No matter what time of year it is, you have to be adaptable to changing fishing conditions and be ready for anything. The lake or river is going to go up or down, the current is going to stop or start, the wind is going to blow a different way, the water is going to get dirtier or clearer, the light penetration is going to change, the baitfish are going to move – something is always changing. Usually that means bass move in the water column: up, down or somewhere else in between. Sometimes they move into cover tighter, or they spread out from it.

A lot of times anglers quit getting bites in an area and they leave, thinking that they must have caught all the bass or the bass left. Often, though, that’s not the case, and it’s a matter of adjusting your fishing approach. Don’t leave a good spot before you rule out every possibility. When your best topwater presentation stops working, go to your best subsurface presentation, and on down to the bottom. Or maybe it’s the other way around – bottom to top. Regardless, train yourself to fish different types of lures well. You can’t say to yourself “well, I don’t like to fish this way, so I’m going to fish the way I like.” You have to fish the way the bass like if you’re going to catch any, and their “likes” change.

— AMP Energy pro Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark.