Questions About Largemouths

[smallmouthjoe]

This last Tuesday I went to my folks cabin to check up on the place because I had not been there since the fish had pulled out deep. While I was there it was rainy and cool and thought I may have a chance to catch some little bass up shallow so I walked the bank pitching a jig to docks. It proved to be very successful, I caught a number of small to keeper sized largemouth and two four to five pounders on two consecutive casts. I was amazed that there was that number of quality fish up shallow this time of year. I know from studying fish behavior that largemouth tend to stay shallower than their smaller cousins no matter what time of year it is and that a front will make them head for shallow water and feed actively. My question is how deep do these big largemouth come from? Do they stay shallower in the summer and winter than the smallies and spots? Are they home bodies or so they roam around? Just really curious more than anything and I would really appreciate any info. Thanks.

[Champ188]

Smallmouthjoe, my experience with largemouths is that a good number of them will stay shallow until conditions literally force them out deeper. In summer, if the water temp reaches a point that oxygen is depleted and it stagnates, they will go deeper. Likewise, many will stay shallow in winter until the water becomes so cold they can't move. Food and cover are factors, too — if those are available shallow, there will be some bass there in conditions that can surprise you. Not all LM do this, but in any lake there is definitely a segment of the population that is headstrong about living shallow.