It's Bite Time

I have had three different questions over the last four days that all related to the time of day that fish bite.  In general what all the questions asked was why do fish bite during the day on some lakes and only morning and evening on other lakes?  Or why can't I find any fish that will bite during the day on my favorite lake?

The answer to this question is very complex because there are a lot of variables that come into play based on the lake you are fishing.  When looking at what time of day the fish will bite you need take into account the following things; the type of lake, dissolved oxygen levels, depth of water, current weather conditions, light penetration, the forage base, time of year and water clarity.  All of the above can and will effect the bite and whether the fish will bite all day or only at the "peak" times.  It will be impossible to cover all those but here are a few things I look at.

The depth you are fishing is a huge part of what time of day you get fish.  If you like to fish shallow or a lot of your favorite spots are shallow you are going to find that the morning and evening time is going to be best because fish usually use shallow water to feed and then stage in much deeper water during the day.  Which brings me back to the fact, if you are looking for a day bite, look much deeper than you fish in the morning or evening.

Dissolved Oxygen levels also have a lot to do with the time of day fish bite.  If you fish a lake that is fed by a river and it maintains good oxygen levels in the winter, the fish are more likely to be more active, more aggressive and feed much of the day.  In addition, the fish in these lakes will in general be bigger.  If oxygen levels are low you will find fish only move to feed the last hour of the day and for a short period in the morning, which brings me to my next point.

Water clarity has a lot to do with the time of day of a bite.  If the lake you fish is crystal clear during the winter you may have a very hard time getting fish mid day.  In very clear lakes fish usually seek out the cover of weeds or suspend in very deep water.   In both of these cases they can be very hard to find and still may not bite when you do find them.  Often times very clear lakes yield a morning and evening bite window that is very short.

You can't trump the weather!  You may do everything right and you are on a lake you know they are going to bite during the day but you can not trump the weather.  The weather always wins or holds a better hand.  Some days fish are just not going to be active.  When the weather shuts the fish down on a particular lake, make note of the conditions.  Weather effects all lakes differently so make note on your particular lake when weather changes effect the bite.  Usually over time you can establish a pattern.

Forage base and fish population also have a lot to do with the bite.  If the fish don't need to feed because there is plenty of available food and there is not a lot of competition for it, they generally only feed the last few hours of the day and in the morning.  If there is a large population of fish and the competition for food is great your odds of finding fish during the day are excellent, as they are forced to look for food all day.  Anyone that deer hunts can relate to the same concept and it holds true for most animals.  Lakes with large fish populations are obviously going to be better "day bite" lakes because of this concept.

Those are a few of the reasons why fish bite at different times on different lakes.  As a general rule though, if you are looking for a day bite, look to deep water.  If you only have an hour or two to fish in the morning or evening, look shallower.  This does change based on the time of year but as a rule for most of the winter you can plan on deep water during the day and shallow in the evening.  Have you ever thought to yourself while crappie fishing in the evening, "where are these fish during the day?".  Well, they are over deep water and if you are lucky enough to find them, the bite will be excellent!

Hopefully this answered a few of those "time of day" questions that were sent it.  As I stated earlier, this is a very complex subject that would take a book to explain and then I still wouldn't have all the variables covered.  Hopefully this helped put a few pieces of the puzzle together.