Best Times of Day to Catch Fish (Bass, Trout, Catfish, Etc.)

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If you are serious about fishing, choosing the right time of day to be on the water is key. Fish will pretty much eat all day and all night long as long as food is available and they can catch it. I know I read plenty of fishermen saying that. All that said, there are most definitely specific time windows throughout the day when fishing is simply just better. Hitting those key times can make your stay on the water go from just okay to amazing just like that.

What is the best time of day to catch fish? Generally speaking, the best time of day to catch fish is in the reduced daylight hours from dawn until 2 hours after sunrise and from 2 hours before sunset until dusk.

During these windows, light is reduced, prey becomes more active, and water temperatures cool allowing fish to more freely hunt for food. Nighttime can also be very good for certain species of fish like carp, catfish, and walleye.

The middle of the day is usually pretty slow except when there is rain or cloudy conditions to break up the hot sun. There are certainly exceptions to these rules but for the most part, the early morning and late afternoon will be your best bets for strong fishing for most freshwater species of fish.

In this article, we will cover the best time of day to fish for each species, a complete breakdown of seasons, and also how moon phases and weather affect fishing success at specific times in the day. We will also learn when the best night fishing can be had.

Click here to see if fish bite at night. This helpful guide will show you which fish you can catch at night, the best times of the night to fish, and how moon phases impact fishing.

Best Time of Day for Fishing

By the Season

1. Spring

In the springtime, the best time of day for most fish tends to be mid-morning and late afternoon in early spring and early morning and late afternoon towards the end of spring. In early spring, fish are emerging from their deeper holes where they spend much of the winter in the warmest water they could find.

In the north as ice melts and in the south when lake temperatures simply rise, fish will head to shallower water to feed and make up for lost feeding time. Early spring also promotes early-season weed growth and a ton of plankton for baitfish to feed on.

This will draw in fish to shallow water bays particularly on the northern end of lakes that are the first to warm up. Hit these fish mid-morning and late afternoon for the best early spring results.

Towards the tail end of spring, many fish will be undergoing their spawn cycle. Fish will often move from soft-bottom weedy feeding areas where they spent early spring onto harder bottom shallow areas nearby where they can build beds and spawn.

As the spring progresses, temperatures will get warmer. Early morning from sunrise until 2 hours after sunrise tends to be the best followed closed by late afternoon until dusk. These are the best time of day to fish bass, pike, and panfish.

2. Summer

In summer, the best times of day to fish by far are early morning from dawn until 2 hours past sunrise and late afternoon from 3 hours before sunset until dusk. Nighttime fishing can be extremely good for catfish, carp, walleye, and striped bass along with some other species on select nights when there is strong moonlight shining on the water.

During the summer, the water is getting hot and deprived of dissolved oxygen. As a result, fish will seek out the coolest water they can find which is often the deeper water.

In the early morning, fish will still be pretty shallow and aggressively feeding. As the water temperature rises, many fish will move much deeper and further from shore where feeding slows down.

Later in the day as the daylight winds down, fish will again head shallow to feed in the cooling water. The sunlight also plays a huge factor during the summertime. Fish lack true eyelids so they can’t squint like we can to block out the sun.

This makes it uncomfortable for fish and difficult for them to see when out in the sun. As a result, many fish will hold extremely tight to shade and cover during the day to escape the sun’s light, the water is cooler in the shade, and they are better protected against getting eaten by other fish. During the middle of the day, fishing is likely at its slowest for may fish species.

The night can be awesome for some species as they can sneak up on prey without good night vision and water temperatures are much cooler. So to re-cap, fishing is generally the best during the summer in the early morning and late afternoon.

3. Fall

During the fall, the best times of day to catch most species of fish is early morning and late afternoon. Generally speaking, fish will be trying to pack on as many fat stores as they can during the fall in preparation for the leaner food availability they will experience during the winter, especially up north.

In order to pack on weight, they will be feeding a ton so fall fishing can be very good. Most species of freshwater gamefish have good reduced light vision allowing them to see much better around dawn and dusk than they prey.

This gives them a tactical advantage over prey items which is why it’s such a great time to catch fish. In early fall, the best time of day is early morning from dawn until 3 hours after sunrise and late afternoon from 2 hours before sunrise until dusk.

These times of day have the reduced light fish prefer for hunting and also cooler water temperatures and transitional periods when baitfish are moving from shelter to feeding and back making them vulnerable to attack.

