Prime months for big bass

[Mr. Aquarium]

I’ve always scratched my head by this. All I hear is fall, winter and early spring(prespawn) is prime time for big bass. But all my biggest bass come from post spawn through summer. I have caught some big fish in the early spring.  But majority of my biggest bass have been In the warmer water. I have no problem of getting numbers of fish fall- early spring. 3s and 4s are common , but 5 lbs plus bass are rare. I’ll Fish the hell of a jig and swimbait

throughout the cold water season.   Toss hair jigs and blades as well. 
 

 One factor I think is the fact that I’ve always been stuck on shore or my small kayak. No electronics. Also at the mercy of the wind.  
now I have a small 10 foot boat. I 100% believe that will be a game changer. I’ll have electronics and a trolling motor. 

[Captain Phil]

Bass don't all spawn at the same time.   Here in Florida, the spawn can start right after Christmas.  I caught my 11 1/2 PB in January.  I have caught numerous bass over 10 in the summer.  I have also fished bass on beds in early June. Since you are fishing from a kayak, I believe your personal results have more to do with the weather than the seasons.  

[Bankbeater]

I've caught all of my bigger size bass from May to October.  Around here it's not a question of when, but more about where they're at during the time you are fishing for them.

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

Bass don't all spawn at the same time.   Here in Florida, the spawn can start right after Christmas.  I caught my 11 1/2 PB in January.  I have caught numerous bass over 10 in the summer.  I have also fished bass on beds in early June. Since you are fishing from a kayak, I believe your personal results have more to do with the weather than the seasons.  

 Up here In Massachusetts our spawn is May through June.  I’m sure some bass spawn earlier and later but not like southern states 

[scaleface]

I don't really have a favorite time that stands out for big bass  . Spring , summer or fall . I dont do a lot of winter fishing . My biggest bass this year came in September , 24 foot deep when the thermocline was dropping into deeper depths .. 

[GreenPig]

I'm in Ga. and my 3 biggest LM were caught in February within a rods length of the bank. But March & April turn out some fats girls too. I fish year round and read all the time that winter's great for catching big girls. Even though I throw jigs and big swimbaits I never catch big bass in the winter but it's my best time #'s wise.

[ww2farmer]

For me, April and May are the best for numbers of big fish...both largemouth and smallmouth.

 

Big smallmouth taper off sharply from early/mid June, and don't seem to show up in bunches for me again until late August, and then all of September, October, and November is good for size.

 

I catch big largemouth all summer long, with a brief lull in late June to mid July. By mid October, getting big green fish in bunches is an exception rather than the rule, but often, even when I'm focusing on smallmouth in later part of our season, I'll go looking for largemouth and catch....sometimes...my biggest fish of the year.

[ChrisD46]

Jan. in FL. followed by Feb. & March in the SE ... As you move further North it becomes an April & May deal .

[scbassin]

It depends on the weather & where you live. When the water starts to warm into the 50 degree range & there is some forage around they will start coming in to get ready to spawn.

[Shimano_1]

February and March have produced my biggest fish here in Kentucky.  I usually do pretty good catching up to 5 lb bass the rest of the year but I've caught most all of my over 6 lb fish in early spring/pre spawn.

[Boomstick]

I've literally caught my two largest fish in August and my second largest in September. 7 or 8 of my top 10 largest fish were caught in August in fact. I'm not saying August is the best month for catching large bass, but it's been my best month.

 

I would say if you target spawning fish, the spawn is your best bet because you can see them in beds up shallow. If you don't target spawning fish then I would say mid August to October would be the best simply because the bass bite tends to be the best there but the most important thing is to be where they are regardless of the time of season.

[DitchPanda]

April,May and October have been my best months consistently for size.

[Bluebasser86]

January-March for me. Only one of my top 5 biggest bass in the state have come outside of that time frame.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Mid fall to early spring when the bigger fish are spawning or going into post spawn are all great times to get a good fish.  By far the best time to catch big numbers of quality fish when they at their heaviest is prespawn. 

