At What Temperature Do Bass Start Biting?

March reminds fishers that winter is still around but growing weak. Spring then will come, and plenty of anglers out there will start fishing.

If you want to catch a bass or any fish, the water temperature is the most important factor you should consider.

At what temperature do bass start biting? Bass will start to bite when the water temperatures reach the level of 40 degrees and up until 80 degrees fahrenheit. So, as a rule of thumb, the colder the water gets, the slower the presentation needs to catch any bass.

Find out the best temperature to fish for bass below. I will also discuss other criteria to focus on aside from the temperature level when fishing for this fish species.

Water Temperature For Fishing

Most fish are cold-blooded. It means that they do not have control over their internal body warmth. As a result, their metabolism is mostly influenced by the water temperature in their surroundings.

Many experts believed that the best water for different species of fish is influenced based on their areas.

The chart at right is still a good guideline if you want to know what water temperature fish becomes more active.

Knowing all the water temperature and the location on where you can find your fish are the key puzzle to make a successful fishing trip.

It is also important to know which baits work for certain locations and how you work your way with the baits available.

Truths About Water Temperature For Bass Fishing

If you love reading about bass fishing, you should probably know by now that bass would spawn at a specific temperature.

It means that if you look around the lake and find a water temperature that is 68 degrees, you will most likely be getting a spawning spot for bass. But that is not always the case.

Bass spawn in water that ranges anywhere from 55 to 80 degrees. It is a 25-degree range of possible temperatures.

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.

It is because it will always depend on your location and where you are fishing. Here are some other variables you should be checking out aside from the water temperature:

Length Of Day

It would be best if you kept in mind that certain water temperatures in the US, like Michigan, barely reached 40 degrees.

This is cold water if you think about it, yet bass still moved to the bank in the 3 to a 5-foot zone.

Many fishermen believe that the lengthening of the daylight hours during springtime has far more to do with moving fish to the bank aside from the water temperatures.

It is fair to say that water temperature naturally increases during the day time. But when a front slams the water back to 37 degrees and the fish are still up in 2 or 3 feet of water, it is the photoperiod telling them it is time to get ready to spawn.

Moon Phase

Many reports show fishermen fishing through the full moon in April when the water temperature is 40 degrees. They found out that fish are already up and cruising like they were spawning.

This kind of behavior was identical to spawning behavior. It is somehow sort of a false spawn that is triggered by the full moon. It’s like a practice of courtship, even though the water is still 40 degrees.

When it comes to lunar influences, it plays a vital role in the fish’s positioning compared to the water temperature.

Lunar cycles affect not only many basses but also governs the activities of much aquatic life.

You can bet that whenever there is a prey being summoned by a full moon, you can expect to see bass as they will take advantage of it.

Current Conditions

Current conditions also play an essential role because if you bring a warm wind over 40-degree water, bass will be active. The actual water temperature might not budge on a south wind, but some bass will do.

Another natural occurrence is that if the sunbeams down into 40-degree water, any dark object on the water’s bottom will become a fish magnet.

Reaction Baits Will Work

For a very long time, many stories and fables dictated that bass in cold water wouldn’t eat a wide variety of fish lures. The reasoning was that bass metabolism is quite lower on end during cold weather, but this is not true.

Many fishermen catch plenty of fish and jerk bait in 40-degree water. There are still rare occurrence that you can even catch some squarebill in a 38-degree

Water Temperature Is Just A Number

Don’t get this article wrong. Water temperature plays an essential role in the fishing procedure.

But you need to be aware of the change in the water temperature depending on the locations. You should check the water in the very back of the creek and see if it is colder compared to the mouth of the creek.

Other than that, the water temperature will only remain a number, and there is no magic number in catching a trophy bass.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the most important thing to remember when looking at water temperature is the weather and temperature trends, especially if compared with the weather of that particular day.

If the water temperature that day is 62 degrees, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the fish will behave as if a cold trend is occurring. These trends make it confusing to read water temperature.

Also, it might not be applicable if the overall trend of the water is increasing its temperature.