The hardest season to catch LMB?

[kiteman]

I live in Texas where the winters aren't usually that bad and fish can be caught.  The pre-spawn and summer months are both excellent.  I find spawn to be without a doubt the trickiest time to fish, and thus hardest time to catch them.  It's particularly hard for me because I bank fish in a deep quarry pond, and it is very windy usually so the water is choppy and it's nearly impossible to see beds with that depth and choppiness.  Even though, the water is actually very clear.  I feel like it's almost a waste of time, actually.  I'm wondering if this is a sentiment I share with other bass anglers, or if I'm just doing something wrong...

[EGbassing]

I've gotten skunked several days in a row now. I wonder if they're spawning here because I usually do pretty well in the spring, but not right now.

[Mr. Aquarium]

my hardest season is winter to just before prespawn. I live in MA. We may have open water all winter but the weather is so up and down winter through April that its tough. Mid April when water temps hit 50 and the herring show up. Its balls to the wall.  

[kiteman]

12 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

I've gotten skunked several days in a row now. I wonder if they're spawning here because I usually do pretty well in the spring, but not right now.

If you're in AL then I think you fall victim to similar patterns as I do.  Spring can usually be categorized as pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn.  Pre-spawn is when I catch the most and the biggest fish.  Spawn I barely catching anything, and post-spawn is about as successful as pre-spawn.  So you're probably in the spawn phase right now as well. If you see bass just chilling around shallows and not moving anywhere, they are males guarding nests, while the females are just roaming around finding other males to spawn with, so none of them are particularly interested in feeding. 

 

In fact one of the most successful ways to catch fish during spawn is to mimic predators like lizards.  The bass won't eat them, but if it gets in their nest they will pick it up in their mouth and spit it out beyond the nest.  You're supposed to set the hook in that brief moment before they spit the predator out.  I think the females are even harder to catch, but they are the bigger and more desirable ones... 

[TnRiver46]

Easy answer, spring spawn. It’s funny because that’s what everyone talks about and looks forward too, the toughest fishing of the entire year 

[Tennessee Boy]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Easy answer, spring spawn. It’s funny because that’s what everyone talks about and looks forward too, the toughest fishing of the entire year 

and I thought it was just me.

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

and I thought it was just me.

Spawn: the most used word yet useless part of bass fishing 

[kenmitch]

They don't all spawn at the same time, they'll do it in waves. Look for staging areas or parts of the lake that are still cooler.

 

I avoid the beds myself. I'd rather get skunked than bed fish. 

[Glaucus]

Nov-Mar for me

[J Francho]

When surface temps fall below 32° F.

[WRB]

Nearly every lake with LMB the spawn doesn't happen all at once, it's happens in waves and last over a month. Mother Nature doesn't put all her eggs in one baskets to increase successful reproduction.

You should have all 3 spawn phases overlapping with bass coming in and going out of the spawn areas.

After the females stop eating during thier pre spawn period and transition to the actually egg laying spawn the bass no longer are feeding, they are in nest protection. When a spawner strikes anything it's intent is to kill the introduer or chase it away.

You must be very quick reacting with any strikes because your lure isn't in the basses mouth more then a second. Very aggressive spawners are easy to catch because they strike over and over again every time the lure gets too close.

If you are not catching spawning bass it's because you don't detect strikes.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

It is obviously true that bass don’t all spawn at the same time . But they spawn in the spring and therefore at least 1/3 of the fish are not biting in spring. Thus, why I ranked spring the hardest season to catch bass (with personal and local bias)

1 hour ago, kenmitch said:

They don't all spawn at the same time, they'll do it in waves. Look for staging areas or parts of the lake that are still cooler.

 

I avoid the beds myself. I'd rather get skunked than bed fish. 

Amen on that last part 

13 minutes ago, WRB said:

 

If you are not catching spawning bass it's because you don't detect strikes.

Tom

Or in my case I’ve never seen one 

[DSTN]

Early spring has typically been ok for me. Nothing special.  For me the hardest time (except when we're iced over) has typically been on the back end of summer before fall bit kicks in.

[Jcj90]

Spawn is the toughest conditions? Not for me. Nov-March for me here in NY. I used to do real good in March, last few years not so much. I guess it has something to do with the unseasonably cold and snowy/wet march weather we’ve had the last few years.

