What time are you on the water? Eastern Time Zone.

[Bass-1]

Tomorrow is a tournament day, so after getting up at 5am to get ready to go to work, I'm getting up at 4am to drive over an hour to my tournament, fish 7a-3pm, drive another hour home, then it's the hot tub and cold beer after the win..... ;D

[morts10]

Off work at noon. Stop at wally world for ice and popcorn chicken. At the river at one. Decide whether to wade or float. Line wet at one fifteen. Home about five-ish. That's during the week.

Weekend involves the grandkids and all bets are off. Might get to lake by ten (miracle but has happened) most times it is noonish. fish until they get tired or can't stand whining anymore. I love my grandkids but I know why tigers eat their young!

In my youth it was half hour before light and half hour after. I would say average fish per hour hasn't changed much. I like to think I'm fishing smarter but it could be just failing memory.

mort

[bigtimfish]

I like to be on the water as the sun comes up. That being said, the availability of the topwater bite where I fish changes throughout the year. Right now you can catch fish on topwater all day long. In fact, right now, my Pop-r and my spook are my search baits. I will still throw a worm if I'm not getting hits someplace to see if there is anything active down in the grass, but I will catch more and bigger fish on top right now.

What is the water temp if you are catching them on top all day? I tried a few weeks ago and it was already almost 88 deg water temp in 13' of water at around 7am. That's deep crankin and c rigging time for me.

[Dwight Hottle]

My early starts are round 8-9am. I guess if your retired it doesn't matter as much. Al Linder always said the fish don't start to bite until I get there anyhow. Time of year & water temps dictate sleep in or get up early. ;D

[JellyMan]

3 to 4 times a week. 5 - 6pm till dark which is close to 9pm.

[bigtimfish]

launch in darkness, on my spot and casting at daybreak.

[Ellesar]

I like to be on the water as the sun comes up. That being said, the availability of the topwater bite where I fish changes throughout the year. Right now you can catch fish on topwater all day long. In fact, right now, my Pop-r and my spook are my search baits. I will still throw a worm if I'm not getting hits someplace to see if there is anything active down in the grass, but I will catch more and bigger fish on top right now.

What is the water temp if you are catching them on top all day? I tried a few weeks ago and it was already almost 88 deg water temp in 13' of water at around 7am. That's deep crankin and c rigging time for me.

Water temp can get up to 90 degrees. But the bass will still come up out of the grass and nail topwaters. On Guntersville big bass usually do one of two things when it gets hot. They bury themselves in the grass, the go deep on ledges in the main channel. Some will hide under docks but thats a distant 3rd. The ones that go into the grass will still come up for things on the surface.

This time of year the schoolers seem to get really active the hotter it gets. A really hot, humid day, the kind that has a tendency to spawn afternoon storms will get the schoolers really active throughout the day. You aren't going to get the big ones schooling like that, but catching 75-100 smaller ones is a lot of fun too.

[SirSnookalot]

I have a line in the water between 3 am & 5 am ever day. Leave about 9, take a nap and back fishing for a couple of pm hours

[tnbassfisher]

3 or 4 Pm.

[scbassin]

Well my feet hit the deck by the crack of noon so I can be on the lake by 1. This time of year I usually don't go until about 4pm & fish till 9 or 10.

[RhodyBass]

I like being on the water an hour before sunrise.

[aarogb]

    I am usually on the water at 6:30 a.m. everytime I go fishing, but I would like to be on the water by 6:00 a.m.

[Under the Radar]

The same time every time... to the second.

When I get there.

Now how's that for punctuality?  :  :

[BassDeaton01]

I am usually putting in around 6:30 am...normally i always wish i would've been 30 mins earlier though.

[Fish Chris]

All you "early guys" are cracking me up

Might I ask.... "Why" ?

It is a straight up fact of the matter, that more big bass are caught between 10 am and 2 pm than any other time of the day (or night). Doug Hannon will tell you that about FLB from Florida, and I will tell you the same thing about FLB from Cali.

Not to mention, why do you want to be on the water when the most "other guys" are also on the water ???

What I've found, is that I can sleep a little more. Get to the lake around 9 or 10am, and be there "just before" primetime. Then, what's even better, is that the vast majority of guys that get on the water early, are wimps, who leave after only 6 hours of fishing.... which if they started at 6 am, is only noon !

