When is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida?
The correct answer is anytime that you get a chance, right? But seriously, when is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida boils down to water temperatures and the spawn.
This article will help every bass fisherman catch more bass regardless of where you live in the United States. Bass in Pennsylvania will hit the same spinner bait that a Florida bass will, right?
The big largemouth and spotted bass in Florida are most aggressive during the spawn. They are not necessarily hungry during the spawn. They are just trying to kill your bait or lure to protect their nesting area and their eggs.
Pre-spawn is when they are eating everything to get fat and healthy for their spawning months. They will eat readily right before the spawn.
AND of course there is the post-spawn when the bass have to replenish their bodies after the spawning months.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been catching bass all over Florida for over 40 years. In the article below, I will tell you everything that I can think of to help you catch more bass the next time that you go fishing for them in Florida waters.
Watch the video below and catch more bass.
The correct answer is anytime that you get a chance, right? But seriously, when is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida boils down to water temperatures and the spawn.
This article will help every bass fisherman catch more bass regardless of where you live in the United States. Bass in Pennsylvania will hit the same spinner bait that a Florida bass will, right?
The big largemouth and spotted bass in Florida are most aggressive during the spawn. They are not necessarily hungry during the spawn. They are just trying to kill your bait or lure to protect their nesting area and their eggs.
Pre-spawn is when they are eating everything to get fat and healthy for their spawning months. They will eat readily right before the spawn.
AND of course there is the post-spawn when the bass have to replenish their bodies after the spawning months.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been catching bass all over Florida for over 40 years. In the article below, I will tell you everything that I can think of to help you catch more bass the next time that you go fishing for them in Florida waters.
Watch the video below and catch more bass.
When is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida during the spawn/Spring?
All bass fishermen love the Spring because of the spawning cycles of large mouth bass. The pre-spawn movements of the bass is important this time of year. The bass will move from their Winter hang outs in the deeper parts of the lakes, rivers and ponds towards shallow water.
PRE-SPAWN: Pre-spawn bass are actively feeding to build up their fat and energy supplies for the stressful spawn that is to come. The pre-spawn water temperature triggers are around 50 to 55 degrees. Those temperatures are the cue to bass to start chowing down and to move with the shad and other bait fish to shallower water depths.
You will find the bass feeding on the shad or other baitfish that are moving from their Winter hang outs to the shallows. Target them near river and creek mouths. Deeper points and bays and cove openings.
You can use spinner baits and crank baits to find the fish this time of year. As the water temperatures begin to heat up you can increase your retrieval speeds as you cover as much water as you can.
SPAWN: The spawn is all about stable water temperatures around 60 degrees for at least a week. This is what triggers the male bass to find great nesting sites and the females to move from deeper water to the nesting sites. Once the water temperatures climb to more than 75 degrees the spawn will start to end.
The female bass will move the nesting sites to lay their eggs and then leave it up to the males to protect them until they are mature enough to survive. These males will try to kill anything that comes near their nests. So the strikes that you are getting are not out of hunger but come from trying to protect the eggs or young fry.
This is a great time of year to use a buzz bait over shallow water nests. Deeper nests will require something different like jigs and soft plastics like lizards, frogs and worms.
PRO TIP: Bass eggs need sunlight to hatch and thrive so nests are no deeper than 10 feet in murky water. If the water is super clear, then the nests might be as far down as 15 feet.
POST-SPAWN: After the spawn the females can be found in deeper waters near the nest sites. They will suspend in deeper water as the males stay shallow to keep protecting their fry. The spawn is extremely stressful for bass and they need to feed like crazy to recover. That is why the pre-spawn, spawn, and post spawn are such an amazing time to go bass fishing.
When is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida in the Summer?
In the hot Summer months you will have to fish early if you want to fish the shallows. You can fish shady spots longer than unshaded areas in shallow water BUT the bass will move to deeper cooler water as the sun heats up the water.
