What Ever Happened to "Be on the Lake at Sun Up?"

[WRB]

In regards to being on the water as the sun breaks dawn's early light, it is an important time to be in tune with nature in sprite. As far as bass fishing is concerned; the summer warm water period in lakes that have threadfin shad for example, dawns early light is the time the bait fish migrate out from thier night hidding places and the predator bass are active looking for an easy meal. The reverse happens at dusk, the shad or bait fish return to shoreline hidding places and the bass ambush them. Lakes that don't have shad migration usually have crawdads, sunfish and other young of the year bait fish moving near cover to take advantage of emerging insect life and the low light conditions offer the predator bass an advantage to capture prey.

The suns rays penetration into water changes radically as it raises higher above the horizone. About 30 degrees angle above horizone (9 AM or so in the summer) the rays can almost penetrate to maximum depth and this signals a change to how predators like bass position to ambush prey; they move deper into cover to take advantage of shadows or out into deeper water to take advantage of shools of migrating bait fish.

The active shoreline bass now require a change in presentation techniques to continue to catch them as the sun light becomes more intense.

My preference is to fish the low light periods during the summer; the bass are generally more active and my toasted skin can no longer tolerate intense sun light, plus it good for my soul to keep in touch with nature.

WRB

[Eddie Munster]

Hmm...

I suspect most of the "old farts" have already had a cup of coffee and a couple of cigaretts by 4:30...

In this neighborhood, it's my job to get the birds up!

8-)

Ha! I love that roadwarrior! Too funny. Gotta add that to my mind's rolidex.  

[Popeye]

I'm up at 04:00 every day during the week for work anyway and I have developed that "biological clock" inside that automatically wakes me up every morning even if it's not a workday. As such, it is no problem for me to get up and out the door by 05:00 for the 15-20 minute drive to my local lake and on the water at daybreak (local lake regulations only permit you to be on the water from daybreak to sunset). Haven't done much evening fishing yet but may start on Wednesday afternoons in a few weeks since my new job won't allow me to fish on Wednesday mornings (like I'm doing tomorrow:o)

[weknowhowtolive]

I really hate getting up early, but when I go fishing I do. I have a buddy who is the same way. He asked me to show him how to bass fish (not that I know much more than him) and I said ok. The first 3 times we went we didnt get to the ponds until 3pm. By then it was too hot to do anything. Oh well!

[Willzx225]

I always try to get to the ramp before sunrise but when I fished out of the back of the boat for the Clarks Hill Elite Series those guys got on the water around 7-8am.  I would have never thought they would be that relaxed about it but I guess if you have it figured out then you have it figured out.  

[Still a Bigbuckifan]

Down here in florida you have to be at the lake early, That is if you like to catch fish. The 95 degree heat, no wind ,no fish starts at about 10:30 - 7:00pm and nothins better at 5 oclock in the morning than a 5 pounder on topwater .Man i love florida

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I live 100+ miles from you but if you want a real partner, next yrs spawn, I'll meet you, in your driveway, at 3. (gives us a little time to explore a topwater bite before sight fishing)

I'll have the coffees too, one less stop  

[tyrius.]

So, tell me. Do you get up early and fish? Or are you a 9ish kinda Angler?

Was on the shoreline making my first casts prior to 4:15 in the am last Sunday.  Is that early enough?

In that past few weeks that I've done this I've found that the bite slows down significantly at around 6:30-7:00am.  Prior to that it has been GREAT!!

[Team9nine]

I've never been a morning person, but I got up early like most everyone else while fishing tournies all those years. But 2 years ago I retired from tourney fishing and started sleeping in on weekends. Seemed like the club kept starting earlier and earlier every year. Got to the point where guys were using the morning bite as a crutch because they couldn't figure out how to catch them after 9AM with the sun up.

Now I've given up fighting the traffic at the ramp at 5:30AM. I sleep in and get a good nights rest, have a nice lunch, get some honey-do's done around the house and then head to the lake around 3PM. All the tourney guys are leaving about the time I pull in. Most recreational boaters are out an hour or two after that to get back in time for dinner, and I end up with most of the lake to myself. With DST the sun doesn't set until 9:30 PM, and the sunset bite is almost as peaceful and as good as the sunrise bite, so I still end up catching more than my share of bass.  