[Koz]

Winter is toughest for me. Even though we have milder winters with temps usually in the 50's during the day and 30's at night I assume that temperature is relative to the bass. So what would be spring air and water temps up north are our winter temps in the south.

 

I probably need to learn more patience if I'm going to fish in the winter.

[928JLH]

Winter here can be tough water temps dip into the 40s. Summer time is difficult because surface temps hit almost 100. Scorching sun and blue bird skies. My favorite times to fish though for the challenge. 

 

Have you looked into getting a fishing kayak? Great way to get off the bank and very economical.

[The Bassman]

For me it's late summer before the first real cold front (usually late Sept.). I call it the doldrums as the air can be very still. Except maybe for early morning topwater my success tanks when there's no wind. In the past I've mostly waded creeks at this time. Fishing can be great then. Because of some orthopedic issues that's less of an option now.

[the reel ess]

Dead of winter in the middle of a cold spell for me. You might get one day that's 55 and sunny, so you go. You are usually fishing all day for (hopefully) one bite. But it can be a big bite.

 

Also, in March-early April, we will get several days of warm weather (middle of the week while I have to work) and I get good reports of big bass jumping into the boat. Then by Saturday we get a cold front with rain and it throws a wet blanket on the bass's prespawn festivities. Usually, followed up by a bluebird sky day and wind out of the NNE. Again, fishing all day for one bite. It doesn't affect crappie as much because they are usually deeper. But it gives bass that were getting in an amorous mood a bad attitude.

[scaleface]

I usually dont even know when the bass are spawning . The water is too dirty to see beds . In the  spring , I simply fish shallow cover than fret over spawning bass.

[N Florida Mike]

For me its mid-summer and mid- winter.

They bite fine for me when their beddin' . The cold fronts in between do slow em down though  when spawning, which can be late dec. if unseasonably warm to Late march if it was a colder winter.

In other words, the spawn doesnt affect the fishing for me at all, it usually makes it better for me. Its the cold ( what counts for cold here ) and the extreme heat that slow em down.

[EGbassing]

On 4/4/2019 at 11:57 AM, kiteman said:

If you're in AL then I think you fall victim to similar patterns as I do.  Spring can usually be categorized as pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn.  Pre-spawn is when I catch the most and the biggest fish.  Spawn I barely catching anything, and post-spawn is about as successful as pre-spawn.  So you're probably in the spawn phase right now as well. If you see bass just chilling around shallows and not moving anywhere, they are males guarding nests, while the females are just roaming around finding other males to spawn with, so none of them are particularly interested in feeding. 

 

In fact one of the most successful ways to catch fish during spawn is to mimic predators like lizards.  The bass won't eat them, but if it gets in their nest they will pick it up in their mouth and spit it out beyond the nest.  You're supposed to set the hook in that brief moment before they spit the predator out.  I think the females are even harder to catch, but they are the bigger and more desirable ones... 

Thanks! I think the shad were actually spawning today but I couldn't get a bite on anything.

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

For me its mid-summer and mid- winter.

They bite fine for me when their beddin' . The cold fronts in between do slow em down though  when spawning, which can be late dec. if unseasonably warm to Late march if it was a colder winter.

In other words, the spawn doesnt affect the fishing for me at all, it usually makes it better for me. Its the cold ( what counts for cold here ) and the extreme heat that slow em down.

Even in my limited experience down there, Those Florida bass just sit back and have a good hearty laugh at all the bass boats during a cold front

[jbsoonerfan]

Late July and August when I would rather just jump in as opposed to fish.

[N Florida Mike]

8 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Even in my limited experience down there, Those Florida bass just sit back and have a good hearty laugh at all the bass boats during a cold front

Pretty much. You know they're there, because you've caught em there, but they wont bite.

But ... that being said you can usually catch a few even then.?

[Bluebasser86]

On 4/4/2019 at 1:20 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Easy answer, spring spawn. It’s funny because that’s what everyone talks about and looks forward too, the toughest fishing of the entire year 

I believe what a lot people think is the spawn is actually prespawn. The fish are shallow and feeding, so they assume they're spawning because they're in the shallows for the first time in months. Once they actually lock on the beds and begin actually spawning, catching them is much more difficult imo. Now for trying to target a really large fish, the spawn is great because they'll sit where you can see them and try to target that large fish specifically. 

 

Winter, especially January and February, are historically my toughest months for numbers but good for catching some of my biggest fish of the year.