Matching the Hatch: not so important with LMB 2024

Hey Fellas: Looking over my notes and such from the past year. I caught condsiderably less bass, but the avg fish was larger.

I did a lot of experimenting this year, more jigs, topwater, smaller wake baits and cranking. If I got bored I threw *** Trik Ttiks and Brush Bugs as they always work for me.

I saw a reply form Sam to a guy who bought some Shad Swim baits and Sam said they will work if your lake has Shad. I respect and have used his reccomendations with great success

I HAVE SOME EVIDENCE IN MY LOGS THAT NOT MATCHING THE HATCH MAY NOT MAKE THAT MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE

On a trip with SPEEDBEAD onto the Chunk, he caught a few fish using an Auroa/Silver colored Swim Bait. 2 weeks later fishing with my friend Dan, he threw a simialr hard bodies swim bait and we were fishing sundown ON A LAKE THAT HAS NO TROUT IN IT and caught 6 beautiful bass on a RAINBOW TROUT painted swim bait, he did fish them slower than SPEEDBEAD.

On a small Municpal lake LAKE IRENE in Hazleton PA, there are trout, and fall fish and the bass gourge them selves on them My best bait on that lake 5/8 BLACK JITTERBUG

On a stip pit pond loaded with crawfish, the best bait all summer long was not crawfish in color but a RAPALA DT, in BLUEGILL

Why would 6.5 inch *** Brush Bugs catch fish up the wazoo around here when there is nothing that looks like them and I have never had a fish spit out a lizard or salamander hwne hooked as they do with crawfish,minnows and bream?

I am thinking about going to a Swimbait/Wakebait set up so here is my question

Is color ( mathcing the hatch) less imprtant than spped of retrieve and trying to duplicate a dying or hurt meal for a feeding bass to wack. I am tending to think, but do not want to jump to conclusions that for agressively feeding bass, if it is an easy enough target to hit and you have found the fish that are feeding than color is not as important as convincing a bass that this is a nice easy meal to hit.

I catch bass on peacock bass colored baits, no peacocks over here. Match the hatch? I don't pay much attention to that, I still catch fish.

I have to like the bait I throw, and this way I WILL catch fish. It's all about confidence.

Matching the hatch is more of a fly-fishing thing I feel like.

Never paid too much attention to it.  I doubt a spinnerbait looks anything like any type of forage in any lake anyone fishes.  It may resemble bait fish with flashes and vibrations but any fish type swim bait resemebles...fish! No big mystery there.  Same goes for buzzbaits.  I feel that any natural color will work fine and speed definitely makes a bit of a difference, it depends on the bass you happen to come by and if they're feeding actively.  I can burn buzzbaits all day and get hit but my friend who likes to fish slower can do a nice slow buzzing retrieve and get hit also but more frequently and vice versa.  

See what they want and fish accordingly.

I don't even consider matching the hatch. Over the years I've seen so many fish caught on so many lures, sizes, shapes, action, color, etc., that it just doesn't add up for me.

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Matching the hatch is more of a fly-fishing thing I feel like.

Never paid too much attention to it.

Certainly more of a trout thing but I like thinking of it on the bass pond as well.  As a fly fisherman I never really put much faith in it.  Fish may be keyed on small olive mayflies that you can't perfectly match.  Tie on a similar sized red and peacock royal wulff and you can still catch fish.  It looks like nothing they are after, or would see in nature. I think they key a lot more on size and silhouette than perfect coloration.  

You mention fishing at sundown, how well do you think the bass see the color of the bait with little light? They are probably keying on other triggers.  

That is the only time I have a strong prefrence for BLACK, as they can see it better at night.

Match the hatch= over-rated. JMHO

My test pond has no shad, but the bass eat shad baits all the time and they have never seen a shad in their life.  The only forage they have are frogs, insects, bluegill and a very occasional crawfish.

But, I have been on lakes which had certain major food sources and the bass would key on these many times throughout the year and success was much better had when the baits were close to the forage in size and color.

Brad

one word = Action

The biggest problem with matching the hatch is with the fisherman. NOT THE FISH. An angler will pick up a jig and think he is matching a crawfish. Ever watch a bass in an aquarium? Feed the bass crawfish for a while. Now throw the jig in. You could probably catch him 1 or 2 times but he will quickly learn that the jig is bad. He probably never though the jig was a dad in the first place. He just thought it was food he will continue to eat the dads but will not eat the jig anymore. Have you guys ever watches lures swimming under water? I'll let you in on a little secret. Almost all crankbaita and lures in general look very little like the bait they are suposed to be imitating.  I believe you arent giving the fish enough credit. They dont think your shad colored crank is a shad. they just see something come by and they react. When you truley do match the hatch you will see the results. If bass are busting on shad and you snag a shad and throw it out there, guess what, you will get bit. If you throw a chrome rattle trap you are only slightly matching the hatch. In most cases the angler is NOT matching when he thinks he is. Bass will eat almost anything if you find them in the right place and right time. Its when they arent actively feeding that a truly realistic bait in shape, size,color, and action will get bit when other wont.

