Time Of Day

[padlin]

I'm under the impression the best time of day for LM in the summer is night time. As it's rare I get out then, not being much of a night person, I usually try to be on the water at dawn or dusk, so much so I can't remember the last time I went out in the middle of the day. So the question is, am I right in my assumptions for one that can get out anytime one wants or is the middle of a sunny day worth the time.

 

As I'm in New England day time heat wouldn't stop me as opposed to those in the deep south.

 

 

[gim]

I prefer morning or evening too in the summer because of the heat. I am in the Upper Midwest and the heat/humidity bothers me.

 

I try to target cloudy/rainy days. There’s less people/boats and the fishing is often better.

 

That being said, you can still catch fish midday on a warm sunny day. They are seeking relief from the heat and sun just like people are. Think locations that offer shade and cooler temperatures. The fish will also probably not be as aggressive as they might be in the morning or evening either.

[WRB]

Smallmouth in water with good clarity can be very active during mid day. Smallies are sight feeders but wary. So think finesse finesse, light line, long casting to sight fish.

A tube rigged on a Ned head jig is effective for example.

Where I fish in SoCal mid during the summer is punishment.

Tom

[BigAngus752]

I don't shy away from bright, sunny summer days simply because the sun and lack of oxygen in the water puts the bass in predictable places.  Sure, getting the boat on the water before the sun comes up leads to more action during the morning bite, but I don't feel like I can't catch a bass on a summer afternoon.  Especially on the lakes I know the best.  Go fish when you can.  Figuring them out is the fun part.  If they were easy to catch I would have gotten bored with it years ago.  

[LrgmouthShad]

Docks near me right now are best heat of the day, as high as the sun can get. Same for any other shade you can find. 

Fishing offshore tomorrow during cloudy conditions, I am expecting my best bite window to be mid-day when winds pick up. 

 

[Bird]

Not the norm, but caught my PB during midday in hot August with bluebird skies.

 

I don't quit fishing just because the sun is straight up but do look for shade or deeper cover.

Fishing success may slow some but doesn't stop.

 

[The Bassman]

I find that the only impact from time of day is my own comfort. Many an early morning outing has started slow and gotten better as the day progressed. I was out today between 10:30 and 1:00 with bluebird skies and did real well. In Fisherman had an article this month that pretty much debunked traditional thinking.

[padlin]

Thanks all. Heading out tomorrow, think I'll sleep in for the 1st time this year.

[Bluebasser86]

The biggest bass I've caught in my home state was in the middle of a hot July day. The bite may not be best then, but I think it makes fish more predictable and easier to determine where they'll be. 

[roadwarrior]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

The biggest bass I've caught in my home state was in the middle of a hot July day. 

 

Prime Time is 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

 

 

 

                                                    

[Catt]

12 hours ago, padlin said:

I'm under the impression the best time of day for LM in the summer is night time.

 

You would be wrong ?

 

Even in the extreme heat of the Gulf Coast there are far more day anglers than night anglers.

 

Unless there's a night tournament I usually don't see another boat all night. 

 

Sorry guys night fishing ain't that popular!

[scaleface]

If I could hack the heat , I would be out there on those 90 to 100 degrees days .The fishing is still good .

[Jig Man]

I have been going during the day and doing fine.  I took my neighbor yesterday.  We fished from 7:30-2:30 and caught 52 bass with 7 nice keepers.  All were caught on shaky using Elaztech worms.  The water was 88° and the air was 87°.  
 

What works for me is take ice water to drink in my Yetti cup and a cooler of ice water for my Endura cloth.  I keep it wet with the ice water and wear it around my neck.  

[rtwvumtneer6]

I go when I can and play the hand I'm dealt. 

 

The heat of summer can be tough (on us) but it makes the lakes I fish rather predictable. Plenty of H20 and the right clothing/sun protection are critical.  I'm a shallow water guy, and I'll spend all day making 1,000 pitches into grass and anything that creates shade hoping to hit 5 of them in the head.  Usually works, but you have to be commited to it and stay in it mentally or they'll catch you with your pants down.  

 

I'm sure others here can chime in on deep water success... Either way fish can be caught.  

[GRiver]

The bite can be tough here in FL in the summer.

I’m always looking for transitions, sun-shade, cooler- warmer water, cover to open water.

 I try to get out at daylight and start, the bite slows way down around 10-11am until around 4pm.

if I’ve going to stay out all I day and make the best of it.

