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Can You Catch Bass In The Middle Of The Day? (Tips and Techniques)

bass fishing in middle of the day

Some of the largest bass I’ve ever caught were caught in the middle of the day. Sure, I’ve caught most of my record largemouth and smallmouth during late evening and early morning fishing trips, but that’s not the only time you can catch these monsters.

If you’re wondering if you can catch bass in the middle of the day? The answer is absolutely yes…you can.

And to even go a step further, I would highly recommend trying some mid day bass fishing if you haven’t done so already. You might really enjoy it and even land some new personal bests.

Related: Can You Catch Bass With a Bobber?

Tips For Fishing For Bass in The Middle of The Day

Unfortunately, life doesn’t give all of us a permission slip for bass fishing whenever we want. The majority of us have jobs, families and other responsibilities that take priority.

With that said, sneaking away in the middle of the afternoon for some mid day bass fishing might be the only time you have to toss a Senko Bait or crank bait.

So in an effort to help you take full advantage of your time out on the water, here’s a few tips for bass fishing during the middle of the day.

1. Fish Where The Shade or Cover Is

As the day moves on and it begins to warm up outside, bass are going to start taking cover under anything that provides relief from the afternoon sun. It might be a submerged log, an overhanging tree branch or even a boat dock. Anything that provides shade over the water is going to be the first place to start fishing for bass in the middle of the day.

During the warm spring and summer months, my favorite place to fish for mid day bass are across the top of lily pads with a top water frog.

A dense layer of lily pads is going to provide a ton of shade and cool water for largemouth and smallmouth bass to take shelter in.

Walking a frog across the top of these lily pads is going to drive those bass nuts!

2. Find Bass In Deep Water

Sometimes there’s just no shade to be found on a lake or pond. So how should you approach bass fishing in the middle of the day in these cases? Fish deeper water. As a matter of fact, fish the bottom of the lake.

If there’s no shade around to create a cozy cool area for the bass to hang out in, they’re going to do the next best thing which is to dive down deep. So that’s where you want to focus your attention.

There’s several ways you can do this, but my favorite method, and the first thing I’ll try when going deep, is to use a Yamamoto senko bait.

The reason I like using Senkos is for two reasons. First, afternoon bass like slow moving baits. And Senkos sink very slowly.

The other reason I like to use senko baits is because you can fish the entire water column in a single cast. Try rigging up your senko bait in a wacky rig setup and do not add any weight. Cast it out and allow it to slowly sink. As it travels down through the different depths, bass will find it irresistable.

3. Use Braided Fishing Line

During the middle of the day your either going to be fishing next to obstructions that create shade, like logs, brush, trees or boat docks or, you’ll be fishing the deep water where you have no idea what’s down there.

Either way, your fishing line is going to be rubbing against branches and rocks all afternoon long. And the last thing you want to happen is have your line break when you finally hook into that monster bass.

To help prevent this, the best thing you can do is use a high quality braided fishing line. I still like to use Power Pro Spectra on all of my bass fishing reels. It’s treated me real well and still recommend it to all my readers.

Final Thoughts

Don’t hesitate to get out there and do some bass fishing in the middle of the day. Bass are predators and they’ll strike at all times of the day and night. You just need to know where to find them and know where to cast your line.

Use these tips that I gave you above and I’m confident you’ll be catching mid day afternoon bass in no time.

Written by Don

When I'm not bass fishing or looking for steelhead in my home state of Oregon I can be found working on house projects dreaming of my next fishing adventure.

I started this website to share just some of the things I've learned along my fishing journey, and the many things I'm still learning. Enjoy!

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