PRO TIP: You have to keep in mind that there are dead zones down deep in the Summer. There is often not enough dissolved oxygen down deep near the bottom so the fish will be suspending in cooler, oxygen rich layers of the water column. There will be a boundary layer of water that the fish will not go past without risking death by oxygen deprivation.
The last two hours before sunset is another great time to target bass. They will often feed before night falls. You can use a fast retrieve this time of year because the cold blooded bass will be hot and bothered.
Watch the video to learn how to catch a large mouth bass.
When is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida during the Fall?
Fall is a great time to catch bass as they move to the shallows as the water cools. The shad schools are moving to the shallow water and so will the bass. The bass will be on structure in shallow water like docks, grass mats, sunken trees.....
The best baits for Fall bass fishing are usually shad imitations that are on the small side because the shad are not fully grown this time of the year. I like spinner baits for Fall fishing but small crank baits will work great too.
When is the best time to go bass fishing in Florida during the Winter?
Winter is still a good time to catch bass because they have to keep eating even though they don't need to do it very often this time of year. Bass do not hibernate but they are cold-blooded and therefore slow down their activities. This means that you will have to slow down your retrieve if you are using lures.
You can find Winter bass by deep drop offs that allow them to move shallow if the sun heats up the water enough during the day. One of the great things about bass fishing in the Winter is that you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch them. They aren't going to bite much until they warm up.
Bass will often hang out in groups during the Winter months so if you catch one, then you should stay a while. You might catch a few more out of the group before they figure out what's going on.
The best baits in the Winter are spoons, jigs, grubs, Carolina or Texas rigged worms...… anything that will get the bait down deep where the bass are.
Watch the video below to learn more about the best baits and lures.
Winter is still a good time to catch bass because they have to keep eating even though they don't need to do it very often this time of year. Bass do not hibernate but they are cold-blooded and therefore slow down their activities. This means that you will have to slow down your retrieve if you are using lures.
You can find Winter bass by deep drop offs that allow them to move shallow if the sun heats up the water enough during the day. One of the great things about bass fishing in the Winter is that you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch them. They aren't going to bite much until they warm up.
Bass will often hang out in groups during the Winter months so if you catch one, then you should stay a while. You might catch a few more out of the group before they figure out what's going on.
The best baits in the Winter are spoons, jigs, grubs, Carolina or Texas rigged worms...… anything that will get the bait down deep where the bass are.
Watch the video below to learn more about the best baits and lures.
Why are Carolina and Texas rigs such great bass rigs?
There is something about a soft plastic bait getting dragged on the bottom of a lake, pond or river that drives bass bonkers. They are one of my go to rigs when I go bass fishing.
Let's say I am going bass fishing and can bring 3 rods with only 3 lure types. My rods will probably have a Carolina rigged worm, salamander or crawdad; a spinner bait and a frog tied onto them.
Those are great baits of cover just about any body of water that you are fishing. You can fish every part of the water column with those baits so you can fish them during any season of the year.
Watch the video below to learn about Carolina Rigs and Texas Rigs.
What are the Best bass lakes in Florida:
Florida is one of the best states in the United States to catch bass all year long. Our lakes do not freeze over and the bass will feed all year long regardless of whether they are in a ditch, lake, river, pond or canal.
You can catch bass from the Everglades all the way up to Pensacola and everywhere in between. The waters will be cooler and hotter based on where they are and the spawn may be sooner or later but you can still get on tons of bass.
This is my list showing you where the best bass lakes in Florida are and it is for those bass fishermen who are fishing specifically to catch a trophy bass in lakes that consistently produce trophy catches year in and year out. This is my list and my opinion so many may disagree but it's my list and I like it. The list begins in the southern/central part of the state with Lake Okeechobee and ends near the top of the state in Tallahassee with Lake Talquin.
- Lake Okeechobee
- Lake Kissimmee
- Lake Monroe
- Lake Harris
- Stick Marsh
- Lake Istokpoga
- Lake Toho
- Lake Tarpon
- Lake George
- Crescent Lake
- Rodman Reservior
- Lake Talquin
Watch the video below to learn the best tackle for bass fishing.
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