Bert Swope
The best month to fish for largemouth bass depends on a number of factors. Among them are weather, temperature and habitat requirements.
During spawning season, males seek a shallow area protected from rough water to lay their eggs. This spot should be within 10 feet of shore in depth ranging from 1 to 6 feet. Ideally, it should be near a pocket of bulrushes or next to a sunken log.
Spring
Spring is a great time to go bass fishing, as bass are on the move and looking for their spawning grounds. Whether you’re fishing for largemouth bass or smallmouth bass, this is the best time to get in on the action.
The bass spawn cycle starts in early spring and continues through late April or May, depending on the region you live in. This period is often referred to as “pre-spawn” or “spawning.”
Pre-spawn bass typically migrate from the deep water of their winter hang outs in shallower waters where they will lay their eggs on a muddy or sandy surface. These spawning areas are commonly found near points, ridges, coves and channels where shallow shallows meet deeper water.
A good way to find these areas is to keep track of how much water temperature changes throughout the day. If the lake’s water temperatures are fluctuating too quickly, the fish might be moving to different areas of the lake or up and down in the water column.
During the Spring pre-spawn, bass are most likely to be found in shallow waters where they can shelter from the wind and cold air during the day. These areas can include rocky areas, docks and emergent grasses.
Once the sun starts warming the water and the bass become more active, anglers can expect to find them around shallow mudlines created by wind or waves. Using brightly colored lures, drag your line across a mudline to draw strikes from hungry bass hiding in the shallow water.
Another effective technique during the Spring is to fish a lipless crankbait along the top of pond vegetation. This allows the bait to float in the current while allowing the bass to ambush the bait from the bottom of the pond.
You can also catch bass during the Spring by slowly retrieving weighted or diving crankbaits across ledges or slopes where they are holding in slightly deeper water, adjacent to their spawning areas. Bang the lure against chunk rock or pause it momentarily to mimic a crawdad running across the bottom.
Summer
The best time to go bass fishing in Summer is when the water temperatures are comfortable. This is usually in the morning and early afternoon when the water temperatures are lower than they will be later on in the day.
When the water temperature is cooler, this means that the bass will have a better chance of feeding and finding their prey easier. They will also have a higher metabolism rate than they would in the hotter months of the year, making them more active.
In the summer, they tend to move out of their post-spawn locations to find deeper water where they can gorge themselves on baitfish and bugs. They will also be in a lot of cover, which makes topwater lures an excellent choice for this time of the year.
You can fish these areas using a variety of techniques including casting with soft plastics and Texas rigged creature baits, or diving a crankbait or jig with crawfish trailers to fish deep holes and channels in the shallows.
If you want to catch some big bass in the summer, try working a topwater frog over those heavy scum mats that form in many lakes during this time of the year. These mats are full of frogs and other small creatures that a bass will naturally feed on.
Another great option for catching some big bass in the summer is to fish around docks. This is because they are often in a lot of cover and the bass can see these docks from a distance, giving you an advantage over if they are out in the open where they can easily be seen.
When fishing the docks in the summer, you should use small craws and jigs with a twitch of the line as your bait to entice the bass into striking. You can also choose to add some flash to your bait as this is often an indicator that the bass are there.
You can always make the most of the summer when you get out and spend some time on the lake with a guide who will show you all of their inside tips based on years of experience. They will take you to the bass-filled locations where they will be hanging out in order for you to have an opportunity to catch some big bass!
Fall
Fall is one of the most popular times of year to go bass fishing. However, finding bass in the fall can be challenging because of the change in air and water temperatures and decreased hours of daylight. This makes it important to understand the nuances of the fall season to maximize your catch rates.
As air and water temperatures begin to decline in late fall, bass move shallower to find cover and food. This can make it hard to locate the fish, but if you know where to look, you can bump up your fall catches with a few key tips.
In most northern lakes, bass feed on preyfish that remain abundant in early fall, including crayfish, sunfish species, shiners, and chubs. They also rely on small panfish, such as goldfish, which are abundant in mid-fall and can be caught with live minnows, worms, or other artificial baits.
Cooling fall temperatures and the decreasing amount of available light trigger a thinning of protective weed cover in shallow water. When weeds thin, bass tend to shift deeper, typically onto adjacent mid-depth flats where they can still access healthy green weed growth.
If you’re looking to catch largemouth bass in the fall, you’ll want to target weedy flats and sloping banks. These make great places to swim a jig or slowly retrieve a crawfish-colored crankbait.
Steep, sandy drop-offs are another area to focus on during the fall, especially in troughs, pockets, and creek arms. These areas offer remaining green weeds or other cover such as stumps or rocks that bass can relate to during the fall.
As the cooler water temps in the fall cause the weeds to die, largemouth bass scour these areas for a meal. This is a perfect time to target these locations, as many anglers avoid the area.
You can use the same tactics you used during the summer to find and fish these shallow flats, but you should consider using a lighter lure to help avoid drag or snags. You can also target these areas with jerkbaits or crankbaits to catch more largemouth bass.
Winter
Largemouth bass can be found in many different water sources, including streams, ponds, lakes and rivers. These fish are incredibly adaptable and can thrive in nearly any habitat, as long as they have the right food source.
However, largemouth bass tend to have specific habitat requirements that you should know before you go fishing for them. This will help you find the best places to catch them, regardless of the water source you’re fishing in.
A major factor in the largemouth bass’s habitat needs is temperature. Warmer water is less oxygenated than colder water, making it difficult for these fish to breathe. This can affect the energy they require to stay active and move around.
This is why they move to deeper water during the summer, but move shallower during the fall and winter. As the weather turns cooler, these bass will move back into their preferred shallower habitats to feed and prepare for the upcoming cold months.
In the fall, bass will also begin to spawn as water temperatures drop below 65 degrees. Females spawn on the water’s surface, while males remain on their nests to protect the fertilized eggs. Once the spawn is over, these fish will begin to move into deeper pools to recuperate from laying their eggs.
The spawning process can be a great time to catch a few largemouth bass. This is especially true in reservoirs and lakes where the fish are more active during this season.
Spawning areas on the north side of a lake are also a good location to target, as the warm spring rains can bring up water temperature even further. Look for sunken roadbeds, submerged islands and secondary points, and flooded creek channels.
These areas provide ample cover for a variety of predators to ambush and eat. Try a jig or other deep diving lure in these structures to get the attention of the largemouth bass you’re targeting.
Another common method during the spawning season is to use lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. These baits are perfect for attracting these big bass and can produce explosive action when used correctly.
