Dawn or dusk? 2024
Shakes reply :
Which do you prefer? Early in the morning, or early in the evening?
Those of you who prefer pitch black night... just stay out of it. 
I prefer dawn. I try fishing around dusk but never have much luck.
BucketmouthAngler13 reply :
QuoteWhich do you prefer? Early in the morning, or early in the evening?Those of you who prefer pitch black night... just stay out of it.
I prefer dawn. I try fishing around dusk but never have much luck.
it depends on time of year, dawn is cooler and dusk in warmer, and during the fall the fish like warmer.
Grey Wolf reply :
EARLY MORNING.
guest reply :
Being an early riser would have to say dawn, but as I look through my fishing logs most of my biggest bass have come from 11am -2pm, go figure.
guest reply :
I like launching in the late afternoon. I used to love to get started at dawn back in NY but in Florida I feel pressured knowing that the day is going to get hotter and hotter as the clock ticks towards the afternoon.
By launching after 3pm or so, I know that it may be hot NOW, but it will get cooler.
It's all very psychological
BASS fisherman reply :
I have caught the majority of the bass I have, in the evening, this time of year. In the summer, I catch more bass in the early morn.
cart7t reply :
I just don't have the constitution anymore to spend an entire day on the water.
I love fishing an hour or 2 just before dawn. Starting at around 4am. I'll usually fish up until 8-9am. Then it's back to the cabin for breakfast and shuteye.
Back out after a couple hour nap for the midday bite.
Fish from around Noon till 2-3pm.
Go into town after that, lay around, maybe catch a lite lunch, nap again, prep steaks for the evening grill
Then go back out around 6pm till around 9 or 10. Late evening dinner, an hour or two of drinking and BS followed by sleep. Then start it all over again the next day.
This is what I imagine Heaven is going to be like, I just won't get tired. ;D
guest reply :
Sounds like heaven to me
Oh, and make mine medium rare :-*
ejtaylor822 reply :
I am very much a morning person. But, seem to have the most luck in the evening. Have went some mornings and haven't gotten so much as a nibble. Go back in the evening, with the same lure still on the pole, and pull them in. This is on a small 3 acre pond.
Eddie
Valascus reply :
Heck, I've done both dawn and dusk on the same day. Started at 5:30 am (sunrise at the time) and didn't stop until 8:30-9ish. Boy...was I hungry after that. The fishing stunk the majority of the time, but it was nice just to get out for that long. As for which I prefer, I will fish either, but I tend to do so more in the wee hours of the day.
Boy Cart...some steaks sound perty good...with a few eggs...biscuits and gravy...dash of hot sauce for the eggs...a little A1.
Tom Bass reply :
I love going fishing at dawn. It's wonderful and there are no pleasure boaters to deal with. My wife likes it too, she sleeps while I get my fishin' fix in. ;D
senile1 reply :
QuoteI just don't have the constitution anymore to spend an entire day on the water.I love fishing an hour or 2 just before dawn. Starting at around 4am. I'll usually fish up until 8-9am. Then it's back to the cabin for breakfast and shuteye.
Back out after a couple hour nap for the midday bite.
Fish from around Noon till 2-3pm.
Go into town after that, lay around, maybe catch a lite lunch, nap again, prep steaks for the evening grill
Then go back out around 6pm till around 9 or 10. Late evening dinner, an hour or two of drinking and BS followed by sleep. Then start it all over again the next day.
This is what I imagine Heaven is going to be like, I just won't get tired. ;D
This is like poetry to my ears, Cart7.
Brian_Reeves reply :
Doesn't really matter to me. I fish dawn more often, but I'm just as pleased with dusk.
biteme reply :
Dusk. I love seeing that red sky as the sun goes down. I just have it in my head Ill catch more at this time.
LunkerLust reply :
I love getting up early and driving to a lake, before all the traffic starts. However, I just don't seem to have much luck fishing at dawn. I do a lot better the last 3 or 4 hours of daylight. So I pretty much stick to fishing at dusk.
Captain Cali reply :
Dusk because that means it will be pitch black soon! 
