"The longer I fish," he said, "the more apparent it becomes to me that the most important factor in the day-to-day activities of a bass is the weather."
He keeps an eye on a few factors, starting with sky conditions...in other words, whether it's sunny, cloudy or somewhere in between. His general rule of thumb for its effect on bass is that, under sunny, bright conditions, bass will pull tighter to cover, and under cloudy, darker conditions, bass will roam more.
"For example," said Sealock, "if I am fishing a row of docks on a sunny day, the fish most likely will be in the shadiest part of the dock, a perfect situation for pitching a jig. On a cloudy day, though, those same fish will move to the outside edges of the dock, and I may throw a spinnerbait to catch the fish."
Sealock also keeps an eye on the barometric pressure, which is tough to monitor unless, as he says, you pay attention to the local weather.
"Generally speaking," he noted, "high-pressure systems have a tendency to bring tough fishing, while low-pressure systems usually lead to more active fish. When pressure drops, organisms become more buoyant and float off the bottom, which makes plankton more vulnerable, and baitfish can go into a feeding frenzy. This, in turn, can stimulate predators like bass to feed on the baitfish.
"When the pressure rises, the plankton is pushed back toward the bottom, where it's less vulnerable to baitfish. Thus, the baitfish, who are full of plankton, go into a less active state, along with the predators. I implement these ideas into my strategies by targeting fish with bottom-bouncing baits like jigs on high-pressure days and cover the upper section of the water column on low-pressure days with a spinnerbait or topwater."
Another factor that Sealock watches is wind, which can make it tough...and even dangerous...to be on the water. However, it also can make a huge difference in an angler's catch.
As he related, "I have always felt that wind makes bass more active. Spinnerbaits on windy banks always have been one of my favorite techniques. I feel like the wind pushes the plankton toward the bank, which, in turn, brings in the baitfish and bass. It also breaks up the surface of the water, thereby making it harder for the bass to get a clear look at your bait. I go to heavier baits in the wind...they simply are easier to throw."
Sealock went on to note that "although you may not always be able to count on the weatherman to predict your weather accurately, you can be sure that the bass are tuned into what's happening. An entire book could be written on how different aspects of weather affect bass, and these factors often work in conjunction with each other.
"You can rest assured that these three factors have been important to my fishing, and I keep a constant eye on the weather every fishing day, as well as the days preceding."
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