LMB will eat anything that fits in its mouth. oh it's true...  

Actually I think we giver the bass too much credit and over think nd overpay for a lot of our fishing

Muddy I disagree. Of course I am fishing for different bass then most people. My bass live in super clear, super pressured water. Plus I am not fishing for small fish. But even then I still totaly disagree. I think most anglers dont give the fish enough credit. In a lot of cases a bass doesnt have much time to react. It either eats the prey right now or it gets away.This forces the bass to attack or go hungry so the advantage is to the fisherman. If bass were so stupid and so easy to predict and ate anything then just about everybody would catch 10lbers and anybody could be a pro. The truth is when sombody doesnt know WHY a bass ate a chartruse senko they just assume the bass was stupid. Just about everybody that bass fishes has been on a bite where one color worked and another color didnt. Why was the good color soo succseful and the bad color wasnt. The baits were the same? I dont know the answer but I do know its not because the bass was stupid. The are not intelegent but they have stong survival instincts. My whole point was that most of the time your lures arent matching the hatch when you think they are. You arent giving them enough credit if you think a 6in trout painted rapala is matching a real 10 in trout. Or if you think a bluegill painted crankbait looks or act anything like a real bluegill. When flyfisherman match the hatch, they realy do match it. Their flys look like the real thing the trout are eating from the fishes perspective. Trout are no different then bass. If you truely match the hatch from the fishes perspective you will fool them.

Matt I would not dare go against your knowledge and experience, This is something that will have to playt out for me , as my time on the water grows. I wonder how people,like pros who fish all over in different bodies of water,tidal, stained, and clear feel about this. My experience in limited mostly in the area of NY,NJ and PA, I am curious as to how people who travel about do. I still think the idustry is driven by convincing a lot of folks that they need equipment such as 500 dollar reels, and rods and very expensive baits to catch a fish without a whole lotta brains.

People Like Catt,Fishfor dollars,Fourbizzle and Fish Chris have made it abundantly clear that most people are not catching big fish consitently and by design, because they are fishing where they ain't, I would say where I fish if there are 60 boats on the lake less than 10 of us are fishing away from the shore.Catt has stated the only lure a bass can't get conditioned to is a worm. And both his wieght and totals are respectable. Again he fishes one body of water primarly. What he has written about can be used on my lake by using his info as a starting platform.

Those wake baits LBH is making, even the prototype, primative versions seem to have taken quite a few good fish. The videos he put up, show he really captured the motion and profile of something injured and struggeling on top of the water he was fsihing, I did not see the paint up close.

Like I said it seems finding them and using the right action to convince them an easy meal has presented itself seems to be the key. I am a patinet guy and I take notes, who knows how this will turn out for me

Rick Clunn:

"Bass are easy to catch, the challenge is finding them."

8-)

I also find that matching the hatch is not so important with LMB. No lake in south Fl have rainbow trout, yet I too will get fish.

Some people say that if the bass are chasing than you gotta use a shad color bait.

Well I disagree almost completely! The bass have a hard enough Time trying find as shad in a school of shad that look completely the same. So I give the bass a brake. Use a color that makes the bait stand out, such as a red or fire tiger.

What works for me.

I am not saying you need to match the hatch, you dont. Like I said bass are at a disadvantage because they have to eat and when something comes by them they only have a few seconds to react. The conditions play a major role. If they cant get a good look at the bait its going to apear more natural. Again you dont NEED to Match the hatch. Finding regular sized fish is the biggest key to catching them. They arent as "smart " as the bigger fish. Finding big fish is obviously important but even if you fishing where they live all the other variables are much more important. My 2 biggest points are #1 most guys arent matchin when they think they are. #2 when bass are feeding on a specific bait and you truley do match what they are feeding on you should get epic results especialy with big bass.

I usualy agree with everything Catt posts but I have read that little experiment where they claim that the plasic worm is the only thing they cant be conditioned to and I disagree with it. If I remember corectly the study was done one 1 fish in a tank. So they claim that all bass act just like that one. Fist of all I have had many bass in tanks and my own little ponds etc. And I have seen them get conditioned to worms so I know that is not true. If you give them enough time and present the bait properly they will hit the same bait again. One rule of thumb is, the older the fish gets the fewer mistakes it makes. The more presured the lake is and the more experiance a fish has the more it learns to avoid anglers, boats, shadows,noise,hooks,and line. Small fish are stupid and make many mistakes. It almost like they are two seperate species and that why people who fish for big bass usualy have different ideas on how and why to catch them.

