Peak Times For Trophy Bass

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Pro Staff,
What in your opinions are the best times of day to seek trophy bass? Early Morning, late morning, mid-day, early evening, late evening, after dark? I have seen a definate time pattern when all my bass over six pounds have been caught, yes, in Iowa, six pounds is a big bass, but I also fish Missouri and Arkansas and the time frame remains consistent. After a few replies, I'll tell you my times and attempt to explain why it is best for me. Thanks for any imput. Johnnie Crain Iowa Pro Staff.

[brendanc]

Johnnie,

For me, it has almost always been between 10am to 2pm. I have also had success fishing at night for hawgs... the times have been 180 from the day... 10pm to 2am. Granted the first and last hour of light can also produce a big fish, I have just had consistent big fish during in the heat of the day.

Good post, I'm interested to hear what the rest of the bass fishing world has to say on this one.


BC

[Roger Spaulding]

Johnnie - I have to agree with Brendan. 95% of all my big fish have come between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. around here (Midwest).

I have noticed for me that the father north I go, the bite tends to be earlier. The best times every year on my family vacation in Minnesota are from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. I really can't explain it. Thats just the way it has been for 10 years at least. Maybe its because its light around 4:30 to 4:45 a.m. when were there.

Good Post
Roger Spaulding
ProStaff Indiana

[6.54BASS]

Johnnie, For me it seems to depend on the time of year (you know I am basically due west of you), early in the year it seems to be morning, later in the year it seems to be evening. I attribute it to water temp and sunlight, but it just might be confidence and tenacity.

[JT_BAGWELL]

Johnnie,

I think I just have weird luck because all of the bass 6 pounds and up that I have caught have been in the late afternoon 2pm-5pm.

Last season I caugt a 6 1/2 pounder in a tournament about 20 minutes before the 3pm weigh in.

JT Bagwell

[brianc]

Have to agree with Brendan - even though I may get more bites early, the big bites generally come between 10:00am and 2:00pm.

The odd thing is, it seems to hold truer for me the tougher the body of water is, for example the Ohio River always seems to produce better for me in the middle of the day.

Not sure scientifically why it is (I have some theories of my own), however it is definitely something the tournament angler should use to keep his mental focus high all day long.

[Eric]

Seems like we have a trend here.

I have found that times may vary with season and species. Personaly my biggest bass both largemouth and smallmouth have come during cool and cold water periods, fall through spring.
Many of my bigger largemouth have come during mid morning - early afternoon.
Bigger smallmouth seem to come in the early evening to dusk period.

I have theories as to why this occurs. To keep it simple I will only talk about the warm water seasons, not including the spawn.
During the heat of summer I beleive largemouth bass become more active ( there is of coarse exceptions ) once the angle of the sun is high enough that sunlight can penetrate through the water and onto vegetation. This causes photosynthisis ( sorry if that isnt spelled correctly ) and in turn the weeds will produce oxygen. This gives new life to the weed beds and all the animals that call them home.
I believe this may be the period when water temps may be at the most comfortable levels during the day. Giving the bass a good window where all the right things may come together until the sun eventually warms the water too much and some bass may move deeper to take advanatge of the same conditions as they progress throughout the day.

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Thanks guys,
My best periods have always been between 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. as with most of you. I like the warm theory in the weeds, but it also applies where no weeds are present, though I expect the same results occur on rock or sandy bottoms.
Actually I have two theories, one I believe large bass attack during these hours because there is less competition from smaller bass that feed earlier and then hide and rest until late evening. Samller bass which are much faster will take easy prey away from larger bass, and large bass tend to prey on wounded bait fish or slower moving crawfish, they seem to know how much energy to expend on bait fish pursuit. Theory number two: I believe a lot of big fish feed as Brendan said between 10:00p.m. and 2:00 a.m. By the noon hour they are hungry again and will feed to keep their energy level high. Generally too, I feel there is less people actually fishing during the midday hours, most like very early or late fishing. Again, these are just my ideas. More input please. Johnnie

[JoeM]

I really like to read your answers to questions like this one. I'll bet if every Bassin'USA Pro Staffer could answer this thread, we would find every part of the day listed at least once.

Due to tournaments, seminars and other sponsor events, it is unrealistic to suppose all the Pro Staff Team Members could be available to post on this question. It would be fun to read, however.

To all of you, thanks for contributing.And this includes the Boss (Brendan). Be well.
JoeM

PS- Johnnie, good question.

[[email protected]]

I like the thought but I think that time of day really doesn't matter. Fish are so much like people that we should think more about what time would I like to eat. For me that is all the time if there is something around that looks and smells good to eat. I have cought fish over eight pounds at all different times of the day. It is not the time of day that is as important as the bait that you are using and the presentation that you are presenting. I hope that this will help your serch for big fish!!! If you have any specific question for me just click on my Texas Pro Staff page and shoot me an E-Mail, Thanks again for you question!!!! Thanks!Scott Walton.