Best Time to Fish for Bass: Season, Temperature, Time of Day

Best time to fish for bass by month and state

Agencies measure “best” differently, so each row says what it is based on. These are mostly largemouth numbers, and the smallmouth differences are covered below.

in season · peak

Best water temperature for bass

Agencies tie bass activity to water temperature as well as the calendar.

• Pre-spawn: Iowa says pre-spawn bass feed shallow at 55 to 62°F. Oklahoma’s biggest bass are active when water stabilizes at or above 55°F. Virginia says fish are active above 55°F and slow down below it.
• Spawn: Indiana says beds form as water nears 65°F. Largemouth spawn at about 60°F in Texas, 62 to 65°F in Oklahoma and 63 to 68°F in Alabama and Iowa, according to those states.
• Summer: Iowa says water tops 75°F from late June through August, and most bass avoid water over 80°F and seek 77 to 80°F spots. Oklahoma says as water climbs into the 70s some largemouth form loose schools over flats, in open water and in the main lake.
• Fall: Virginia says bass stay active into the 50s and slow down significantly in the 40s. Iowa says they go deep in the low to mid 50s.

Best time of day to fish for bass

Summer

Early morning and late afternoon or evening are the common answers: Indiana (and night), Wisconsin, Iowa (shallows in early morning, late evening and night) and Florida for topwater lures. Smallmouth in Washington have a summer lull, but dawn and dusk can be very good.

Spring

Indiana says to wait until late afternoon or evening in early May, so the day’s heat can warm the water and wake sluggish fish. Alabama agrees that spring afternoons and evenings can beat early morning, with aggressive feeding in late afternoon and early evening in warmer water and low light. For sunny days Indiana also says late afternoon to early evening.

Fall and winter

Indiana says early fall is a morning and evening bite and mid to late fall an afternoon and early evening bite. Iowa fall bass sit on the deeper ends of flats at dawn and dusk and move up on the flats in midday warmth. In winter Indiana says to fish mid to late afternoon. Virginia smallmouth bite from noon to about 4 p.m. in winter.

Weather, spawn timing and the moon

• Wind: cast at the wind-blown shoreline (Indiana).
• Fronts: fish before a cold front and around a warm front (Indiana).
• After the spawn: Oklahoma sees a lull of about a week. Iowa says females are sluggish for about two weeks, and Alabama says fishing is best just before the spawn and for two weeks after.
• Moon: in Texas ShareLunker records, 22 percent were caught within two days either side of a full moon and 78 percent were not.

Texas also reports what the big fish took: soft plastics accounted for 45 percent of ShareLunker catches, jigs 23 percent, spinnerbaits 12 percent, and crankbaits and live bait 9 percent each.

Bass seasons by season

• Spring: Florida says spring is best, with large bass taken during the March and April peak. Iowa says most trophy bass are egg-carrying females in pre-spawn.
• Summer: Wisconsin and Iowa both say early morning and evening are best in the warm months. Iowa calls summer the most difficult and challenging time to fish for largemouth.
• Fall: Virginia says the biggest bass of the year can come in late fall at low 50s or upper 40s water temperatures. Iowa says fall feeding runs hard at 60 to 50°F.
• Winter: Wisconsin says few bass bite in winter.

Smallmouth bass timing

Smallmouth follow a similar spring peak with some differences. Washington says fishing improves through spring and peaks at the spawn, has a summer lull but good dawn and dusk hours, and improves in fall. Wisconsin names June just after the spawn and early fall for lake smallmouth, and New York’s Lake Erie fishery runs April to late June. Details are on the smallmouth bass page, and the largemouth vs smallmouth guide shows how to tell the two apart.

Rules

Seasons, size limits and bag limits for bass vary by state and water. Check the agency where you fish, such as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.