Home Blog Bait Fishing Water Temperature and Catching Bass Water temperatures are always useful for my bass fishing especially at the beginning and end of the year. Bass prefer warmer water and are more actively feeding when the water gets above 50F.
The best season for a topwater bite is late spring.
Best water temp for bass fishing. While bass will bite readily in water temperatures between 61-84 F the ideal water temperature range to catch bass consistently in is between 74-79 F when bass are most aggressively feeding and daytime highs do not force bass into shaded or deep structure. And the water temperature is one of the key factors that can and will decide the fate of your fishing. The best water temperature for bass fishing is between 50-85 degrees F.
Bass prefer warmer water and are more actively feeding when the water gets above 50F. The best water temperature range for striped bass throughout much of the year is 58-68 F whereas they will still bite in water temps ranging from 40-55 F. Warmer water above 70 F will make striped bass more sluggish and less likely to bite.
Bass are a creature of their habitat and are much more comfortable in water temperatures that are between 60 degrees and 75 degrees. In water colder the 60 degrees they become sluggish and mostly inactive. They will feed but not nearly as much as they do in the optimum temperature ranges.
If you want to have them bite your bait you should consider looking for a water temperature that is between the level of 40 degrees up to 52 degrees. But many fishermen feel like water temperature is a bit overrated in terms of the emphasis anglers put on it in catching bass. Bass will move out to crush these items in this water temp.
Some of my best days on the water are in these 50 60 degree temperature ranges. These are usually the water temperatures that indicate a swing in seasons for bass so they are typically eating up to either prepare for the spawn or the winter depending on when you are fishing. Water temp here yesterday was around 79-81 degrees.
Followed a gigantic Shad school for hours and didnt catch a single scoreable bass. But thats just how it works sometimes. Perfect conditions and good water current.
To me the optimal temperature is when the water starts crossing the 50-degree barrier. Topwater fishing stays hot when the water temperature is will into the 90-degree range With a widely known affinity for one topwater bait in particular the hollow-bodied frog Rojas has proven he can get surface action even when most would argue conditions arent necessarily ideal. Twenty-five years ago water temperature was viewed as the Holy Grail of bass fishing.
It was believed to be the primary factor that influenced bass behavior. Early bass-fishing literature often cited specific temperatures at which bass would spawn. This implied that if you rode around the lake until you found water that was exactly 68.
Bass are a creature of their habitat and are much more comfortable in water temperatures that are between 60 degrees and 75 degrees. For more Bass Basics tune in to BassCenter every Saturday at 11 am. Nonetheless the following chart is a good reference for general water temperature preferences.
Home Blog Bait Fishing Water Temperature and Catching Bass Water temperatures are always useful for my bass fishing especially at the beginning and end of the year. There exists an admittedly imperfect relationship between water temperatures and whether bass feed. Best time of the year to throw topwater baits After the water hits around 60 or 65 degrees and higher its the best time to throw topwater baits.
In my opinion its even better when its post spawn time. Fish Temperatures Temperature at which fish become more active in degrees fahrenheit. To us that magic temp is 62 degrees.
Bass will aggressively strike topwaters once the water temps reach that magic number. They will bite more readily on a down tick then too. I have seen it over and over where bass will agressively bite a topwater at 62 degrees said Elite Series pro Dave Wolak.
Certain times of the year bass prefer to live in shallow water and are generally more aggressive. The best season for a topwater bite is late spring. The bass are still shallow after spawning and want to eat at this time.
You can also get on a good topwater bite in the summer because of the. Also the variety of fish distributed over a variety of climate conditions can hardly result in a universal number. A small mouth bass in Michigan most probably has adapted to cooler water temperatures than its Southern relatives.
Nonetheless the following chart is a good reference for general water temperature. Answer 1 of 5. I Bass fish 12 months out of the year and have averaged over 100 days a year for almost 30 years including Tournaments in Northern California.
From my experience optimal temperature is relative to barometric pressure and several other factors like water levels is the lake risi. Bass become more active and start to hit topwater baits aggressively during times of the year when the water temperature exceeds 60 degrees and continues to work well throughout warmer seasons. The topwater bite is particularly good for special annual situations like the shad spawn and mayfly hatch.
But if its between 55 degrees and 85 degrees temperature really doesnt affect bass behavior all that much. Theyll usually be in shallower water. Remember the air temperature doesnt have any effect on bass.
As the water starts to cool again in the fall forage fish such as shad move shallow so the bass follow. The colder the water the lower the bass body temperature and the slower the fish. You can still fish in cold water but you must adjust your bait and lures accordingly.
If the water temperature is too high oxygen levels at the surface will decrease making bass less likely to come to the surface. Water Temperature Key. A good place to start is with water temperature.
Any time the water temperature is below 60 degrees I am leery of having success with top-water lures. And below 50 degrees I cant ever remember catching a bass on a top water. But there still can be isolated cases of success in that mid-50 range.