A Guide on When to Fish

If you like to fish, one of the things that you might wonder is whether or not there are certain times that are better to fish than others. The truth is that there are. In fact, when you go fishing may determine whether you’ll be successful or not. Below we’ll look at some of the factors that affect your fishing success and when some of the best times to fish will be.

Seasons

One of the things that can affect fishing is the time of year you go and the time of day during the seasons. Let’s look at three of the seasons when you may go fishing and when the best times to go is.

SPRING

• Early Morning: The fish won’t be biting. The water is cold and isn’t going to heat up since the sun is low and its rays are bouncing off the water. It’s a good idea to wait for at least a week after it thaws, since the turnover in spring will take time for the temperature of the water to get to a warmer temperature.
• Late Morning to Early Afternoon: Fish will bite off & on. The water is starting to get warmer since the rays are penetrating the water. It’s important that you fish along the shoreline downwind, since the winds are going to push the surface water along with the food on the surface to that spot.
• Afternoon to Early Evening: The fish will be eating a lot since their digestion and metabolism are high. The water is much warmer since the sun is right overhead.

SUMMER

• Early Morning: Fishing is great between prior to sunup to right before the middle of the morning. There is a lot of cover and food during this time, so it’s going to be hard to find fish that are hungry.
• Late Morning to Early Afternoon: It’s not going to be a good idea to fish during this time in the summer. The fish are going to head to deeper water to get cool.
• Afternoon to Early Evening: This is an excellent time to fish. The waters are cooling off and the fish are rising up to where it’s warmer.

FALL

• Early Morning: The fish aren’t going to bite much from sunup through early morning. The water is much cooler since the sun is really low and penetrating the water with the rays isn’t possible.
• Late Morning to Early Afternoon: If you’re fishing in shallow, warmer water, the fish will bite once in a while. Water is generally cooler because of the season.
• Afternoon to Early Evening: You’re going to find great fishing during these hours. Sun is right overhead for a few hours and the water is a lot more comfortable close to the surface. This will mean that seasonal fishing is great since the fish will be putting on some weight to gear up for winter.

Wind

Wind often plays a big role whether or not it’s a good time to fish and whether you’ll be successful. Wind will push surface food and water to the other shore. The bait fish follow the food and the game fish follow bait fish. So if you’re on the shore and fishing when the wind is blowing, fish where you’ll have to cast against the wind. This means your lure is going to move with that wind and it will be like the other types of surface food. If you are fishing on a boat, then you should cast in the direction of the wind towards a shore that’s sheltered.

Storms

Patterns of changing weather and storms affect the success of fishing since fish know when barometric conditions change. With a lot of fish, they will feed more in the hours right before it turns cold but will slow during a front or storm.

It’s not a good idea to fish after cold fronts come through and it will be poor for one to two days after. A warm front will cause the water temperatures of the surface water to rise. This will make fish want to feed. This is true particularly during winter since a warm front can make fish that are usually sluggish to actively feed. The majority of the feeding will be close to or on the warmer surface.

Cloudy Days

It’s a great idea to go fishing when it’s cloudy since the clouds will prevent light from penetrating. Skies that are overcast are telling you it’s time to fish because they’re going to cause the fish to go looking for food a lot more than they’ll do when it’s bright out. On cloudy, overcast days, the fish aren’t as likely to be close to certain structure areas or spots and they’re usually scattered through the waterway.

Light Rain

During light rain is another great time that you should fish, particularly if it’s during the spring or the summer. It can help you with hiding from fish since it’s going to break up the fish’s view through the surface of the water. This is going to be true whether you’re fishing from the shore, from a boat, or wad fishing. The rain will also wash fishing bait and insects right into water, which makes the fish feed.

Hard Rain

Conditions of hard rain aren’t a good time to go fishing. It will muddy the water and make it hard for the fish to locate lures or bait and will cause heavy runoff. This runoff can lead to their gills becoming clogged. The increased flow of water in the rivers due to any type of rain will increase the flow of current and will make it hard for fish to keep a position that is comfortable in a river. High levels of water also can cause waves, unsafe conditions for fishing and rapids.

Now that you know when you should go fishing, you’ll have a better chance of catching the ‘big one’. Make sure that you have the right rod and reel and the right bait or lure, and go see what you can catch!

Have more questions about saltwater fishing?

I have a lot of experience in the fishing industry, especially in Southwest Florida. To find out more about me, you can go to my website, or give me a call at 239-280-6246. I want to make your Florida fishing experience the best it can be, so don’t hesitate to call today!