In late fall, fishing is typically best in the mid-to-late morning and late afternoon. Early morning tends to be chillier in the water which usually makes for slower fishing. By mid-morning, water temperatures will warm up nice enough to promote good fishing.

4. Winter

During the winter, fishing is usually best in the mid-morning and late afternoon in the south where lakes don’t freeze over, and in the north with ice cover, in the mid-to-late morning and mid-to-late afternoon. In the winter, fish will be seeking warming water so early mornings after the freezing-cold night will not be ideal.

Wait until mid-morning to start fishing for the best results. Fishing in the mid-to-late afternoon is usually very good as well. In fact, I have caught more fish in the late afternoon from 3 hours before sunset until dusk than any other time of day during the winter in both ice fishing and open water.

Especially when it comes to ice fishing, I rarely catch any fish midday. Fishing just seems to turn off for those 3-4 hours around the middle of the day. Night fishing is generally pretty slow in winter but can turn on under certain conditions.

Full moon phases can trigger good nighttime bites for certain species as long as you are fishing in lakes without ice or the ice is clear and has no dense snow covering. Snow covering the ice will completely block out any visible moonlight and render its effects on fish beneath relatively useless.

Rain, Snow, Clouds

Weather events can dramatically shift the times of day when fish are actively feeding. Generally speaking, the best time of day to fish on days with rain, snow, or cloud cover is not a specific time but rather right before the weather event occurs and even during the weather event.

Most of the time, a weather event represents a change in the overall weather temperature. During the summer, rain and clouds cools the water and blocks out the hot oppressive sun.

During the winter, rain or snow actually brings about warming waters more than likely. Rain and overcast or cloudy days offer some of the best fishing for most freshwater species you can find.

Before rain, bass, pike, trout, and other species will actively go about hunting for prey. This makes them more likely to chase your moving lures a further distance.

Great fishing will often continue as the rain falls. The fishing will usually slow way down once the rain or weather event has ended. Fish will still bite but they will be sluggish, hold tight to cover, and bite a lot more tentatively.

Forget the idea you need to fish at sunrise or sunset, if you see some form of weather event is forecast that day, start fishing about 3 hours before the event for best results.

Moon Phases

The moon can play a huge role in determining when the best fishing for many species of fish will be. Most fish lack the specialized night vision to hunt effectively most nights but full and nearly full moons allow enough moonlight to illuminate the upper few feet of the water column to enable night feeding.

Walleye, catfish, striped bass, and carp either have the night vision abilities or don’t rely on vision to find food at night and thus are able to hunt for food effectively pretty much all month long.

Most other fish like bass, pike, muskies, panfish, and trout do have good reduced light capabilities that make them effective sunrise and sunset hunters but don’t enable them to effectively hunt on most nights.

Now, these fish can still feed on very dark nights but their food pretty much has to swim right to their mouths. But on full moon nights, enough moonlight penetrates the surface of the water to allow really good night feeding near the surface for fish. Some of the best fishing of the day may be during the night.

Because many fish will be feeding all night long on these full moon nights, the following morning which is typically great for fishing can be very slow since big fish may have bellies full from a night of active feeding.

It really just depends. On full moon nights when fishing should be good, cloud cover or rain that blocks out some or all the moonlight will render those nights pretty sluggish for bass and trout.

By the Species

Bass

The best time of day to catch bass is early morning from dawn until 2 hours after sunrise and late afternoon from 3 hours before sunset until last light at dusk. Bass have very good reduced light vision which allows them to succeed finding and catching food in the early mornings and late afternoons.

During this time of day, water is cooler and sunlight overhead isn’t oppressive which makes bass much more willing to venture from the shade and go hunting. Now that said, huge bass can sometimes be caught most abundantly during the middle of the day.

On days with rain or cloud cover, the best time of day to fish is before and during the rain event. This is the best time possible for bass fishing from my experience.

Trout

The best time of day to catch trout is early morning from sunrise until 2 hours past sunrise and in the late afternoon from 2 hours before sunset until dusk. Trout feed heavily during these reduced light periods when the sun won’t hurt their eyes or affect their vision looking up at the water’s surface for food at the surface.

The cooler temperatures of these time frames also encourage trout to feed more actively. Now don’t get me wrong, trout will continue to feed during the middle of the day but they will shy away from hunting topwater because of the oppressive sunlight.

Instead, they will feed mostly on the bottom where they can focus their eyes down away from the sun to see. Rain and clouds can bring about great trout fishing and some of the best fly fishing for trout occurs right before and during a steady rain event.

