7 Effective Tips for Afternoon & Evening Bass Fishing

Bass fishing can be really good all day long as long as you pattern the bass correctly with the proper technique. Bass tend to follow specific patterns throughout the seasons and throughout each day that can make it easier as anglers to catch them. In this article, I will be covering how to catch more bass in the afternoon and evening.

Is bass fishing good in the afternoon & evening? Bass fishing can be really good in the afternoon especially late afternoon right until dusk. The cooling temperatures and reduced light make bass more likely to venture from cover and attack bait and your lure as they pass nearby. The earlier afternoon can be good too if you present your bait close to the shaded cover where bass are holding.

Please check out this very helpful guide to the best times to fish for largemouth bass. It contains a ton of helpful information about the best seasons for largemouth bass fishing, how largemouth bass fishing changes throughout the day, and tips for largemouth bass fishing times.

Best Time of Day for Bass Fishing

The best time of day for bass fishing really does depend on the season and conditions. Generally speaking though, bass are most active feeding in the early morning from dawn until 2 hours after sunrise and in the late afternoon from a few hours before sunset until last light at dusk.

This is not to say that bass fishing can’t be awesome during the middle of the day because it certainly can. Oftentimes, the best time you can fish for bass is right before a cold front arrives as bass will be out aggressively feeding and looking for food.

For a complete breakdown of catching bass at night, please check out this helpful article I wrote. It covers everything from best colors, seasons, conditions, and tips to catch more bass after dark.

There are so many factors to take into account which is why I wrote a complete guide to selecting the best time of day to go bass fishing. This thing is jam-packed with useful insights that will make you a better angler. If you want to know how to select the right colored lures for the job every time and catch more bass, you can’t skip this article I wrote.

Check out this helpful guide to middle of the day bass fishing.

Seasonal Conditions

Believe it or not, the seasons do play a big factor on the best time of day to catch bass and just how good the afternoon and evening bite can be. Let’s take a quick look at how the hot and cold seasons affect bass. 

Cold Season

During the cold seasons of late fall, winter, and early spring in the Northern Hemisphere, bass won’t be very active in the morning but water will be at or just above the coldest it will be all day.

Now while bass would have spent the entire night feeding very little, they likely won’t turn on until much later in the morning once water temps rise up.

In contrast, the late afternoon is typically the best time of day during the winter to catch bass. This is because the sun and warmer daytime temperatures have been warming the water up all day long and the water temps are likely to be at their peak before the sun starts dipping in the horizon at sunset.

With the sunlight still hitting the water, bass fishing can be downright awesome in the winter but you will still need to fish slower than in warmer water months. Finesse baits as well as swimbaits and umbrella A-rigs are the go-to for these winter bass.

Warm Season

During the summer months, bass fishing can be really good in the early morning and later afternoon time periods. This is because bass have great reduced vision which gives them a tactical edge over most prey items they eat when the sun is low in the sky.

Furthermore, the cooler temperatures and reduced over sun rays mean bass can freely roam around in search of food without being locked into shaded areas.

While I generally think early morning is a little better because bass are hungry after not feeding since the evening before, I prefer to fish in the late afternoon in summer.

Not only does this better align with my work schedule but I find the bass fishing to be excellent especially just before sunset. Bass fishing is good in the early and mid-afternoon windows as bass will become easy to locate.

To find these bass, understand they need to find shade and cool water during the heat of the day so any dense pockets of shade will attract bass.

For a complete guide to catching bass in hot weather, you really need to check out this helpful article I wrote. This thing is jam-packed with useful tips and tricks for big summer and warm weather bass action. To learn what largemouth bass eat, I suggest you read this guide so you know what lures to throw and when.

Bass Fishing in the Afternoon

Midday

During the middle of the day, bass will typically hold tight to cover that provides shade. While it means bass won’t aggressively come out and grab your bait, it makes them a lot easier to locate.

Bass will seek out the best shade they can get and big females will occupy the best shade available. It pays to be the biggest bass in the area. Look for the thickest clump of vegetation you can find at the end of the grass. This is where big bass will be.

Always locate the best shaded area and that is where you have the greatest chance of finding the biggest fish. Some of the biggest bass are routinely caught during the middle of the day because they are so predictable.

I suggest you read this article I wrote on how to catch big bass in the middle of the day to include how-to, tricks, tips, and tactics that will help you catch more fish.

Early Afternoon

In the early afternoon, water temperatures are still right about at the hottest they will be all day so bass will remain stuck tight to cover. As I told you before, fish the edges of shaded cover like weedlines, lily pads, laydowns, docks, and rock walls.

Here is where you’ll have the best luck for big bass during the hot summer. If the conditions are cloudy, bass become a lot harder to pinpoint.

They can freely roam and search for food. While cloudy and overcast conditions make locating fish harder, it also means bass may become more aggressive and chase down baits from much further away.

In this case, throw moving baits like buzzbaits, crankbaits, or jerkbaits to cover a ton of water. For a complete breakdown of how to catch bass when the conditions are cloudy or overcast, please come read my article. I just put the finishing touches on the counterpart to this article which is focused on catching big bass in the morning which I want you to go check out. There you will learn a ton that will make you a better bass fisherman.

Mid-Afternoon

In the middle of the afternoon getting around that 3 or 4 pm window, bass will start emerging from shade and venturing out in search of food or to access their evening hunting areas.