Also dont ever think that you should not question sombody elses knowledge. I may be right where I fish but I could be very wrong on your lake there are a million variables

Thank you Matt, I have to defer to you here, as you are much more knowledgable and experienced. I think healthy skeptisim is more like where I am at. You fellas know a lot more than I do, I will let you know in 4 or 5 years when I have enough experience to have some kind of handle on what I am talking aobut, Again Thanks Matt. 8-)

With clear water I think matching the hatch is beneficial- if they hit everything in the water it just as well look like what they usually eat- it will only increase your catch rate.

I read an article in Bassmaster a few years ago, and I can't remember who the pro was, maybe Bill Dance? Anyway he said if there are 500 shad in a school would you want your bait to look just like the shad or would you want it to look different? I think there are times when you do need to match the hatch but a lot of the times it needs to be different to get bit.

I think where the misunderstanding is from the word hatch; in fly fishing one is trying to match tiny young flies that have just hatched. In a basses world where they are feeding on some type of bait fish so if one tried to match the hatch one would be talking about a bait of less than an inch. Instead of matching the hatch when it comes to bass one should try to match the present pray but do not try to match it exactly instead lean towards bigger.  

Matt you are correct a bass in an aquarium or small ponds can be conditioned to do just about any thing you want which is why I do not believe any results of studies do in aquariums or small ponds. The studies in which the results proved that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a bass cannot remember was done in the wild not under scientific controls. All lures give off negative clues that tell a bass it's not real; but plastic lures presents very few negative cues, making very random movements, moves with little noise; the noise that it does make comes mostly from the random clicking of the sinker as it hits bottom.

I really don't pay attention to matching the hatch.  I throw baby bass crankbaits year round and do well.  I also do well on firetiger.  Almost all of my soft plastics are either solid black or watermelonseed with a few others thrown in on specific lures.  All of my jigs, every single one of them are solid black or watermelon.  I have no other variations and I have no intentions of getting any more.  I change my jig colors by changing my trailer's color.  That is working WONDERS for me jig fishing.  

Now I do think that realistic is big time effective in places like Matt and others are fishing.  California and Japan and a few other clear, managed reservoirs recieve a tremendous amount of angler pressure.  Spinnerbaits probably send bass running for their lives on the clear california trophy lakes.  Both techniques are effective and both have a time and a place.  I'm not going to sit here and argue a fish's IQ but I do know that hey are survivors and predators.  They will learn what is dangerous.  They don't have a choice but to feed off of bluegill and baby bass, which is what makes Matt's stuff dynamite around the nation.  It's hard to condition a fish against something so lifelike.  But they aren't a cure-all for fishing either.  I bet Matt will even tell you that.

Yep there is no silver bullet. The statement made by Bill dance is a good one. However there is no lure made that looks and acts like a shad exactly. If you throw the most realistic shad bait made through a school of shad, its going to stick out. If it sticks out but still looks natural its going to be a target and get eaten NOW. If it doesnt look natural then it still might get eaten durring the frenzy but the realistic bait will out produce.

Catt I do agree with you. I am well aware of negative ques. I base my whole aproach on them. To many negatives and I dont get bit. Each little mistake snowballs. Plastic worms have very little negative ques. They almost have no detail. Nothing about them looks wrong. They are subtle and natural. They need to be because the fish realy get a good look at them. If a fish got the same oportunity to look over a crankbait or a spinnerbait its not going to eat it. Matching the hatch is one of the biggest reasons swimbaits are so productive. A good quality bait can look and act like the real thing and get bit in tough conditions. The bait doesnt have to look realistic in your hand (stocker trout, Triple Trout) but they need to creat the illusion of a real fish in the water. I actualy think both of those baits get bit because they dont quite look right. They look like somethings wrong with the trout. They look like easy prey. I also belive the Hudd looks like a freashly planted drugged up trout. Obviously I am bias but I feel swimbaits are one of the best types of baits for actualy tricking a bass into thinking its eating a real baitfish. Most bites are feeding not reacting. Most bites come on a slow presentation where the fish get to look at the bait.  If anybody thinks matching the hatch is overrated then net some shad while the bass are feeding on them and use them as bait. Or when they are feeding on dads, get the same size and color live dads ans see what happens. Or go get an ultra realistic trout swimbait and throw it while the bass are actively feeding on stocked trout. Dont go get a 6in jointed trout colored rapala and think your matching anything.