Northern Pike

The best time of day for northern pike fishing is in the early morning from dawn until mid-morning and in the late afternoon from 2 hours before sunrise until last light as dusk. Northern pike have good reduced light vision and that gives them a decided tactical advantage over lesser-sighted prey in these reduced light windows.

During these times, water temperatures are cooler and prey items are often in a transition from the shelter and being active which makes them more vulnerable to ambush. Northern pike can be caught at night on certain nights.

Rain and clouds can drive pike fishing to become excellent as well. Fish immediately before and during rain. For a complete breakdown of pike fishing best times, be sure to read this article I wrote teaching you the best time of day to catch more and bigger pike.

Walleye

Walleye fishing can be awesome during the night. The best time of day to catch walleye closer to shore is in the first 2 hours and last 2 hours of the night. That is because walleye spend their days down deeper much further from shore following deep shoals of shad and other baitfish.

But as the sun goes down, walleye head into shallower water closer to shore to feed on yellow perch and other food in shallow weedy bays.

They remain in this feeding pattern most of the night. These aren’t hard-written rules and walleye movement can vary a lot depending on season and prey availability.

Catfish

The best time of day to catch catfish, in my opinion, is from dusk until 2 hours after dusk and 2 hours before dawn until sunrise. Catfish feed all day long but seem to move most around sunrise and sunset.

During this time, catfish will feed more simply because they will cover more ground and find more food. Catfish can be caught well all day and all night long.

For big catfish, the first and last hours of night are the best. Flatheads and blue catfish especially become active feeding on shad, bluegills, and clams now. Fish cut bait for channel cats and blue catfish and fish whole live bluegills for big flatheads.

Carp

The best time of day to catch carp is really all day long but I have found that mid-to-late afternoon and the first few hours of nighttime tend to be the best for good carp fishing. Carp will feed all day long and it really depends on their respective mood and food availability.

You may often see carp feeding on the bottom during the morning, basking in the sun in the afternoon feeding on suspended food, and slurping insects off the surface in the evening.

It is tough to pinpoint but carp can be caught all day using different approaches. I find at night, carp tend to feed on the surface a lot of the numerous insects that land on the surface.

Panfish

The best time of day to catch panfish is the first few and last few hours of daylight during the day. You can catch panfish all day long but during the middle of the day, panfish tend to hunker very tight to cover for shade and protection.

To learn more about selecting the best times of day to catch each species of panfish, you need to read my articles on the topic. Check out my articles on the best times of day for yellow perch, bluegill, and crappie fishing to learn how to catch more and bigger fish.

In Saltwater

Saltwater fishing can be a whole lot less predictable than freshwater fishing because the vast expanse of the ocean brings about it way more variables than most freshwater fishermen have to deal with.

That said, when fishing relatively near shore, fish move around following tidal shifts. The tide will dictate the best fishing times in a lot of coastal areas. During high tides as water floods into dry sand, new opportunities abound for fish to feed.

This can be a great time for inshore species like redfish, flounder, surfperch, and tarpon. During low tide, sediments and food are being washed out to deeper water as the tide recedes.

This promotes a feeding window for deeper, further-from-shore species of fish. The height of low tide can be really good for fishing a little further from the shore in deeper water.

Best Time of Day for Ice Fishing

During the winter, any rises in warmth can bring about increases in fish activity and feeding. For most of the year, I recommend fishing early in the morning from dawn until 2 hours after sunrise. When ice fishing, fishing in these early daylight hours are typically a bit too cold for great fishing.

Fish will still bite this time of the day but the best morning window for ice fishing is mid-to-late morning. During these times of day, baitfish and insects are in transition and are vulnerable to attack and the water has warmed up enough for good fish feeding to occur.

The best times of day for ice fishing are mid-to-late morning and late afternoon from 3 hours before sunset until dusk. From my experience, the middle of the day is actually the slowest time of day to ice fish.

The nighttime can be hit or miss depending on the species of fish and the moon phase. If you are fishing during the winter in a lake without ice cover, go with mid-morning and late afternoon for the best results.

Final Thoughts

The best time of day to catch fish during most of the year is early morning from dawn until about 2 hours after sunrise and in the late afternoon from 3 hours before sunset until final light at dusk.

During the winter, adjust to fishing a little later in the morning as water temperatures will be a bit too cold for optimum fishing first thing after sunrise.

If rain, snow, or dense clouds are predicted, the best time to fish is right before rain and snow and all day long can be great if it is cloudy. Some of the best fishing under cloudy skies can be the middle of the day.