Are Bass Not Going To Be Active Midday In 100 Degree Weather (Small Pond)?

[Coosa]

Went fishing yesterday at this decent sized pond (roughly 4,000 sq. ft). It's a clean pond (light-greenish clear color), but it was hot as hades out there 100 degrees. The bass are in there, but with an hour and a half of fishing, only 1 was caught.

Is it unlikely for bass to be active in these conditions?

[logan9209]

Inactive? Yes. Uncatchable? No. You have to treat it like winter. Locating them will be a little harder. Usually, not always, they will be deeper. The trick is to get them to react out of instinct rather than hunger. That's the part I haven't really mastered yet. Mainly because I've been staying in from 10am till around 8pm. I just can't take the triple digit heat like I used to.

[sean_steiner]

your best bet is to fish at night, after the sun has been down for a few hours.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

IF you find some cover throw a frog over it. You will probably get 1 or 2 strikes but thats it soo make sure you get the hook set or they won't touch it again

[AK-Jax86]

I've notice that lately the fishing has slowed down when it is extremely hot out. I usually fish around the end of the day but still haven't been catching them like I use to in my backyard pond

[logan9209]

The last few days it's been in the low 100's till around 9pm -10pm, and the bite has tremendously slowed because of it. It's been hot so long, I think the bass have readjusted their routes and times and failed to send me a memo.

[Nitrofreak]

Inactive? Yes. Uncatchable? No. You have to treat it like winter. Locating them will be a little harder. Usually, not always, they will be deeper. The trick is to get them to react out of instinct rather than hunger. That's the part I haven't really mastered yet. Mainly because I've been staying in from 10am till around 8pm. I just can't take the triple digit heat like I used to.

Nice !!!

Slow way down, the pond or lake may not have the o2 level and cooler water it needs to keep the fish active enough for every other one to bite, so the fish become a little more dosile and won't expend the energy to grab a meal, it's tough to be out there in the heat of the day, even tougher to fish and hold your mentality together long enough to get the fish to react to a bait.

[sean_steiner]

I've notice that lately the fishing has slowed down when it is extremely hot out. I usually fish around the end of the day but still haven't been catching them like I use to in my backyard pond

try night. they have to eat sometime, and I discovered a while back that during the heat of summer they all come out at night close to shore, including the big females.

[Broke bass fisherman]

I've been having luck dropping senkos, and other weightless plastics on top of their heads. They will strike but only if I put it on top of them. That said I haven't had luck with spinners, frogs, or anything that I can't literally put on top of them. Bite is hard but I did manage 8 in the midday sun a couple days ago.

[AK-Jax86]

try night. they have to eat sometime, and I discovered a while back that during the heat of summer they all come out at night close to shore, including the big females.

I am going out to fish at 11 hopefully you are right

[gar-tracker]

Iv caught fish at high noon in the middle of August on top water, there's no rules etched in stone.

Actually the 9 1/2 on the left I'm holding was caught on a toad in 90+ degree weather.

However as a rule of thumb I would look for some deeper water holes in the pond or some hydrila to flip.

[Wayne P.]

Went fishing yesterday at this decent sized pond (roughly 4,000 sq. ft). It's a clean pond (light-greenish clear color), but it was hot as hades out there 100 degrees. The bass are in there, but with an hour and a half of fishing, only 1 was caught.

Is it unlikely for bass to be active in these conditions?

4,000 square feet is "decent sized"? That is less than 1/3 the size of an Olympic swimming pool.

Are your other fishing spots mud holes?

[mikey5string]

Ive posted this video before but its worth a watch.

Bass feed when they can see the best, during the hours with the most light. Thats from 10-2ish. They ambush their prey from cover/structure. They dont need low light to hunt.

In the video, the guy mentions that if you ask someone what time of day it was when they caught their biggest bass, the answer is frequently from 10-4. The time when popular beliefs are that fishing is slow. The fishermen might be slow and uncomfortable but that dosent mean the fish are. It is dramatically cooler just a few feet down in the water. Look for areas with shade or shallows that have quick access to deep water. Dont be afraid to throw a top water either. Some of the best TW fishing I have is midday...