You see, bass have been locked into the shaded areas since mid-morning and they are anxious to get out and “stretch their legs” so to speak. In the middle of the afternoon, air and water temperatures are starting to cool and the direct sunlight overhead isn’t as oppressive.

I actually find this time of day to be one of the hardest to catch bass because they are harder to locate but aren’t as aggressive towards lures as they will be closer to sunset.

Evening

This is when the fishing really turns on. For me and many other anglers, this is game time. Bass will be out roaming and often targeting schooling baitfish at or close to the surface.

Now is when you see the most blowups at the surface of bass chasing shad. I love this time of day because it is comfortable and the fishing can be excellent.

Bass don’t feed much after dark so they will be aggressively trying to fill their bellies or have to wait until morning to feed again. Take advantage of this and make sure you are out on the water. This is one of the very best times of day to fish for bass.

Best Lures & Baits

Afternoon

When it comes to afternoon fishing, the best lures are those that you can fish tight to cover. You will be fishing docks, weeds, rocks, ledges, and laydowns. You want baits that you get right into the nasty stuff and place right in front of a bass’s face.

Moving baits work fine but I prefer to fish jigs, soft plastics, and frogs for this time of day. Each of these bait types will shine during this time of day and will catch a ton of fish.

Jigs, in particular, can catch you the biggest bass of your life. Whatever bait you select, you have to place that thing right at the edge of the shade or else bass won’t come grab it. To learn the best time of day to catch largemouth bass, please check out this helpful article.

Evening

During the evening from near sunset until dusk, topwater baits like frogs do work and will catch bass. But I prefer to work a little more aggressively. Bass are out hunting baitfish and bluegills.

I like throwing jerkbaits, crankbaits, and spinners now. My favorite type of bait to throw in the late afternoon and evening is a soft jerkbait like a Zoom Super Fluke in a smoking shad color.

I get aggressive bites and a ton of great topwater action fishing these baits weightless. You can also do well bottom fishing with finesse shaky heads or jigs but I like to go surface of the water for evening bass.

7 Tips for Afternoon & Evening Bass Fishing

1. Find the Densest Pocket of Shade

Bass love shade in the middle of the day. And big bass will force smaller bass out of the best locations. If you want to catch the biggest bass you can, look for the densest vegetation that produces the best shade. This is where big bass will be positioned.

Wherever that perfect spot is, you can bet the biggest female around has forced herself into that location and pushed away smaller females and males who weren’t worthy of that prime spot. That is where you need to target if you like catching big fish.

2. Determine the Bass’s Primary Food Source

Every lake has different prey items that bass will key in on. Out west in clear reservoirs, huge bass grow big on diets of kokanee and trout. In other bodies of water, shad and other schooling baitfish are king.

In Florida, wild shiners grow big bass. Bluegills and perch are huge diet staples in many waterways. Craws and frogs of course also produce big fish. Figure out what bass eat in your waterway and throw those baits in the afternoon and evening for bigger fish.

3. You Can Catch Bass Anytime of the Day

Even though I said earlier than early morning and late afternoon was the best time of most days to catch bass, the truth is that you can make anytime of day the best time for bass fishing with the right approach.

Some of the best bass fishing can be had in the middle of the day as long as you are willing to fish slow and be deliberate with your bait placement. The only time of day that generally isn’t good for bass fishing is at night because bass have a hard time finding food in darkness. The rest of the day, though, is awesome and can be even better with the right approach.

4. Jigs Catch Big Bass

If I am after the biggest fish in a section of water, I am throwing a jig. Aside from swimbaits, jigs are the go-to big bass bait for most anglers. These things just catch a ton of a big bass. They will also catch smaller bass too. That part is inevitable.

But jigs put you on the radar of big females that love those larger profile baits. Jigs mimic craws and other bottom creature like bluegills. Go with natural patterns and also use a trailer soft plastic for added effect.

5. The Later in the Afternoon, the More Aggressive You Can Be

Bass are pretty docile and shelter-bound during the heat of the day. They will hold tight to cover and rarely come out after a lure. But as the day drags on and sunset gets ever closer, bass will become more aggressive. They will also be willing to chase down moving baits like crankbaits or spinners. 

Whereas during the middle of the day, you had to punch jigs and plastics into the deepest cover, later in the day, bass will venture away from cover and chase down fast-moving baits. You can still catch bass at sunset using finesse or slow-fishing techniques but moving baits are way more fun. And they simply catch a ton of evening bass.

6. Trim the Legs of Your Frog & Alter Hooks

Frogs work great in the afternoon and into the evening for bass. Bass love frogs in spring and summer. But far too many people take a frog out of the box and pitch it without making some modifications first. Most frog lures are way too long.

The tassled legs are hindering your success. Bass have a tendency of grabbing a real frog by a back leg and dragging it under water. But the legs of your lure is not where your hooks are.

It does you no good having long legs for bass to grab at. Instead, I recommend trimming those legs down by at least half. You will get a lot more bass grabbing the body of the frog and not missing the hook by swiping at the legs.

Also, take and bend your two frog hooks slightly outwards with a set of pliers. Your frog will still be 100% weedless but the outward pointing gooks will give you better hookup ratios than if you were to leave them pointing inwards.

7. Pay Close Attention to Water for Color Selection

Water clarity should dictate what color lure you select. In clear water, go with a natural or ghost colored minnow or fish pattern. In more stained water, go with more solid colors that fish will have an easier time seeing, especially in the evening. In muddy water, blue, black, white, and chartreuse are the way to go. These colors are easier for bass to see in muddy water and will get bites.