Four season anglers, which season gives you the most trouble?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

So which season do you find you struggle the most during, or which season to just dislike the most to fish during?

 

I need to wait until the end of Spring to really answer my own question, but since starting back I've now fished the Summer, Fall, and Winter hard.    Winter was easily my favorite, and very eye opening.  It won easily in terms of numbers, and big fish.   Spring has been Hades on Earth.....between me not finding quality fish, the extreme increase in human activity, and the weather is oddly less comfortable to fish in, it's already 81 here today.   

 

Any other Spring haters ?

[roadwarrior]

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

   Any other Spring haters ?

 

No...

[Steveo-1969]

Winter is the toughest season for me to catch bass. I fish a river that gets down in the 30s during the winter. I haven’t found any smallmouth wintering holes I can reach from the bank so for me the smallmouth just disappear. I start catching them from the bank again in April as the water warms up.

[Jar11591]

As a 3 season fisherman, I'm really curious to see what the worst season is for people who don't have frozen lakes is. I've seen all four seasons mentioned as the worst by different members here. The poll should be interesting.

[Catt]

Down here we have 

Pre-spawn 

Spawn

Post spawn 

Summer

Fall

Winter

 

Actually pre-spawn/spawn irritates me the most!

 

Bass are scattered & constantly moving. The weather is everything from sleet to sunny & in the 70s. Fronts moving through every 2-3 days.

 

It is however time to catch NADINE!

[KSanford33]

For me, it's winter by far. The majority of the lakes are frozen over, and the river water temperature is in the low 30's. The only bite I end up getting is frostbite.

[ironbjorn]

I'm a 3 season angler usually, but with the warmer Winters of recent years I've been able to get out some in the Winter. I've had some killer Winter days, but more bad than good, and it's not fun to fish in the Winter in the North. So usually I'm Spring, Summer, and Fall. Of those, Spring is the worst for me. I voted Winter though.

[PressuredFishing]

Winter

[Standard]

Beginning of March to second Saturday in May, mainly because bass season is closed during that time here in MN..

[GreenPig]

Summer. Here in Georgia with our humidity it's like being in a sauna. 

[TnRiver46]

Middle to late autumn 

 

spring can be tough for black bass here but only because there are 600 million white bass and skipjack herring running interference and mating all over the place 

[Susky River Rat]

Winter is terrible here. Water temps in the low 30s. Ice floating or forming in slack water. The fish just do not seem to want to eat generally. Now the 48-50 degree mark and warming seems to be the ticket when activity starts going. 
 

Summer can be hard here depending on water conditions. 

[J._Bricker]

I’m just surprised there were three other choices other than winter, not that I don’t continue to try 

[Pat Brown]

North Carolina 'seasons' are so poorly defined at this point that it's difficult to say which season is the best or worse but the late summer/early fall was pretty tough for a second there.  I'm gonna call it 'fall' more so than summer because it felt transitional.

[Darth-Baiter]

i want to say winter, but it really depends on which season i happen to be in. 

 

i can manage a skunk anytime.  haha..but winter i'm cold and skunked.  seems to hurt more. 

[Texas Flood]

45 minutes ago, Standard said:

Beginning of March to second Saturday in May, mainly because bass season is closed during that time here in MN..

I didnt know that was for bass. Always thought the opener was for walleye and pike.

[Mobasser]

Winter is my worst season. When I'm able to go, the fishing is very slow. My favourite is summer. The fish are much easier to pattern for me. Spring and fall are ok, but many times bass are scattered.

[WRB]

As Catt said bass seasons differ from human seasons Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Bass know the cold water Winter seasonal period, Pre Spawn the transition from cold water to warming water. Spawn the actual bedding and egg laying seasonal period, Post Spawn the recovery period after spawning, Summer the warmest water seasonal period and Fall the cooling water seasonal period transition to cold water Winter.

Every region where bass live go through their cycle of life seasonal periods. Bass are cold blood and have body temperature equal to the water temperature they are acclaimed to. Water temperature is what triggers the procreation time to spawn, their metabolism time to eat. Dissolved oxygen levels they need to survive or thrive must be between 3 to 12 mL/g for hours of time, too low they suffocate or too high can cause brain damage.  

The cold water period ass become lethargic with very metabolism but easier to locate, can be tough bite. Early pre spawn as bass start to transition to pre spawn can tough to locate bass, when you do can be good. 

Post spawn is short 2 week or so time and tough to get bass to strike, but with the over lap between groups of bass going back and forth from spawn cycles you can usually locate feeding bass.

Summer can be tough with the abundance of young of the year prey available, but the+warm water increases the need to eat making it a variety of choices so catching bass is usually easier. Summer brings out recreation users on the water, that is when night rules with quieter and less boat traffic.

Fall can be like early pre spawn with everything moving and transitioning making locating feeding bass a trial.

Tom

[Big Hands]

Winter is slower fishing, with the water temps getting ALL THE WAY down to the low 50's here at the one lake I am basically forced to fish due to "Q" issues (LOL), but I usually enjoy fishing in the winter.

 

I say usually because this winter has been a fishing disaster here at Castaic. Between the rain, wind, ramp conditions, the whole lake TBH being clogged with debris, and the water itself looking like a Yoohoo factory, it's either been closed outright or not worth the bother. This is some of the debris they managed to remove from the ramp. 

 

 

The transition periods give me the most trouble. Once they settle into a seasonal pattern, it is generally consistent. 

[softwateronly]

Early/mid fall for me. Without electronics I have a hard time locating them till the water drops into the 50’s. 
 

scott

[Bankc]

Winter, by far.  I might catch one bass from January to February, if I'm lucky. 

 

Spring is second.  Around here it's hard to find days where you can safely get on the water in spring.  It's either too windy or severe storms.  It'd be different if I didn't have to work weekdays, as there are good days in the spring, but it's luck of the draw if they fall on a weekend.  Two years ago, I didn't have one decent day from late February until the third week of May that I could get out on a lake. 

 

Summer is tough, but nowhere near as tough as winter.  I can usually catch at least one bass each time I go out, even if I do have to brave 100°+ temperatures.

[GaryH]

Winter hands down. Calling for 4 to 8” tonite. Only winter fishing I enjoy is in Florida.

[TheSwearingAngler]

I caught 3 bass in less than 10 minutes on Nov 13th and not a one since… and I’ve been out a lot. Winter has been awful, if it wasn’t for the pickerel bite I may have snapped.

[king fisher]

Jan, Feb, March, are the worst, because I am working every day, and can't go bass fishing.  August through October are tough because it is the rainy season, the water is dirty, and the bass are scattered.  June is my best month.  The water is at it's lowest and cleanest, the bass are in schools, and positioned on structure.  

[TriStateBassin106]

I always hated winter since I live in NJ but I what I hate even more is the time right now in my neck of the woods.. (late winter) with the mildness we had everyone jumped the gun for spring a few weeks back when we had a few 60+ days (myself included) and now we're all stuck in this purgatory of 45 to 49 degree weather with no end in sight for now. I got all my gear ready for spring now i'm stuck with constant 40 degree weather and water temps plus  possible late snow storms.... 

 

This is my forecast for the next two weeks.... d**n you winter!