At what water temperature do Bass vacate the shallows?

Late yesterday surface temp was 88.6.  I didn't catch any bass in less than three feet of water.  I did catch a couple between four and five foot deep.

  So....I'd venture to say maybe 88?

Sorry...probably should leave the sarcasm to @Deleted account.

The simple question has an enormously complex answer....or maybe no real answer.  Some bass go 'deep' soon after the post spawn feeding frenzy.  Some never go very deep.  Deep is relative and means something different on every body of water....even differs in places on same body of water.   Where I was fishing yesterday,  the bass would have had to travel nearly a mile to get to water more than 6 feet deep....but they did seem to find depressions and cuts only a foot deeper than surrounding areas.

  I fished a lake the other day where bigger fish were caught around 18 foot....but caught big numbers in 5-7 FOW during a very active feeding window.   Bait, structure, weeds, temps at depth, current, etc. all play a role in what depth you might find bass.

Anything between about 50-85 degrees is tolerable for a largemouth bass, according to the science book (for northern strain).  Florida strain temps are probably different.

 

50 degrees is the low mark for me.  Once it drops below that in the fall, I hang it up.  I'm sure they can still be caught when its below that, but not by me.

 

I've literally never seen an 85 degree water temperature here in MN.  The warmest we get is about 80 or 81.

I’ve caught them in a foot of water at 94 degrees. They go where the food is 

 

My favorite summertime spot is 2 feet or less.

There always food and there is always shade.

water temps in the 90's

 

look for shade.  that's my own feeble strategy.  that's what I would do if I didn't have sunglasses to wear.

Ledges and bluff walls can be money too, they'll sit in the deeper, cooler water and ambush things along the lip. Dragging jigs and plastics off the ledge is usually pretty productive, cranks and jerkbaits fished parallel to the ledge can be a bunch of fun too

It’s not high water temps alone that drive bass deeper.

Bass require a minimum of 3 mg/L dissolved oxygen (DO) to survive. 95 degree water doesn’t hold enough DO unless green aquatic plants are producing DO levels comfortable for bass.

Tom

A little lemon pepper with some cajun seasoning and broiled bass are scrumptious! Wait....

 

I catch the majority of my summer bass in less than 4 ft of water at temps above 90 degrees. I will admit that most of them are also in some sort of shade, whether that be docks, logs, standing trees, or even boats. 

12 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Sorry...probably should leave the sarcasm to @Deleted account.

Stay in your lane Choporoz!!! ?

I've fished in thick coontail when the air temp was in the high 90's.  The bass didn't seem to notice.  I've been on some waters around here the bite completely shuts down around 80 degrees.

You think a foot matters? Ask your wife. 

Fish will "relocate" to an area that is inhabitable to them. 

14 hours ago, gimruis said:

Anything between about 50-85 degrees is tolerable for a largemouth bass, according to the science book (for northern strain).  Florida strain temps are probably different.

 

50 degrees is the low mark for me.  Once it drops below that in the fall, I hang it up.  I'm sure they can still be caught when its below that, but not by me.

 

I've literally never seen an 85 degree water temperature here in MN.  The warmest we get is about 80 or 81.

you’re missing out

Our surface temps hit 91 - 93 every Summer and I'll catch bass right on the bank with a Buzzbait at night.

14 hours ago, Cbump said:

you’re missing out

Lol pi** warm water kinda grosses me out.  The water temps here are about the warmest they might get all year and a number of lakes are now closed because of swimmers itch and e-coli infestations.  Once it hits 80 degrees here its almost guaranteed to happen.

On 7/21/2022 at 12:05 PM, Sphynx said:

Ledges and bluff walls can be money too, they'll sit in the deeper, cooler water and ambush things along the lip. Dragging jigs and plastics off the ledge is usually pretty productive, cranks and jerkbaits fished parallel to the ledge can be a bunch of fun too

That's the only thing that worked for me this AM. Water temp was 79*(not too hot by some but here it's pretty hot) at that was at crack of dawn.

Anyway I couldn't get anything besides pan fish working the shore line( tried every type lure in my arsenal for a few hours and nothing). but today dragging a jig on one side and a heavy spinner on the other trolling very slowly along the drop off of the river trench through the reservoir was the only productive method for me.

There are a ton of factors involved.  And I certainly don't know them all.  

But I can say that last year in early August, the water temperature was in the low 90's around here, and I was catching quite a few in the shallows.  This year, the water temperature has been in the low 90's for the last few weeks, and I can't find nothing but fry in the shallows.  Even the deep water has been a tough bite.  Though, in past years there tended to be more vegetation along the banks.  For some reason this year, there hasn't been as much.  

Before the creek dried up last summer I'd catch bass in very shallow water, of course they had no choice. 90% of them would come from under cover to hit my baits.

5 hours ago, Bassin Bruce said:

That's the only thing that worked for me this AM. Water temp was 79*(not too hot by some but here it's pretty hot) at that was at crack of dawn.

Anyway I couldn't get anything besides pan fish working the shore line( tried every type lure in my arsenal for a few hours and nothing). but today dragging a jig on one side and a heavy spinner on the other trolling very slowly along the drop off of the river trench through the reservoir was the only productive method for me.

Glad to hear that you whacked them good!