Just curious to see what yall's preferences were on when you go out bank fishing. I usually fish any time of the day, usually when i wake up in the morning around 9am or when i'm on way home from work around 5pm. But recently, i've been checking out some new ponds and have been having really slow days and was wondering if its true that you gotta wake up at 4am or go late at sundown (8pm) to catch some good bass.

What're yall's philosophies on when is the best time to fish for bass.

The early morning bite from an hour before to an hour after sunup is best, followed by the late evening bite. Fishing in the heat of the day under high pressure conditions is not as productive.

Get up early and take a nap when you get home.

During the Hot Summer days like we have now... I get up early. I try to be at the spot I'm going to fish before the sun comes up. I'll fish until around 11 and then call it quits most of the time. The only time I won't is if a front is moving in. I'll fish longer then.
Evenings I usually start around 6-6:30. The bite normally turns on shortly before the sun goes down.

Anytime Can't catch'em if your not there!

I'm glad this topic came up, because I wonder the same thing.

Addendum: I also did not want to pester my 3 forum buddies, "help me buddies," with more questions...B-Bassin is one of them!

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Agree with everyone else that early norning and late evening are the best times to go. Middle of the day in 100 degree heat is a bad idea. Not only are the fish not as cooperative but I find myself less focused on what I'm doing, I miss less bites when I can concentrate better on what I'm doing.

There was one day when i got out at 11am and caught 10 bass in almost an hour, where other times i'll wake up at 6am and not catch anything for hours... strange

Early morning, about 30 minutes before dawn through about 9:30am.

Then in the evening beginning around 6:00pm to dark.

Depends on what I am fishing for. I usually target the Sunfish such as Bluegill,Redear,etc. I love the early morning bite the best. Usually between 6:30am and 11am the bite is pretty good during the summer months. Late fall and winter I usually fish from 11am till 5pm. When I am fishing for Crappie it is around sun up till 10am during the summer. I also love night fishing for Crappie under the lights. Late evening bite from 7pm till 11pm is also good for Crappie. That is just me I am sure the bite times will vary for each angler.

Me being the most notorious "NOT MORNING PERSON" on here, believe it or not, I have had, over the years, sensational luck with black bass between the hours of 11AM and 2PM in the summer. Have no idea why, but it works for me. Mostly on soft plastics fished S L O W, but occasionally on the small inline spinners, and the usual gamut of bass lures. I am talking the dog days of summer too! Working two jobs, that morning sleep in time, when available, is much more precious and valuable than fishing time, because I have found that late night, after 10 pm, (when I get off work from my second job) is pretty much off the chain, virtually year round! Bass, crappie, catfish, sunfish, even tilapia in a couple of ponds I fish.

So I guess the earlier answer of "fish when you can", applies to me. Like was said earlier, "Can't catch 'em if you aren't there!"

Rudy

Okay, this topic has now prompted me to "not" get up at 5:30 to get to a spot by 6:30...I may get up at 7:30 and get to a spot by 8:30...somewhere in East Plano...

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Had Friday off from both my jobs, so hit the Elm Fork for some cats. Caught my first one at 10:30 AM, caught my last one right at 2 PM. The bite was excellent, caught a bunch of blues and very few channels. Decided to keep 5 blues for dinner. Went through a box of chicken liver. Cut it into small pieces. Used 1/0 Tru Turn worm hooks, 8 lb test, medium action spinning rigs. Fished tight line.

Water RISING, but clear. Clouds of shad roaming the shoreline, occasionally ambushed by some pretty good sized bass. So, time to break out my UL gear armed with a pink rooster tail, got one healthy, chunky 16 inch LMB, and two dink LMB's.

Peak bite was 12:00 Noon to 1 PM. Bass caught at High Noon, no more than 3 ft from shore, in about 18 inches of water. He was attacking a massive school of 1.5-2 inch shad.

One really cool thing: The first good sized blue i strung up, in the clear water in front of me, a giant school of small shad came "waving" through, the way they ripple the water in a pod, it looks like a wave in the water, he lay on bottom, and flash lunged at the school! Even with the stringer in his lower lip, he attacked! Makes me think that if I had seined some shad and used them instead of liver, i might have limited on cats!

Temp was 91 at 10:30 when I started, about 97-98 when i headed back to the hacienda. Had iced down bottled water, and plenty of juicy type fruit, long sleeve shirt, jeans, and sunscreen. Not all that bad!

The fish fry was pretty awesome too, by the way!

Went to take a Hero Pic of the stringer, and the phone battery was DOA!

Figures.

Rudy

Lovfldx is correct. You can catch nice fish through all times of the day. I've proven that many times over. I think a good amount of that depends on conditions of the weather and what your fishing with. If I can get a 100% cloudy day with no rain... I won't be home for a long time. This has been a huge key to my success in catching more and bigger bass. I've caught 5lb bass at 2-3pm in july. It can be done, but you have to slow way down and don't expect as many bites, unless its cloudy.

Or unless clouds of shad are roaming the shoreline(as was the case this past friday). That brings in everything, regardless of weather. It was clear, sunny, slight breeze, and HOT. Big longnose gar were lazily rolling just beyond my casting distance, while big bright orange carp cleared the water surface with abandon! They sure love to jump for no apparent reason.

Rudy

If you are fishing an area that has a straight drop off from shore during the day, try fishing right next to the bank. There will often be a shady undercut area there that most freshwater fish prefer. It is a good ambush site for them to hang out at too. The edge of vegetation or even that nasty green moss is good too for the shade it produces. Of course daytime water temps must be considered.

That, and do anything Rudy says to do.