Asking an angler about the ideal time of fishing will never get you a definite answer. Every angler is different; the angler’s experiences are different. The water they are angling in is different. It could be saltwater of the ocean or freshwater of the river, lake, and pond. But one thing they will come to term is that fishing before a storm has hit an area is going to be an exquisite experience. Especially in the case of bass fishing. So, does that mean bass fishing after a storm, a bad idea? Not really.
Bass Fishing after A Storm
It is far from being easy, though. It is challenging and as risky as the pre-storm fishing, and tiresome. While pre-storm fishing will present you with quite a few bass fishes, catching just one will be a triumph after a storm.
Heads Up
The words best time, as well as challenging and not easy, might have caught your attention. However, it is not always wise to face challenges. Going to angling amid a deadly storm, chucking the pre-storm and after the storm logic, is plain buffoonery.
Knowing that a storm is supposed to strike, you get yourself in the middle of the lake, thinking you got it- bad idea. Pre-storm angling is the best time, only if you have calculated the timing and the distance of your location from the shore.
Both pre and post-storm bass fishing have their own challenges. A storm just ended, doesn’t mean it will not occur then and there. One has to have a clear idea and knowledge of weather and its sudden changes.
Sudden storms right after a storm just ended is a common phenomenon. And when you are in an open place like a water body during a storm and lightning, you are at maximum danger.
The prime caution you need to take in all periods is keeping yourself safe. Head back to a safe place the moment you feel the danger. Heading back in between doesn’t make you namby-pamby.
It is better to show resilience when the storm weakens. If you do that, pre, in between, and post-storm angling, every period has its own sweet moments.
What a Storm Does To the Bass and the Body of Water
The storm could be any, thunderstorm, hurricane, rainstorm, or cyclone. But they cause similar changes to the condition of the body of water. Depending on that, the bass availability recedes.
Sediment
The first visible change in the water of a pond or lake you notice after a storm is, cloudy, dirty water. Storm brings sediment to the body of water and makes it opaque, muddy. Murky water will make it easy for you to get closer to the bass fish, but the same water will result in blurry vision for the bass fishes, and they cannot see or track the bait you just cast in clearly.
Shallow Water Bass
A storm hardly affects the deepwater bass. And frankly, you are not even targeting those bass fishes. Your target is the shallow water bass. But what it does is compelling the bass fishes that are wandering in the shallow water going deeper into the water to be safe. Not too deep though as a small mercy. And the ones that still saunter in the shallow water, we already said, cannot see the bait.
Deepwater Bass
If you are trying to live bait the striped bass fishes in the freshwater, you will have to put in a lot of effort and time. Due to the storm and bad weather, bass fishes tend to go deeper into the water. So, calculate the depth and then bait and wait accordingly. Keep in mind that you knew it was never meant to be a cakewalk.
Flow of Water
Water flow in the rivers, lakes, and ponds gets stronger, speedy, and increases too, due to the storm. The bass fish can feel that change in the current or how differently the water is flowing. That leads them to take a sabbatical near the barriers like trees, holes, stumps, or any other current breaks that they find near them in the water. So, when you see one near you, you can blindly hook the bait and cast in. If you get lucky, the fact that post-storm bass fishing has no time boundedness will be null and void.
Food Heaven
When it’s storming, it means there will be water everywhere. The water from the streams, springs, creeks, and other sources will end up flowing in the rivers due to heavy current. That flow is going to bring a barrage of food for the smallmouth bass fishes. Insects, minnows, small fishes, shrimps, the storm turns the body of water to a food-heaven for the bass fishes. So, tracking and baiting the bass become easier, especially in the current breaks.
Difficult To Lure
The above paragraph brings us here quite naturally. When the bass is freely roaming around the food heaven, having a huge feast, there will hardly be an option left as bait for you to lure them. They have already fed themselves a large amount. So, after a storm, they prefer being passive. No way, they are going to follow a bait that moves faster. Hence, Crankbaits or Jerkbaits are not the best bait for striped bass in California. Rather, serve a plastic bait just in front of them to lure them. Try to be patient as well as firm. Though, even that doesn’t guarantee a sure shot bait-consuming by the resting bass. It can be attractive, but never attractive enough for luring a torpid bass after a storm.
So, according to our discussion’s title, we had three options to provide- easy, challenging, and just a waste of time. Angling bass after a storm is not easy, that is for sure. The debate might pick a momentum when it comes to challenging or wasting time. Many people find the challenging stuff a waste of time. If you are one of them, we will say that you must try once before you decide to stamp it as a waste of time because our verdict on it will be a fun, adventurous experience with lots of obstacles to cross.
