PATTERN FISHING is the basis of bass fishing success. If you ever wanted to have a better understanding of this phenomenon, now is your chance. It’s not easy to research the huge amounts of available information that is relevant to your fishing situation. Ken recognized this situation when he started to compete on the national tournament scene 25 years ago. To assist in his own fishing efforts, Ken started to compile a database comprised of information gathered during multi-day bass tournaments on America’s most popular fishing destinations. Ken has continued to collect this information from the winners of these events; data concerning their successful patterns which can be used to prepare for future tournaments. Over the years, this has been a tremendous aid in forecasting winning patterns in various competitions.

Now Ken wants to help you catch more fish by providing this information to you. Ken and his data can forecast bass fishing patterns that will work during your fishing trip -- whether it is a tournament, a fishing vacation or family outing. Catching more and bigger fish is the result of “pattern fishing” and adds to the trip’s enjoyment. By beginning your fishing trip with a good starting pattern in mind, your odds for success are greatly improved.

All you have to do is provide Ken with some basic information about the lake you plan to fish and dates of your trip and he can use his Pattern Forecast tool to point you toward the most likely fishing patterns that will make your trip a successful one.

Here’s how it works!

Ken has gathered and interpreted data from the winners and second place anglers from almost 600 bass tournaments, including BASS, FLW and other multi-day competitions. He has included tournament lakes from all over the country and all seasons of the year. This mass of data is a very good guide for predicting the patterns that will work during any season of the year and any type of lake.

The most important parameter for determining effective fishing patterns is season of the year; thus the term “Pattern Fishing”. The most useful way to analyze the data for seasonal changes in patterns is on a monthly basis. This allows an adequate amount of data and at the same time narrows the knowledge to a very useful time frame. Of course, the data must be further analyzed with consideration given to the latitude of the target lake, since lakes in the southern areas are at a quite different activity level from northern lakes in spring and fall months.

The second parameter that is important in determining patterns is the Lake Type. I have broken my data into various lake types as follows:

Manmade Upland Reservoirs (MU) These are normally deep, rocky clear water lakes such as: Table Rock, Beaver, Lanier, Percy Priest, Smith Mountain, Shasta and Mead.

Manmade Lowland Reservoirs (ML) Lakes like: Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Ross Barnett, Seminole, Eufaula, OK, Murray, SC, Guntersville and Santee-Cooper.

Manmade Riverine Reservoirs (MR) These are lakes that have a major flow-through component like: Wheeler, Pickwick, Lay, Neely Henry, Red River, Alabama River.

Natural Lakes (N) These are natural waterways without a major influence from man-made dams like: Okeechobee, Harris Chain, Champlain, Oneida, Clear Lake.

Tidal Waters (T) Waters that are connected to the ocean, like: Potomac River, California Delta, Mobile Delta, Chesapeake Bay.

These water types are quite different from each other in their characteristics and all pattern components vary considerably between types.

The data Ken has included in his database includes such important factors as:

Date, Lake Type, Lake Name, Tournament Name, Water Temperature

Pattern DATA from 1st and 2nd Place Winner

Number of Fish, Total Weight, Lake Patterns, Habitat Patterns, Lure Patterns, Details of the fishing patterns

Ken’s report to you includes these parameters from every tournament that meets the search criteria in order for you to make your own analysis of the data. Also included will be a summary of the data that shows the percentage of successful pattern components and a glossary of terms used in the report to assist in understanding the data.

Ken’s research has indicated that a “Fishing Pattern” is comprised of three elements as follows;

Lake Pattern: Indicates the portion of the lake where the fish were caught such as main lake points, main lake structure, secondary points, etc. This includes depth of contact in most cases.

Habitat Pattern: Indicates the type of cover the bass were caught from. This could be rocks, brush, submerged vegetation, etc.

Lure Pattern: Indicates the successful lures for the pattern. This is probably the least important segment of the pattern, yet it is useful in gaining confidence in the starting point. Keep in mind that lures are tools that should be applied to the habitat being probed.

These parameters comprise the majority of the useful pattern information. They will put you in the right part of the lake, probing the most likely type of bass habitat using the best lures for the season. You’ll be amazed how this will shorten the time in catching your first bass and continuing to develop a working pattern for your fishing trip.

In addition to the data, Ken will use his 40 years of on-the-water experience to analyze the data and make customized suggestions about the most successful fishing patterns for the projected situation, taking the longitude, latitude and other parameters from the lake you are visiting.

HERE’S A SAMPLE REPORT:

Sample Pattern Forecast for November on Lake XXXXX (11MU)

The Lake Pattern Forecast indicates a preponderance of wins (63%) on main lake structure, especially points.  Normally in Lake XXXXX this time of year, you will find the fish moving onto the main lake bluffs and steep banks.  Sometimes, depending on the specific water temp, they will be at the bluff ends, not the main bluffs.  If the water is still rather warm, say over 55 degrees, then look on the main lake points which have steep sides.  This is a very dependable pattern.

As to Habitat Pattern, on Lake XXXXX, you will probably find that rock banks are the most important type of cover to fish at this season.  It usually holds the best concentrations of winter-time fish and they should already be there by now.  If there is wood cover present, then it is sometimes better to hold bass, especially big ones.   In some lakes, there are still bass in the vegetation, but I doubt it on Lake XXXXX.

The lure pattern, as usual is pretty variable.  I like to let the habitat and depth determine which lure is best.  I think a J-n-P is always a good bet this time of year, since crawdads are still present and desirable as food items.  If you are targeting smallies or spots, then I recommend a drop shotted 4" or 5" Berkley Power Shaky worm or custom pour worm.  In the recent tournaments, this has been a big hit.  You should always give a shad colored spbt a chance. Use a heavy one with small willow blades to fish deep and slow along the rocks.  Another good choice is a deep diving jerkbait if the water gets really cold, like in the mid-50's or lower.