in locations.
"Ask yourself these questions: Is the water in the very back of the creek cooler than the water at the mouths of creeks? Is the stained water warmer than the clear water? Is the water behind a bridge or inside a harbor or marina warmer than the outside? These differences in water temperature can be a big help in defining a pattern.
"Other than that, water temperature is just a number, and there is no magic number that is a silver bullet to catching fish."
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