Seriously, it doesn't matter very much to me. I enjoy being out there at 6am, noon, 6pm, or midnight. As long as I'm out there it's all good.
CrazedL.IFisherman reply :
Ill take both choices if i could but since you asked either one ill go with dusk haha, theres nothing like night fishing, and i seem to personally catch much bigger bass as night, its cool and amazing on lakes up in the northeast at night with the loons calling one another, no jet ski's and plent of big bass to go around, one drawback is those freaking mosquitos i cannot stand them, but my dad always said when the mosquitos are out the bass bite, and to this day i think thats his best statement lol, whether he made that up himself or got that somewhere man is that accurate
island bassin reply :
I prefer early morning except from pre-spawing season. The water is getting warmer in the afternoon and this can make the diference especially for bank fishermen.
Keithscatch reply :
I've done better at dusk. But I like either one. When I am fishing in pitch black I look forward to dawn. I usually do well right before most anglers arrive at the lake, like when it is just turning red in the eastern sky.
roadwarrior reply :
I have never noticed any difference in terms of low light production, dawn and dusk seem about the same to me. I suppose, being an earlybird, I'm more focused in the morning. By dusk I'm usually hungry and in the mood for some whiskey. As others have stated and I have pointed out in other threads, midday is the most productive time for big bass.
Bankbeater reply :
Usually dawn, but it also depends on the lake I am going to be fishing at.
NJfishinGuy reply :
i dont get it if dawn and dusk are the best fishing times sense fish feed at these times then why is it that the biggest bass are cought midday?
roadwarrior reply :
Fish are more active during low light conditions and come up into shallow water to feed. Since most fishermen fish relatively shallow water, this is a time when bass are much easier and more likely to be caught. By contrast, SOME big bass feed deep or simply suspend in deep cover or on structure most of the time. This is where "they live". Fishing deeper water during the middle of the day is the key.
Rattlinrogue reply :
I catch bass at dawn and dusk.I prefer dawn because the water has had all night to cool down.Also I just like getting up early and on the water.99.9 % of the time I have the lake to myself.
NJfishinGuy reply :
RW if thats the case then wouldnt it be smart to fish the deeper water for the big'uns early instead of the shallows then
roadwarrior reply :
Yep, I think so if you are really after bigger fish. The trade-off is far fewer bass or maybe none at all. A lot of guys, I would say most guys, don't fish deep water at all. If you were tourney fishing, I think it would be silly to past up easy fish early, but I don't fish tournaments. This is a major reason tournament fishermen, including the pros, rarely catch double digit bass- they are not really fishing for them.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
Whenever I can fish is a good time to me. I catch more toward the evening mostly because that is primarily when I fish.
Doghouse. reply :
I think the fish roam more in low light to feed . Then as the sun gets high they tend to hold more on deeper cover like brush and stumps thats when it's time for the DD's to pull them up ;D. But i have had alot better luck with the morning fish like RW I'm looking for a big meal and a stiff drink by Dawn
Banor reply :
QuoteYep, I think so if you are really after bigger fish. The trade-off is far fewer bass or maybe none at all. A lot of guys, I would say most guys, don't fish deep water at all. If you were tourney fishing, I think it would be silly to past up easy fish early, but I don't fish tournaments. This is a major reason tournament fishermen, including the pros, rarely catch double digit bass- they are not really fishing for them.
Right on the money again RW. Getting the easy fish quickly to fill a limit takes alot of pressure off you in the tournament even if they are a limit of 14 inchers. Confidence and a bird in the hand beats 2 in the bush. I guess I'm in the mainstream philosphy of get the shallow easy limit first then go deep for the kickers.
I guess I prefer dawn since most tournaments start at dawnish. If I fish at dusk it's a bonus because it means I've been on the lake from dawn to dusk enjoying the time away from that evil thing called life!
B
Daniel My Brother reply :
I like both, but I prefer dusk. At dawn in the summer I know my time is limited, and the bite will eventually slow down, or shut down completely...but in the evening, as it starts to get dark, I get the feeling that the best fishing is still ahead of me.