"actualy think both of those baits get bit because they dont quite look right. They look like somethings wrong with the trout. They look like easy prey"

Yeah I know it sounds like I am contradicting myself. Its not that they dont look natural. Its that they dont look healthy. Like a wounded trout. When trout get stocked you always see a few that look beat up or injured. I have seen these battered trout sitting up against the shore scared for their lives. So when I say those baits dont quite look right, I mean they dont look like healthy trout to me. This is obviously a good thing because they get bit. Bass like any predator will take the easy meal first. A strong lively trout is not that easy for a bass to catch. An injured one is dead meat

Again throw out the word hatch & insert the word prey now you have the correct phrase when talking bass; Match the Prey.  

Catt, you seem to fish worms alot and do well, but are there alot of worms swimming around in your lake?

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Again throw out the word hatch & insert the word prey now you have the correct phrase when talking bass; Match the Prey.

This is one of the few times I am gonna disagree with yo Catt. Matching the prey is not always necessary from what I can see. It seems in some situations Not matcvhing the prey helps also. I fish two kinds of water here, Lakes/ponds and rivers .

There are worms in our lakes especially after rain, it is one of the patterns I use during and after rain storms , b/c I have proven to myself, that fishing t rigged worms , by runooffs with the right cover is highly productive

I also fish some large worms, when there has been no rain and *** Salty Triks and have been very sucessful

I sitll see a bit of evidence developing in my logs that suggest that if the fish are feeding on some minnows, and i have a bait , even one not resembeling what they are eating, Larger Size and profile for example, and I give that bait the right action to convince the bass it is wounded and easy prey They will bite it.

Some of our lakes here and the great lakes do have shad, but most of our smaller lakes have minnows,crawfish and bluegills as the primary source and none of that California or Deep South "schooling" and feeding applies to this part of the country.

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I think where the misunderstanding is from the word hatch; in fly fishing one is trying to match tiny young flies that have just hatched. In a basses world where they are feeding on some type of bait fish so if one tried to match the hatch one would be talking about a bait of less than an inch. Instead of matching the hatch when it comes to bass one should try to match the present prey but do not try to match it exactly instead lean towards bigger.

Match or not matters very little if you don't get the two most important variables correct.

Depth and speed.

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I think where the misunderstanding is from the word hatch; in fly fishing one is trying to match tiny young flies that have just hatched. In a basses world where they are feeding on some type of bait fish so if one tried to match the hatch one would be talking about a bait of less than an inch. Instead of matching the hatch when it comes to bass one should try to match the present prey but do not try to match it exactly instead lean towards bigger.

DAHH!! Gottcha Tommyl; I read faster than I can digest sometimes thanks for the highlight I did not pay attention to the most important thing in your post! 8-)

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I read an article in Bassmaster a few years ago, and I can't remember who the pro was, maybe Bill Dance? Anyway he said if there are 500 shad in a school would you want your bait to look just like the shad or would you want it to look different? I think there are times when you do need to match the hatch but a lot of the times it needs to be different to get bit.

you sure it was Bill?

Because that's who said that you should make it stand out!

I think it was on VS.com That I saw him say that, I can't find the video any more.

I have used that term, Match the Hatch, a few times, but its really not the message that most try to convey when talking about bass.

Most trout streams have abundantly clear water where details can mean the difference in putting numbers in the creel or nothing at all.

Bass and trout are two different species, their habits are different, they feed different.      

 When going to a new lake, we try to take seasonal patterns, seasonal habits, and match the conditions to the type of prey that are normally the main staple at that time.

If a bass can get it into its mouth, and it swims, its food to a bass.   So numerous baits will always catch fish most days.

When bass are lethargic, we say slow down with plastics, or throw reaction baits to entice a strike.    

When bass have been highly pressured or the bite is slow,  try finesse, light line, weightless.    

To me, its trying to match the current conditions to the seasonal movements of the bass or forage in hopes of raising the odds.

Thank you once again Matt.

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The biggest problem with matching the hatch is with the fisherman. NOT THE FISH. An angler will pick up a jig and think he is matching a crawfish. Ever watch a bass in an aquarium? Feed the bass crawfish for a while. Now throw the jig in. You could probably catch him 1 or 2 times but he will quickly learn that the jig is bad. He probably never though the jig was a dad in the first place. He just thought it was food he will continue to eat the dads but will not eat the jig anymore. Have you guys ever watches lures swimming under water? I'll let you in on a little secret. Almost all crankbaita and lures in general look very little like the bait they are suposed to be imitating. I believe you arent giving the fish enough credit. They dont think your shad colored crank is a shad. they just see something come by and they react. When you truley do match the hatch you will see the results. If bass are busting on shad and you snag a shad and throw it out there, guess what, you will get bit. If you throw a chrome rattle trap you are only slightly matching the hatch. In most cases the angler is NOT matching when he thinks he is. Bass will eat almost anything if you find them in the right place and right time. Its when they arent actively feeding that a truly realistic bait in shape, size,color, and action will get bit when other wont.

