What time do you go out?

I like to be out on the lake at first light.
That said it seems like I usually don't start catching fish until the sun is fully up and it started to get hot out.

We went Sunday at 5:30 am and had only caught 5 or 6 until about 10:00. I was thinking of calling it a day when we started catching fish.
We went back to the same brush piles we had fished earlier and caught fish on all of them.

I am wondering if my time might not be better spent starting out around 9:00

Sun will bunch them up, looking for shade.

I usually don't do good till about 9:30 or 10 am as well. My opinion is that the fish haven't had time to bunch back up after a night of roaming around feeding. Once the sun is up for a while, it puts them in the places we are looking. Anything before that is a bonus for me. It also depends on what I am doing. If I am on a new lake, I will get there early and scan till 9:30 or 10am and find the spots I want to fish when the time is right.

My best luck crappie fishing is always from about noon-5 in the dead heat of the day in the summer.

If my wife is going, we are lucky to hit water before 9 am.

I have fished with Lane twice this summer, both times were 1-6 pm (caught 57 and 48)

Sunup till about 11am! During the HOT hours 1pm till 6pm shaded areas in about 20 feet of water next to structure.

I never did real well first thing in the morning as much as i love launching first thing to enjoy the quiet and watch the sunrise. Like others said. In the dead heat of the day was always best. I have actually watched schools of Crappie come from open water to docks and timber on side imaging and then started catching them one after the other!

depends on the time of year, right now in summer 8am is a good goal to shoot for, or 9...
as fall and winter come along its all about temperatures, I don't do COLD much any more...

THIS

Whenever I got time

LUCKY YOU!!!!! ..... I don't get on the water till 2:30-3:00 if my wife goes!

Late seems better..Even when coming back in I will check the boat ramp dock at high-noon and will get a few more keepers.