-T9

[RLinNH]

I live 100+ miles from you but if you want a real partner, next yrs spawn, I'll meet you, in your driveway, at 3. (gives us a little time to explore a topwater bite before sight fishing)

I'll have the coffees too, one less stop

 And don't think that I won't take you up on that either. I am looking forward to it. As far as the Coffee goes, I am a home Coffee Bean roaster (yes, a coffee snob   ). So, I'll have the coffee ready for you when you get here. 8-)

[simplejoe]

I have the boat hooked up and the rods, tackle and cooler in it the night before. I'm a morning person I get up at 4:30 my coffee is ready for me,brush my teeth, take the morning pee and I'm gone  I drive 4.5 miles I'm at the launch. Like other people said here I'm home by the time my kids and wife get up unless I'm having a real good morning

[BassmanDan]

I guess I'm in the minority but I'm just not a morning person...even though I get up at 4:45 for work. On Fridays I sleep in, have a cup of coffee and load up...then it's hit the lake by 9ish and fish hard all day. The NC heat is brutal this time of year but I'm fortunate to have prime deep shady banks on my lake to chase lunkers around...and the big fish do like to bite between 10 and 3 if you're persistant enough.

[roadwarrior]

...and the big fish do like to bite between 10 and 3 if you're persistant enough.

We have a lot of guys on this board that agree with that observation!

8-)

[fishfordollars]

...and the big fish do like to bite between 10 and 3 if you're persistant enough.

We have a lot of guys on this board that agree with that observation!

8-)

Heck yea.

[CFFF 1.5]

My Dad always had me on the water before sun up and I am always on the water before sun up. That is the way it is supposed to be. If you aren't there early enough to use the boat lights you are late. Early to bed early to rise.

[wagn]

I get home from work at midnight after a 10 to 14 hour day. So getting up at 4am is a bit hard for me. Early morning is usually a special occasion I do a few times a year. Like this morning i got up at 5:30 to go float tubing at an untouched pond that I have to hike to. Not something I do on a regular basis, otherwise i'd never sleep

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

We get up early. Especially in times like July and August when in Midday it can gets upward of 100 degrees we get out there when its about 4:30 and still dark and fish until about 9:00

[rokibass]

I always shoot for sun up (ice fishing included). The only times I don't are the evening trips and when I take the kids out (they're 6 and 4). I have no problems getting up because I start work at 6am so I normally don't sleep past 4:30. Depending on the bite I'll be off at 10 if its slow or keep going if the bite is good.

[Dibbs]

I don't get home from work until almost midnight and can't ever fall asleep until about 0400.  Needless to say I am not a morning person.

[=Matt 5.0=]

My Dad always had me on the water before sun up and I am always on the water before sun up. That is the way it is supposed to be. If you aren't there early enough to use the boat lights you are late. Early to bed early to rise.

Agreed.

I usually leave the driveway around this time....

[daviscw]

I guess I'm in the minority but I'm just not a morning person...even though I get up at 4:45 for work. On Fridays I sleep in, have a cup of coffee and load up...then it's hit the lake by 9ish and fish hard all day. The NC heat is brutal this time of year but I'm fortunate to have prime deep shady banks on my lake to chase lunkers around...and the big fish do like to bite between 10 and 3 if you're persistant enough.

Agreed! I won't lie, I haven't fished before 12:00 this year! I can also tell you I've had one of my best years ever with this routine. All my biggest fish have came from about 1-4:00pm.

[MGilbert3]

i like getting out there early.  I like fishing topwater with stickbaits and chuggers and i seam to have best luck early in the morning

[Wayne P.]

I go early and stay late. I catch the most and the biggest around mid-day.

[Tyrone]

If i shore fish alone(like usual), i make sure i am at my spot just before sunrise. If my uncle invites me on his boat, i am at his mercy... He usually isn't on the lake til 7am. No matter what time of year, always 7am. Man i need my own boat to do things the way i want!!

[MattStrykul]

Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy. Tournament days I get up at 3:45am and leave at 4:00. I love it though, and I'm not even tired at the time. If I had to get up that early for school it would be a different story