So 2 hours after I get their, the lake is emptying out of "annoying wakemakers and fishspookers"

So, I go on and fish my normal 10 hour day, which in the Summer is often close to 8pm.

The thing is, I know myself..... and even if I started at 5 am, I'd have a hard time getting off the water before 8pm anyway.

Remember, if you fish like everybody else, you'll catch what everybody else catches.

The whole "have to be there early" thing is like a mass brainwashing.

Forget about everybody else. Reevaluate your timing. See if you don't do "at least as well" if not better, by shifting to later hours.

Peace,

Fish

PS, Rolo, I'm proud of you

[Fishing Rhino]

I have always enjoyed being on the water just as the sky is getting light in the east.

Watching the world wake up as the day dawns holds a special attraction to me.

Glass smooth water.  Mist rising from the surface.  Watching the bubble trails betray the presence of snapping turtles and their movement beneath the surface.  Some critters waking up and becoming active.  Others heading home after foraging all night.

As the song says, "These are a few of my favorite things".

I'd still do it.  But, I launch on the property of another, and do not want to potentially disturb them, though they told me it wouldn't.

So, I still wake before daylight, check out the gear, organize my canoe, make any changes in lures and baits according to the day's plans, ice some water and a can or two of Coke in the cooler, grab a bite to eat, and if there is time check out this site.

There was something special about violating the calm surface of the pond with a topwater at daybreak.

Which reminds me, it's about time to rig one of the poles with a topwater plug.  Haven't tossed one yet this year.

Mornin' all.

[Catt]

Forecast Saturday July 18th

Mostly cloudy

20 percent chance of showers & thunderstorms

Humidity @ 96%

High near 93 with heat index values as high as 101.

Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph

I can assure you this Cajun aint gonna be on the water during the heat of the day

Tonight:

Partly cloudy

30 percent chance of showers & thunderstorms

Low around 67

North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

The little ole Stratos will be anchored on main structure no later than 8 o'clock pm; I'll hop from structure to structure until about 2 o'clock am or until the wind dies.

[wavewalker]

600 pm to . or as long as i can stay a wake rather fish in the dark

[christopherjake]

We are usually on the water right before sun up, whcih is about 8:30 Eastern time.

[3H]

Depends, sometimes me and my buddies will stay up and drink all night and hit the water by 430am.  99% of the time I'll be hitting the water around noon or 7pm.

[FEVER Erie - St Clair]

I agree with Fish Chris - the crack of Noon for me!

Now practice fishing for a tournament - that's different. Fishing the tournament - that's different. You really need to know the various fish activity levels from first sun until 4 or so.

But day in, day out, fun fishing, exploring new areas, working on new presentations, experimenting with new baits, looking for big fish - the crack of noon is just about perfect, right after a stop for early lunch! Then it's usually until, and occasionally after, dark.

I couldn't begin to even guesstimate the number of big smallmouth and largemouth I would not have caught if I was off the water by 4:30 or 5 in the afternoon, when most head home for dinner.

My experience in this neck of the woods, from my log book (with some exceptions based on weather conditions, etc);

Spring, BIG fish almost any time of the day.

Summer, BIG fish between 10:30 and 5.

Fall - Big fish between 9 and 4.

Of course there are morning bites, and evening bites, where there are generally more fish feeding overall, so you often get quantity. But there are also mid-day bites, late afternoon bites and night bites - especially on good structure - and this, for me at least, is when I often hit some of the biggest fish of the year.

[Fish Chris]

Hey Fever, but I think you might agree, that if everybody else fished at the same hours we do, then these hours would not treat us as well as they do.

It's only because we are doing something different than the crowds (in this case, fishing different hours) that we gain the benefit.

If EVERYBODY else starts fishing during these hours, I'll consider getting on the water at sun up

.....and if EVERYBODY would stop throwing Senko's, I'd give it a couple years, then maybe try them myself

Peace,

Fish

[bilgerat]

On the water about 6-7 pm, then well into the night, sometimes until 3 am if the bite is on. I rarely fish during daylight hours, the exception being if it is a cloudy or rainy day.

[FEVER Erie - St Clair]

Fish Chris,

I agree 100%!

Wait a minute, forget everything I said above!  

What was I thinking . . .