Watch this:

[mikey5string]

and for our own survey, what time of day was your PB caught?

I only just ordered a scale so Im going by estimate but my best fish were caught at around 4pm and around 7pm. BUT the majority of my total fish caught were caught between 10-4.

[Dave P]

I caught my biggest one on August the 3rd at 1.30 in the afternoon on a spinnerbait in 4-5 feet of water.

[KingMidas]

Inactive? Yes. Uncatchable? No. You have to treat it like winter. Locating them will be a little harder. Usually, not always, they will be deeper. The trick is to get them to react out of instinct rather than hunger.

I have found the same to be true at a small pond I fish regularly. I have had luck with some weightless ribbon tail worms and other smaller profile plastics. Being weightless allows the bait to hover and float more than sink. I slowed down a lot this past week and that seemed to help as well. One other thing I have found is that throwing a carolina rigged creature bait works around dusk. I don't know, but I think that the bass in my pond are more actively feeding around then and they seem to prefer the meatier profile of a creature/buggy craw to the thinner ribbon tail i would be using earlier in the day.

[thehooligan]

My pb was caught at 9 at night under a dock, second best was caught in the 5-7pm range. Ive always done better at night, but i did lose a 6lber in the afternoon a few weeks ago.

[PABASS]

and for our own survey, what time of day was your PB caught?

I only just ordered a scale so Im going by estimate but my best fish were caught at around 4pm and around 7pm. BUT the majority of my total fish caught were caught between 10-4.

My PB was many years ago when I was 16 in Florida at 9:30PM using left over peeled shrimp, believe it or not. Also hooked into an Alligator and the largest bluegill I have ever caught as well..

I remember it like it was yesterday, shrimp I thought I don't understand I am going to catch on this, beggars cant be chooser and to my surprise it worked.

[BassAssassin726]

When its super hot out I like to go to coves in rivers during low tide. The fish will be very tight to cover, and log or stump will hold fish. But also remember, BIG FISH FEED MID DAY!

[Grizzn N Bassin]

got my bigin around 6 pm on a jig! im about to go fishing with my gf its 95 out steaming

[Broke bass fisherman]

Mine was in late July about 2:00 PM, but I was in Canada at the time so the water was colder than what we typically think about.

[WRB]

While I respect Hannon's view point on mid day big bass feeding activity, keep in mind where he is located and how he fishes. The majority of bass anglers fish for northern strain largemouth bass in man made reservoirs that are deep structured lakes.

Bass are bass, except they are not bass; they are sunfish. Smallmouth bass have different feeding habits than largemouth and northern largemouth have different location preference and prey preferences than Florida strain largemouth.

Most bass anglers will catch their PB during the spawn period and sight fishing is far better during mid day sun than another time. It's also true that bass see better during good light conditions and this isn't to a lure anglers advantage.

I, like most bass anglers, prefer to fish with lures, not live bait. Low light and darkness helps me to catch bigger bass. Yes, I have caught big bass during the mid day period, however far more during low light conditions. My 5 top giant bass were all caught during the day....in cloudy or light rain conditions. During the summer my average bass size goes up when fishing at night . Summer night tournament weights are nearly double compared to day tournament weights.

Yes bass are sight feeders, however they are easier to catch on lures during low light periods.

Tom

[Baub]

Great topic,I was at a pond today and it was shallow.Here in the Atlanta area we are in a 90 degree plus week.

[ChasingBass]

I'd say try fishing in the morning! Start at about six, and stop when you get uncomfortable. I have had the most luck this summer fishing a senko or Yum Dinger wacky-rigged style. I find that kind of action in deep water drop offs gets killer hits!

[brushhoggin]

i agree with the above post. early morning. ideally i like to start throwing at 5:15 in the summer. the water has had all night to lose some heat! this is when i have caught my biggest.