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I have used that term, Match the Hatch, a few times, but its really not the message that most try to convey when talking about bass.

Most trout streams have abundantly clear water where details can mean the difference in putting numbers in the creel or nothing at all.

Bass and trout are two different species, their habits are different, they feed different.      

When going to a new lake, we try to take seasonal patterns, seasonal habits, and match the conditions to the type of prey that are normally the main staple at that time.

If a bass can get it into its mouth, and it swims, its food to a bass. So numerous baits will always catch fish most days.

When bass are lethargic, we say slow down with plastics, or throw reaction baits to entice a strike.

When bass have been highly pressured or the bite is slow, try finesse, light line, weightless.

To me, its trying to match the current conditions to the seasonal movements of the bass or forage in hopes of raising the odds.

I had the question when Catt said to substitute "prey" for "hatch" and I have it again after reading this.

How is what you describe doing when going to fish a new pond for bass any different than what a trout fisherman would do when heading out to a new river? Are trout not feeding on prey? (Agreed, an adult shad has not recently hatched, semantics as far as I am concerned)

Its october I bring BWO dries, emergers, and nymphs. Thats the seasonal pattern, matching the typical condition. Sometimes you may find a fish rising and maybe you can't get it to eat a dry, so you throw on an emerger, imitate a crippled adult to induce a strike. That doesnt work throw on a beetle, something they remember eating all summer and get bit, thats your reaction bait. Maybe you go a size smaller, drop down a tippet size to finesse them.

A wooly bugger or muddler minnow probably immitates the local forage as well as a crankbait does, not all that well, but they present many triggers that get fish to eat, while hopefully not presenting enough negatives to throw them off.

Bass in clear water have as much time to inspect a lure as trout do, probably more because your typical trout fisherman is fishing flowing water, whereas your bass guy is tossing into a still pond. I think these are the situations where matching the hatch/prey may become critical though I have also experienced these situations where trout are actively feeding on thousands of hatching small mayflies so tossing something that sticks out is your only hope.

I don't have the answer, sometimes you match it, sometimes you dont, but I really don't think a trout feeds that differently than a bass. I have caught trout on mice flies, very large streamers that rival most swimbaits, and attractor dries that look like nothing they have ever seen before. If part if it looks natural, they will probably try it once. If you throw in enough triggers, while limiting the negatives they will probably eat it over and over again. Think wooly bugger, it always works but looks like very little a trout has ever seen.

The phrase Matching the Hatch originally meant just that you matched the newly hatched insects or bait fish. In order to truly Match the Hatch one would need a lure of less than one inch in length, now a lure of this size would likely catch bass but they would probably be bass of less than a pound in size and you would most likely have a hard time keeping pan fish off the lure.

In today's bass fishing vocabulary Match the Hatch means matching bait fish that hatched this year which would by late October be a little larger than one inch.

Matching the Hatch is a fly fishermens term due to the waters trout live in and the method of catch.   Trout primarily live in rock filled streams , rivers, and lakes that filter the water  to ultra clear conditions.    A vast majority of Texas waters are stained.

Do trout have laterial lines that they feed from?   Trout are primarily sight feeders.    Hence details can make you or break you when fly fishing.        

How does matching the Hatch give you the correct spinner blade combo?    Most of the time, if cloudy or stained to muddy waters, you would go with copper or brass or even a painted blade, where as on clear blue bird days, you would want some flash, thus silver blades.  How does matching the hatch help you decide on a colorado blade or willow leaf, or combination?  

I didn't match the hatch, I tried to match the weather, water conditions to seasonal patterns and known forage.

I agree with Muddy's statemet.   When I tell a fellow basser to match the hatch, I really meant to match the forage if they are hitting moving baits.  ie shad, what type of shad?   the smaller of the two, threadfin, maybe the 1/4  trap is the ticket, or gizzard, maybe a 3/4 to 1 oz trap.     Shad are silver, but on a cloudy day, chrome trap may not be the best choice, no sun, no flash, and a chrome trap that has flash isn't natural.    Maybe a bone/pearl will do.

A fly fishermen trying to match the hatch is throwing something I couldn't even induce a backlash with on any of my baitcasters. ;D    

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