Like many bass fishing enthusiasts, you probably spend hours in the spring sitting in your bass boat wondering why you’re having such a hard timing getting a bite. Your bait seems to be devoured by everything from bream (bluegills) to tree limbs, but not by your preferred fish. There’s definitely a reason for the elusiveness of these cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates. Read on to learn about the habitual habits of bass fish! From mid-April until June - whether you’re bass fishing in Tennessee, California, or somewhere in between - bass fish are very busy with spawning responsibilities. Guarders (otherwise known as territorial males) spend much of their time doing just what their name implies - guarding their eggs and offspring from other aquatic or reptilian predators. Often when you do catch a bass, you’ll notice that it’s a female (commonly a pregnant one, too). While the male bass protect the eggs, the females are on the hunt for food. So, the females are racing around searching for food, usually in the form of a crappie or bream offspring Happy Meal. Now that you have a better idea about what is going on under the surface of your favorite bass fishing lake, it’s time to find out where all these fish are hanging out. Your best bet is to coast your bass boat on over to a nearby shoreline; the type of place where bream like to build their beds - amid weeds, sunken logs, and debris. Generally, you can locate bream near their beds, which look like bass beds in their honeycomb shape, but are a lot smaller. The next step to luring a bass fish is to use the right bait. Let’s think about it logically for a second: bass fish are hungry during the spring, and spend their time scouring the lake for small crappie and bream fish. It makes pretty good sense, then, to use bait that resemble these fish. Bream fish are colorful, so you can doll up your hook by adding a shiny and reflective bream imitation bait that has colors such as yellow, teal or orange. The crappie imitation bait is easier because these fish are various shades of silver, so metallic bait should work well. The final (and most rewarding) step is to reel a large bass fish right into your boat! It doesn’t matter if you’re enjoying daytime bass fishing or prefer the cooler, nighttime excursions - being aware of the habits of the fish you are pursuing is a good way to bring a steady supply of them into your cooler. Learn more tips and tricks by visiting an active and reputable bass fishing blogs, or get real-life advice from a bass fishing forum. Happy fishing!