[the reel ess]

14 hours ago, padlin said:

I'm under the impression the best time of day for LM in the summer is night time. As it's rare I get out then, not being much of a night person, I usually try to be on the water at dawn or dusk, so much so I can't remember the last time I went out in the middle of the day. So the question is, am I right in my assumptions for one that can get out anytime one wants or is the middle of a sunny day worth the time.

 

As I'm in New England day time heat wouldn't stop me as opposed to those in the deep south.

 

When the water is colder I'll fish the middle of the day maybe all the way through spawn. But as it warms I start shifting towards sunrise/evening. Lower light periods and better temps are the attraction down south. Sunrise is my absolute favorite time to be on the water. There's something spiritual about seeing the sun rise on a new day. But I have a job so it's necessary for me to fish some evenings if I want to go during the week. I will say that lately, I could go at 10:00AM and still catch as many bass. They just haven't been munching early.

[gim]

13 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Docks near me right now are best heat of the day, as high as the sun can get. Same for any other shade you can find. 

When I go fishing this weekend, I'll be starting in the AM and target shallow water areas with an aggressive approach.  I often catch a few fish doing this.  If there's clouds, that bite is often extended longer into the day.  As the sun gets higher though, the fish gravitate towards docks to seek relief from the sun and heat.  So my tactic changes.  That being said, I still do occasionally burn a faster-moving lure past a dock and one will come out and strike it.  A spinnerbait that bumps a post is often a trigger.

[Zcoker]

In my experience, any time is a good time with fishing. You see, what matters more than anything with fishing is having a bait in the water, no matter what, when, or where, no matter time of day or time of night, having a bait in the water is about as real as it gets. 

[Tennessee Boy]

Around here,  feeding times are not determined by the sun or moon.  They are determined by the guy controlling the generator at the dam.  ?

[Bankc]

Every day is different and every body of water is different.  Every time I think I know ahead of time when or where the fish will be biting, I'm proven wrong.  And even when I take this into account, and do the opposite of what I think, I'm still proven wrong.  But somehow, after giving up on what I think I know, I almost always manage to stumble into some fish.  

[Choporoz]

26 minutes ago, Bankc said:

Every day is different and every body of water is different.  Every time I think I know ahead of time when or where the fish will be biting, I'm proven wrong.  And even when I take this into account, and do the opposite of what I think, I'm still proven wrong.  But somehow, after giving up on what I think I know, I almost always manage to stumble into some fish.  

+1

 

I, like many here, have caught some of my biggest fish between 10 and 2, often in summer.  However, I do generally struggle for numbers in summer during those hours.  The bite windows can vary wildly.  There's usually a window with active fish within the 6 to 10 AM time frame in most of the places I fish...not necessarily one mid day every day.   But there are a couple of factors that affect me more than the fish.  Mid day is usually more windy than dawn and dusk.  Fishing deep in the wind is hard for me.  Another is that I am not going to be as sharp at 1pm when it the heat index is 102.  I miss bites in high heat and or high winds that I wouldn't miss at 8AM.

[roadwarrior]

4 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Around here,  feeding times are not determined by the sun or moon.  They are determined by the guy controlling the generator at the dam.  ?

Current trumps everything on a river.

[crypt]

anytime for me works...................there are 24 hours in a day and sometimes I can only go whenever time allows.

[Sphynx]

I go fishing when I have openings in my schedule to go, so I don't really think I can speak with huge amounts of authority, however I have caught fish at all hours of the day, all seasons of the year at one time or another...to me the big thing is comfort, I don't like sunburns, or dehydration, or heat strokes, I also don't like frostbite or hypothermia, so I tend to avoid going in miserable conditions, but for those who want to push through that stuff, it has been my limited experience that they are very, very predictable during the miserable times.

[RDB]

19 hours ago, padlin said:

I'm under the impression the best time of day for LM in the summer is night time.

IMO, there is no universal best time of day but for the individual there may be depending on how & where you like to fish.  As an example, yesterday I went to a smaller lake that I fish fairly often.  The lake is surrounded with shallow reeds but when you get to ~5+ feet of depth, there is very little in the way of cover/structure…it’s basically a bowl.  If I were a bank beater, morning and evenings would probably be the better times.  However, shallow water fish on this lake tend to scatter or pull offshore as the sun gets high (water 89 degrees yesterday).  Because I’m comfortable offshore and know the location of multiple roadbeds and rock/brush piles, I won’t hit the water before around 11:00 in the summer.  The lack of offshore cover/structure leads to the tendency for bass to stack up on what there is.  It’s a bonus that many of them are larger bass.