Just how important is the early morning bite when it comes to bass fishing? It seems as though everybody who calls themself a hardcore fisherman thinks that being successful means getting up before Mr. Sun does. But is it really that important to be up early in the morning? And if so... what would be the best choice to use for bait?? Hopefully this article will help you along the way!

Now first of all in answering if the early morning bite is important.. I would have to say yes. Most of the time that early morning bite really pays off, as the bass use the cover of low light to hunt their food.

Usually at this time, bass are more active, so the early morning is a good time to catch the more active bass. If the day is cloudy or rainy, your morning bite will last longer, as the low light will persist, and we all know that bass are greedy and will eat as long as they are able to easily. Now, in an opposite effect though, if it stays cloudy all day, usually the minnows will adjust to the light and become harder to catch for the bass, and make the bass harder to catch for you. It is at this time that you'll want to start finding active fish whenever you get small spots of sunny times throughout the day.. but hey! I thought this was about the early morning bite!

My biggest largemouth and 2nd biggest smallmouth (shown on picture page) were both caught at early morning. My biggest smallmouth the year before was taken in LATE afternoon, when it was almost dark. This should tell us how important these low light periods are. Bass are given a temporary chance to hunt with ease.

Now that I've shown you how important the early bite is, why don't I talk about what to use?? The first thing I usually try in early morning is a topwater lure, and 90% of the time it is a buzzbait. Since your window of opportunity can be very short (depending on weather), you'll probably want to have one tied on before you head out. It also saves you the hassle of tying a lure on in the near dark.

If topwater doesn't do the trick, you'll probably next want to switch to another fast action lure like a spinnerbait. Use dark colours like black or red, and usually a Colorado bladed bait is best. Terminator Lures makes a very nice Night Bait, which also works perfectly for early morning situations. Another good lure to test out in early morning is a jerkbait, also in dark colours. Twitched just below the surface or retrieved in the stop & go style, this can be a deadly bait for those tougher early morning bass. It is not too necessary to use scent in the early morning, but it could never hurt to apply some.

As early morning turns into late morning, you'll probably want to start the transition to brighter coloured lures. I find that once the sun is halfway to 3/4 in the air, white or chartreuse colours work best. My all-time favourite for any condition is red, and as a rule it will probably work at any time, but others will out-produce at some times. I also like to switch over to a tandem at this time, with a small colorado blade followed by a bigger willow blade. I can't explain why, but this seems to work well at this time.

If it has been a very clear and cold night, the bass could be a little deeper, and a deeper diving crankbait or suspending crankbait may be your ticket. When fishing these at this time, especially at deeper depths, it is important to use a dark colour like black, shad coloured or crawfish coloured. I always like something natural looking. And, when not in tournaments, I'll even drop a minnow or live crawfish sometimes (okay, so usually it's for perch, but I usually get some bass too!).

The point is that these bass are more active, therefore it will usually make your job of catching them a little easier. But it doesn't just work for bass.. just about every type of freshwater fish feeds pretty heavily in the morning, it just depends where you are to decide what time the main feed is. For example, here in Southern Ontario's Long Point Bay, the main feed is usually around 4:30 AM, which is unfortunate because that is before the tournament blast-off time. But 4:30 is just when it starts, and it can last up to and over 5 hours. I find the bigger ones bite later on after the "main feed" begins. It just pays to experiment on your body of water to see what is best.

Well, I hope this article has in some way helped you understand why or if the early morning bite is worth fishing or not. All of this information is from experience... these days during summer when I'm going out for pure fun I usually make it a ritual to get up fairly early and get out there for that early bite. This by no means is meant to make people ONLY go out in the morning, as many will tell you that mid-day is the best time for trophy bass, or some will say that late afternoon is the best time. I don't believe there really is a BEST time to go out there.. but I do enjoy the morning frenzy a lot more than other times of the day. Just get out there and have fun.. Good luck, and tight lines!