what is your toughest bass fishing month?

[Hobious]

i am not sure where i am at on the topic, but i think i am entering the part of year that month is for me.

Sept is odd for me.  hot and heavy, all August and screeeechhhh..the bass put on the brakes. 

i think i do decent Oct and fall.  but i cant remember.  i should keep notes.

[Smallie_Stalker]

I'm in the Northeast and I don't ice fish so I have to eliminate late October through early March from consideration.

Of the remaining months I think, depending on how far north you go, I think   mid July through August is the toughest month.

In larger bodies of water a good portion of the fish have moved to deep offshore haunts and setup camp. Personally I'm very comfortable with deep offshore fishing but a lot of guys I know aren't. There are always some shallow fish but once the sun gets up high enough they bury in thicker cover or get tight to the bottom. They can be caught of course, but   a lot of times it takes dropping something right on their heads or not too far in front of them cause they mostly aren't gonna chase something down.

I don't have a boat anymore, but even when I did I preferred small ponds to big lakes that time of year. And the smaller the better because the bass have less places to hide.

I'm interested to see how much region plays into what others have to say.

Great topic !



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[Larry Francis]

Still summer patterns in Florida for a couple months. Bite has been tough for me since the Hurricane came through. Maybe tomorrow will be better. 

[caddyjoe77]

august is always toughest for me -- the real dog days.  September I can at least get lucky once in a while and find some schoolers.

[apenland01]

January, always January...

They've moved deeper and aren't stationary.  Pure dropshot play and we often skunk because we can't find them...

[Eric-Maine]

September has always been a month of multi day qualifying tournaments. It's not a good month to be your worst.
Pre fished the last two days on Winnipesaukee. It's going to be a struggle. Hopefully, they bite better in a week. Damariscotta Lake 2 day lois this weekend. 3 of the 4 days of practice were good. On the last day, I am not sure that I caught a keeper even. Bite was off for both lakes this week in the heat and light and variable winds. Winni water temps got as high as 81 yesterday.
The month caps off for me as a boat captain for a NEPVA tournament on Damariscotta.
Summer waited until September to come to the northeast. Yesterday, it was HOT on the Big Lake. The toys were all out, making wake. It was lumpy, to say the least.
September is feast or famine for me. Hopefully, the feast happens on derby days this year. 


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[Captsteve]

All of them....lol

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[D.W. Verts]

The transitional period for bass from mid-September until early-to-mid October. I got better at it over the years, but that month or so has always been a challenge to me.

Dale

[J.W.]

The hottest part of summer can be pretty tough here, so July-August. I'm not saying you can't catch fish, but it's tough on you as an angler when its over 100*, the UV index is a billion, and the humidity is 100,000%. Even night fishing is hot and muggy. You feel beat-up after coming back in after a day on the water.

[Wizard]

I'm with Dale with September being a poor month to fish Highland lakes. The month changes as you go from northern Highland lakes with the forage base being Gizzard Shad to Threadfin Shad further south. Lake of the Ozarks: Gizzard Shad with September being poor. Table Rock: Threadfin Shad with October being poor to non-existent.

Wizard

[J.W.]

All of them....lol

It bes that way sometimes!

[Hobious]

All of them....lol

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ouch!!

[Donald Garner]

It's been a while since I've been out on the water.  But my past experience has been in the Dead of Winter and late July / August time periods.


When I say Dead of Winter that when I was lived up in Kentucky.  As long as the ramps were ice free and we could launch we'd fish. Of course you're going to have to find the warmest water to fish also.

July / August time period has been just about everywhere I've been Kentucky, Louisiana, Georgia, Texas.

One thing I have learned fishing in the Hot Summer July / August is find some shade and cover.  If there's some moving water near by and it don't have to be much...there's a fish waiting for it's next meal. 

[FlatsNBay]

I'd say for me, the toughest has been August. Even my pond hopping bank fishing trips have been a challange.

What technique do you go to when it's tough?

[Capt. BassinLou]

I have been replaying this question in my mind since it was asked. I will have to say, that my toughest time of the year to fish is happening right now. But its not for your standard reasons, like other regions around the country.

In our case, its a conditional thing. Water levels. Not the sweltering heat like most people will lead you to believe. We are at peak water level season right now, and there is no end in the near future. We have several reasons why our water levels are so excessively high. High volume of rain, Everglades and Lake Okeechobee restoration/control measures, and lastly hurricane season.

All these factors have been effecting the bass fishing for quite some time, but its exacerbated the most during this time of year. We will have several more months of this before things get back to "normal".  

[J.W.]

I have been replaying this question in my mind since it was asked. I will have to say, that my toughest time of the year to fish is happening right now. But its not for your standard reasons, like other regions around the country.

In our case, its a conditional thing. Water levels. Not the sweltering heat like most people will lead you to believe. We are at peak water level season right now, and there is no end in the near future. We have several reasons why our water levels are so excessively high. High volume of rain, Everglades and Lake Okeechobee restoration/control measures, and lastly hurricane season.

All these factors have been effecting the bass fishing for quite some time, but its exacerbated the most during this time of year. We will have several more months of this before things get back to "normal".   

High water by itself can be a challenge, but I imagine y'all probably have current changes/tide to deal with on a lot of those fisheries as well, don't you?

[Capt. BassinLou]

I have been replaying this question in my mind since it was asked. I will have to say, that my toughest time of the year to fish is happening right now. But its not for your standard reasons, like other regions around the country.

In our case, its a conditional thing. Water levels. Not the sweltering heat like most people will lead you to believe. We are at peak water level season right now, and there is no end in the near future. We have several reasons why our water levels are so excessively high. High volume of rain, Everglades and Lake Okeechobee restoration/control measures, and lastly hurricane season.

All these factors have been effecting the bass fishing for quite some time, but its exacerbated the most during this time of year. We will have several more months of this before things get back to "normal".   

High water by itself can be a challenge, but I imagine y'all probably have current changes/tide to deal with on a lot of those fisheries as well, don't you?

Current yes, but we don't have tidal waters on the fresh water side of the Everglades.

[bassmedic46]

August for me. I bank fish and the bass seem to disappear.

[Smallie_Stalker]

As I mentioned in my post above I am interested to see how much region plays into answers.

It seems like August is a tough month regardless of where in the country and angler fishes.

Some of the locations make it impossible for fish to move out deep, so that's not what makes it so tough.

So what do you all think it is? Oxygen levels maybe? High water temps?

I don't want to hijack this thread so I'm going to start another one to see what y'all have to say.



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[J.W.]

Current yes, but we don't have tidal waters on the fresh water side of the Everglades.

Gotcha.