1. Hunger is the number one reason why bass strike a lure.  Hunger based strikes account for about a third of all lure strikes in a year's time.
2. The reflex strike is the second most reason why bass strike.  Reflex strikes account for about 25 to 30 percent of the bass we catch.
3. The third most important reason why bass strike is out of anger.  The first cast may not trigger a bite, but several cast near the same fish ofter triggers a strike.
4. Protective instinct accounts for several strikes during the spawning period.  For the short time that they are sitting on beds, they will viciously attack anything that comes by.
5. Some bass strike out of sure curiosity.  That is why the most random colored baits get strikes because bass are curious about what it could be.

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Seasonal Patterns

Winter - Bass fishing during the winter is hard especially at Lake Gaston.  During the winter, bass are very lethargic as the water is super cold.  During this time, bass do not feed a lot and are very picky about what they eat.  If you are going to bass fish on Gaston during the winter, you must be very SLOW.  Fish deeper water, 5 to 10 feets, mostly humps, points and major structure where large pockets of bass may be schooled.  Use soft plastics or jigs and present very slowly as the bass won't move quickly.  Use your electronics to pinpoint the exact position of the bass and go at it!  Other species such as white perch, crappie, and striper are much easier to catch during the winter.  Perch and crappie tend to follow the bait closely and like to stay in 15 to 30 feet of water.  Vertical jigging spoons and jigs or livebait tipped jigs are the best way to catch these fish.  Also schooling near bait are striped bass.  They tend to hang in water deeper than 20 feet and near dropoffs and humps.  Tactics are similar to perch and crappie except bigger baits.  Like bass, electronics and patience are the key to sucess.

Spring - Bass fishing during the spring is by far the best time to go no matter where you are.  However on Lake Gaston, your chances of catching a bass are probably 10 times greater.  During the spring, bass are moving up into shallow water, looking for food and a good place to build a bed.  Female bass, the biggest of the genders, will lay and protect their eggs in the mid to early spring.  The best places to find these bedding sites are in the back of creeks and sandy banks where bass can easily create a crater to hide their eggs.  Sandy banks that are close to boat docks, stump fields, fallen timber or points are the best because these places likely hold baitfish.  If you find a place where bass have bedded, there is a definite way to catch the bass and in large numbers.  When bass are sitting on beds, they are easily spooked and will refuse to bite your bait because they know you are there.  So the first thing to remember is to be quiet and try to avoid from directly going over or near the beds.  The next thing is the way you fish and what you use.  The best baits to use are worms, lizards and jigs.  Bass worms and lizards and will attack viciously if they think they are threatning their nest.  The best way to provoke bass into biting is to bring your bait through their bed or very close.  However, you have to be very careful when doing this.  If you throw your bait directly into the bed, you will spoke the bass and the chances for catching it are much less.  Therefore, you must throw your bait 5 to 10 feet past the bed and slowly move it back towards the bed.  The slow motion will tempt the bass so bad that the chances of a bite are very high.