So when’s the right time to fish? Well the answer simple it’s whenever you get a chance. It doesn’t matter if you have to fish at night, or the heat of the day with enough practice you’ll be able to find fish.
Maybe you’re going after catfish that stop feeding in cold water. That’s easy, find something else that you can go after. if you’re always waiting for the perfect time to go fishing you will never get on the water.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of winter, you can get on the water. Ice fishing might seem complicated, but it’s no harder than learning to fish by boat.
The Easy Answer
Throughout most of the summer the best times to fish for bass are early mornings and just before dark. It’s all about visibility or lack there of. When there’s low visibility you’ll always have better fishing.
Head to the shallows right as the sun rises/sets and work the water fast. Personally I like to use a squarebill crankbait(check out my favorite squarebill) or spinnerbait and work the water fast.
So the next time the weatherman calls for rain strap on your rain gear and head for the lake. All that muddy water is sure to bring out the bass.
Time to Experiment
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is something’s always biting. It might take a little bit of experimenting to figure out what works and what doesn’t, but eventually you’ll start to catch them. Of course sometimes are going to be better than others, but you’ll figure that out through practice.
Best Fishing Times
I get it you’re time is limited so you don’t want to waste it on a slow fishing day. There are times that have proven to be more effective than others. Dawn and dusk, spring and fall rainfall and temperature swings all change the way we fish.
There’s a lot of opinions out there on when’s the right time to go fishing. Work and family will ultimately decide your fishing schedule anyway, so you better get out there any chance you get.
Some of these changes are good While others are bad, you never know when they’ll be fighting. Throughout a lifetime of fishing
- Dawn and Dusk: Predators tend to get
more bold during the low light hours of Dawn and Dusk. On those hot summerdays this is when everyone comes out to feed. Head towards shallow water and work a shallow water lure. - Spring Spawn: Learn how to work the shallow water during the spring spawn. During the
spawn some species are harder to catch than others, but it’s prime bass fishing time. This is the perfect time to master your technique with newlures, because they’re going to be biting. - Fall Feed: Before the cold winter all fish are thinking is bait
,bait ,bait ,bait ,bait . Everyone’s trying to fatten up before the long cold winter. If you can find those big balls of baitfish you’re going to have a feeding frenzy on your hands. - After Temperature Swings: Major temperature swings are going to either be hit or miss. When the weather gets especially hot things will die down, while a chill brings heavy feeding. Temperature swings tend to signal season change so fish start to fall into new patterns.
- Heavy Rainfall: When there’s heavy rainfall you’ve always got low visibility in the water. Rain raises the water level and washes mud, grubs
and bugs into the water. Without having to worry about predators those big bass start to get bold. Try to cover water fast with those loud and flashy lures. - Lunar Cycles: Lunar cycles are known to change the tides making especially high and low tides. Traditionally 3 days leading up to and following a full moon offer the best fishing. Some guys hate night fishing a full moon while others love it.
Watch The Weather
Everybody knows that the weather affects fishing, but how much of a role does it actually play?
Ask the pros about fishing weather patterns and there’s only one thing they’ll all agree on. Fishing before a cold front makes for some good fishing, but once it arrives they all head deep and quit biting.
Fishing around weather patterns seems to get debunked from one season to the next. With such a complicated sport it’s hard to separate fact from fiction.
Planning Your Trip Around The Weather
Get in a few weekends of fishing and you’ll likely notice that weather patterns affect the way you need to fish. It’s all about recognizing patterns and following through when somethings working. Given generally the same weather and lake you can normally repeat your technique from one day to the next.
Fish Those Cloudy Overcast Days
As a general rule cloudy days make for some of the best fishing. Sometimes you’ll get lucky on a beautiful hot bluebird-sky day, but most of the times it’ll fall flat.
Look for those cloudy overcast days when there just might be a little rain. Make sure you bring raingear and don’t be afraid to fish in the rain. You might be uncomfortable, but rain often triggers a serious feeding frenzy.
Reacting to Changing Weather
If you’re planning a trip in advance you won’t be able to predict the weather. Just go and make the best of it. A bad day of fishing beats a great day at the office.
You know the weather will eventually change, but only god can predict how long it will take. If you don’t like the weather there’s nothing you can do but wait it out and test out new techniques.
Sooner or later you’ll have a trip ruined by bad weather.