The fish are grouping up and aggressively feeding for the upcoming spawn. They are relatively easy to catch especially in wind blown corners as the pressure starts to drop from an approaching front.  

Bladed jigs are deadly that time of year.  They're so versatile, you can fish them like a jig, crankbait or spinnerbait depending on conditions.  

Be careful with the 10ft if its windy out and try to spread the weight out evenly.  If your motor a transom mount get a handle extension. They life much easier.

[Spankey]

For me October. That’s when I expect it to come. My biggest bass this season was Sunday September 13th. 

[gim]

From about late October through mid May, bass season is essentially closed here.  First because of ice on the lakes, and then because it doesn't legally open until mid May.  While you may accidentally run into a bass or two through the ice, specifically targeting them in that manner is fool's gold.  They more or less just go into hibernation under the ice all winter.

 

Bass seem to spawn around here anywhere from early May until mid June.  If you can catch a big one during pre spawn, obviously they are going to be quite heavy.  Otherwise later in the summer and into fall is when they have regained that lost weight from spawning.

[Mr. Aquarium]

I find it odd, I haven’t been able to produce big bags during prime month 

(pre spawn) 

[scaleface]

17 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I find it odd, I haven’t been able to produce big bags during prime month 

(pre spawn) 

My biggest bags have come post spawn . 

[Catt]

Prime months for big bass?

 

January 1st through December 31st

 

My personal best was caught in early February, the other double digits were caught during the dog days of summer & the dead of winter.

 

Records show August nights are my most productive.

[Mike L]

Down here for me the biggest bags have always been from Dec to April.
My top 5, all double digits came from early Jan to late April. 
PB was in mid March

The next 5 were all in the summer. 
 

 

 

Mike

[A-Jay]

 The quest for the biggest brown bass up here in the north woods revolves around open water & access.

Open water can be as early as April and last as late as December.

However, the very beginning & late season angling can get pretty sporty with some stiff winds, challenging waves & air temps well below the Mendoza Line. 

Still, if I can be out on the big water then, where the giants roam, sometimes I can poke a few.

My records show that April, May, August & September offer the best opportunity for plus size fish. 

October can offer some of the best 'numbers trips' of the year.

 The largest smallie for me the past two seasons, both came in May but my PB (in 2017)

came in September.

I do not fish beds so that's off the table in this case. 

A-Jay

 

 

[Paul Roberts]

"Cold Water" period. Top catchability seems to be in the 50s.

[Sphynx]

Biggest LM was a prespawn fish, March if memory serves, largest SM was in September this year..I call it my birthday fish lol...as far as generally speaking, bigger fish in and around spawning periods, and closer to winter, after they've been feeding up for the bad weather seasons, numbers usually peak post spawn and again right after summer, I usually figure out the transitions are here when it goes from daily grind to EZ mode, usually will last a couple of weeks then I gotta go figure out the new patterns again. 

[scaleface]

 A lot  depends on where  one is fishing . In some of the culverts I like , spring and fall is best . A week or two past post spawn , bass  position out on points and deep brush piles . Be prepared to fish them before the fishing pressure destroys that bite . In the good old summertime  on  lakes  with   grass  a shallow bite can be the best for big ones  . In the fall when the thermocline starts to drop  bass are caught deep again , then a week or two later they are back shallow . Like I said on my first post , I dont have a particular month to catch big ones I just explore all my options . 

[the reel ess]

My buddy made me a believer that huge bass can come in winter. He has caught them while trolling for crappie. But when I actually bass fish with him in winter, we are usually lucky to each get a bite. But that tends to be a good one. Spring here is nice because big bass must spawn and they'll usually do that shallow enough to be seen. Also, the big females will weigh more before they spawn because they're holding eggs and have been eating well. The month of April is pretty much the spawn here unless weather has been way out of whack.