Big temp swings.

[Darth-Baiter]

Tomorrow morning when I ease out into the lake it will be 34deg.  Noon will be 68-70.  
 

Tough. I’m stripping layers and stuffing them into a dry sack.   The fish?    I’m not sure.  Water warms slowly.  
 

you all fish huge temp swings?  Successful?

 

persomlly I’m looking for a DD.  Fingers crossed.  Always.

[WRB]

The over night temp drops only affects about 6” of surface water unless it’s windy. Bass are conditioned to severe weather changes during pre spawn and generally stay in water deeper then 8’ moving shallower as the core water warms.

Good luck and catch that DD!

Tom

[casts_by_fly]

air temps aren't that critical aside from the shallows as Tom said.  I've found in the early spring or later fall if we've had good warm water for a while and then get one of those 35 degree nights the shallow fish bite will shut off and you have to back out a couple feet deeper.  They don't go far, but they won't be in the top 2' of the water column.  If you get a warm day following it then they will slide back up when things warm up again.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Most of the water around here is very shallow, most lakes average 2.5' depth, so they warm and cool fast.  It takes 3 or 4 nights of considerably colder weather to set fish back at all IME.  I've found that wind effects water temp more than just one night of cold.  If you get a stiff enough wind consistently, the part of the lake opposite the wind direction warms up as the top layer (warmest water) blows into that corner.  We had conditions like that few days ago.  The water is averaging in about the mid 50s.  The NNW got the SW side of the lake into the 60s, 

[Bankbeater]

Most of the water I fish is between 10 and 20 feet deep.  On a day when it's 30 in the morning and then warms up into the 60s or 70s in the afternoon, the bite shuts down.  I'm not sure what else is going on when this happens, but the bite dies.  After a couple of days of these big temp swings, the bite will pick back up.

[Swamp Girl]

On 4/3/2025 at 10:20 PM, Darth-Baiter said:

Successful?

 

The barometric pressure will be falling and I think that's good for feeding. Buckle up!

[Susky River Rat]

I have been struggling with the weather patterns lately. Doesn’t mean others aren’t doing well I am just not. So, I blame the inconsistent weather like you mentioned. 

[Bird]

There may have been other factors involved but last week I fished a lake that received a very cold rain after a warm sunny day and the bite was way off.

Gizzard shad were actually floating on the surface in the shallows.

I'm sure it could be quite opposite in the summertime.

[Pat Brown]

Cold fronts in the fall = shallow water big fish gorging.

 

Cold fronts in the spring = shallow water big fish sliding a little deeper (usually)

 

Cold fronts in the winter = stay home unless you are insane.

 

Cold fronts in the summer = probably the best fishing you can have in the summer up shallow.

 

Warm fronts in the fall = usually slows the shallow bite down but doesn't move the fish much.  Usually need to slow down and finesse more than power fish when it gets warm and stagnant for a few days in the fall.

 

Warm fronts in the spring = LOT of variables here but for the most part - this is when you can catch the biggest shallow fish at their biggest the easiest.

 

Warm fronts in the winter = can be very good if sustained but general don't mean a whole lot for shallow fish at all.  But this time the shallow fish are mostly not shallow and aren't reacting to a few days of warm weather at all.  The main reason to fish a warm front in the winter is because your guides won't be freezing and you'll enjoy yourself and it will be a nice day!  🙂🙂🙂

 

Warm fronts in the summer = can be very very good if there's a lot of wind and rain.  If they are warm fronts without any wind - can be the toughest fishing in the summer unless you get some good rain that blows out the creeks and stains up the water.  Those steamy still mornings after big storms like this can be THE best to catch giant fish on frogs with minimal effort or skill.  😎😎😎👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 

 

Most hardcore big bass hunters know the REAL secret to catching big fish in ANY season is *stable conditions*. You want many consecutive days of roughly the same weather and that's when you REALLY get them acting stupid - regardless of season so pay attention to stable prevailing conditions.  🙂

[Harold H]

Come fish with me, haha

[Mdd71]

Thanks for the synopsis/refresher on the weather fronts!

[Darth-Baiter]

epic range of responses.  thanks.

 

i will hit the lake again Saturday.  fresh jigs loaded.  the lake had a week of consistent weather.  

 

go time.