ESPN

With many lures, the standard advice in responding to strikes is "wait." Although every instinct may be telling you to swing, a momentary pause to let the fish completely engulf the lure is often the best way to improve your hookup percentage. With experience, most anglers have no problem adapting to this strategic slowdown. Then why is it that bass fishermen don't exercise the same restraint when responding to weather or seasonal changes?

Unless the conditions impacting a fishery are so abrupt and extreme that bass cannot ignore the change — a torrential rain that inundates creeks with cold, muddy water might be one example — there is usually some delay in the reaction of fish to weather changes.

Since timing is always an issue with recreational fishermen, picking the right day(s) is generally rather significant. If you can't pick your shots, then at least having some reasonable expectations about how bass respond to changes can help guide on-the-water decisions.

For instance, a warming trend during winter months always holds some promise. But if you had to pick one day to fish, you would probably be better off choosing the last day of the expected warming period than the first. Or, if a second wave of warm weather is expected after a brief dip of the mercury, this might be the better option.

Slowing down your response to environmental changes also applies to negative factors, especially when faced with cold fronts. In many cases, stormy weather and a drop in air temperature impact fishermen more than the fish they pursue. Quite simply, it takes more than making you put on or take off a coat, for bass to respond in a significant way to weather changes.

Obviously, there are countless exceptions, depending on the season, type of lake, depth of the fish and the severity of the weather. Yet, more often than not, fish respond more gradually, and so should you. This doesn't mean don't go fishing. You just should know what to expect once you get there.

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