Fish Chris reply :
Dawn "until" dusk ! :-) ....that way, the fish can decide what is the best time of the day to "get stuck" ! ;-)
......but I typically catch my biggest fish right smack in the middle of the day. I call the hours between 11am and 2 pm, the "magic hours" for trophy bass.
Peace,
Fish
BassKing813 reply :
When I'm fishing lakes: DAWN
When I'm fishing rivers: DUSK
BassKing813 reply :
Quotei dont get it if dawn and dusk are the best fishing times sense fish feed at these times then why is it that the biggest bass are cought midday?
I believe that the biggest bass are usually caught at around midday because they wait for the smaller, feistyer bass to feed in the morning, and once they are done, the big bass move in so they can have all of the hunting area to themselves where competicion is less and they have a greater chance to catch food, which will also be easier. Big bass are lazy creatures. Think about it. If you had a choice between going to a sports bar to pick up wings when it's jam packed, or waiting till the crowd leaves, which would you choose?
Fish Chris reply :
here's another possibility;
Bass, being from the sunfish family, love the sun, and feed very effectively in bright daylight (although they can also get by on a dark night too, but you must stop to remember that there prey, at night, is at the same disadvantage).
So anyway, maybe the biggest bass don't "wait" for the little ones to get out of the way (they sure don't wait for a prime spot.... when they are ready, they swim in, and the little ones had better get the heck out of the way !) Maybe, the big bass "choose" to feed when the light is best (mid day) and the little ones have learned that it is safer to feed early or late, to avoid becoming lunch for the big ones.
Sounds good anyway.
Peace,
Fish
Rattlinrogue reply :
I'm not doubting what anyone has to say about catching big bass at mid day,but if you think big bass don't feed in the shallows early you are wrong.I've caught 90% of the big bass that I've managed to bag before 7:00 AM.
jomatty reply :
my success rate is roughly the same but i still prefer the morning. something about getting up early, making coffee and heading out before sun up that just feels... i dont know... like a fishing trip should in my mind. i just love the feeling i get, i think its something i remember from childhood, when those rare pre light fishing trips were more exciting than just about anything in the world. plus in the morning you have an entire day ahead of you. in the evening you have all night but i find that i dont catch much for a good while after sunset (could be a confidence thing). anyhow anytime is good for me and i go whenever i can regardless of time and really regardless of chance of catching fish.
fish chris- that sounds good but something makes me doubt that the relatively few number of big bass can influence the feeding of the entire bass population. thats just my gut talking and there is nothing remotely scientific to back it up/
matt
RoLo reply :
As everyone knows, Dawn and Dusk are both prime fishing times.
The reason is supposedly due to an inherent advantage enjoyed by predatory fish.
The day vision (cone vision) of predators adjusts more rapidly to night vision (rod vision),
and vice versa. As a result, predatory fish are instinctively more aggressive
during periods of light level transition, as before a storm.
Although dawn and dusk both experience the same range of light transition,
there's an overt difference that involves shadowing. At dawn, treed shorelines
that are "west-facing" will cast long shadows on the water, but at dusk,
it is "east-facing" shorelines that cast shadows on the water.
Roger
Bassassasin12 reply :
good stuff Roger...
For me, dusk is my favorite time to fish but mostly because its the only times I really get to fish unless on weekends. I will tkae any low light condition but like dusk better because I don't have to get up early and the bass are just as active.
Cajun Caster reply :
"competicion"?
OSU_Fisherman reply :
I love fishing at dawn, but work and school seem to get in the way too often and I'm fishing at dusk. But, as long as its fishing, it can be any time of day and I wouldn't care much. 
MuchyMan reply :
quite recently i have had good luck at dusk fishing buzzbaits around docks and weedbeds but i like fishing a senko or a nightcrawler imitation at dawn either in deep water or just in front of lily pads
Hale reply :
I do better at dusk but its because of whats in my head...
In the morning I feel like time is on my side for me to get my head about me and find a pattern. I end up screwing around with ten different things that dont work and I blow the morning away.
In the evening I develop a pattern quick so I can catch fish before the state bird (mosquito) carries me off.
As avid said....It's all very psychological
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