When is the start of Bass fishing for everyone?  I love to fish the pre-spawn, and find that to be the most exciting time. Usually 1st to 2nd week in April(Upstate NY) I use to fish some private water but my Aunt and Uncle sold there place this summer, there are times when we would boat about 50 to 60 fish a day there.  Amazing fishing

Bass fishing here in the south starts Jan. 1.  We fish clear thru to December 31.   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Here in Tennessee the season starts around January 1st and usually runs until about December 31st.

This year the weather has stayed a little warmer, so the season might be extended.

Keep bragging fella's.................Bassin around here wont be happening until about the end on March! UGH!  > > >

Well that isn't right.... haha!  Do you notice a difference in the bite during your "Winter" months?

A pre-spawn bass:

Caught during one of our cold spells - brrrrrrrr

Well, it shouldn't but, for me it's also from Jan. 1 thru Dec. 31.  If there is no ice, which there hasn't been lately, I'll go at least once a week.  If nothing else, I'll walk 47 steps to my dock and make a few casts.  It also includes two or three trips to Texas Jan. thru March and a couple in the fall.

George, I have great respect for your abilities as a guide and your advice, but I'm not sure if your cold spells in Florida are much more than a chilly fall day further north.  Yes, I am jealous of you guys in the South.  My wife and I have plans to retire near a lake when the time arrives, but we haven't decided the location.  My mind keeps drifting further south as I think about it.

Beautiful fish!

I think the largemouth bite is much "softer" and less frequent in the winter.

Smallmouth around here are VERY aggressive. This is the best time of year for an opportunity at the next World Record!

senile1, I hear ya.  That crap a couple of weeks ago really made me want to retire early.  We plan on spending our golden years in East Texas, but the older I get the more Zapata looks good!!

On Toledo Bend the bass will go to pre-spawn even if the water is 35 to 40 degrees and as early as January but this year it looks like late December

I agree with fishbear and roadwarrior on the season dates. They are the same in Maryland.

For me only, I have a harder time catching largemouth bass in the winter. The smallies are just too mean to ever give up !!! They do no care if the water is 78 or 38 degrees. This is big smallie time my friend. Good luck.

I think the largemouth bite is much "softer" and less frequent in the winter

Roadwarrior there is only flaw with that comment

There are azaleas with buds already  

Here in Missouri, I will be fishing this winter, though quite a bit less than I did in the warmer months.  I usually fish for largemouths because there are no smallie waters in Northwest Missouri.  I think I'm going to have to do some traveling because within 150 to 200 miles of here, there are some good smallie streams in Central and Southern Missouri.  

Well, it shouldn't but, for me it's also from Jan. 1 thru Dec. 31. If there is no ice, which there hasn't been lately, I'll go at least once a week. If nothing else, I'll walk 47 steps to my dock and make a few casts. It also includes two or three trips to Texas Jan. thru March and a couple in the fall.

47 steps..... someday I would like to me that close.

George, I have great respect for your abilities as a guide and your advice, but I'm not sure if your cold spells in Florida are much more than a chilly fall day further north. Yes, I am jealous of you guys in the South. My wife and I have plans to retire near a lake when the time arrives, but we haven't decided the location. My mind keeps drifting further south as I think about it.

Beautiful fish!

Yeah whats a cold spell in Florida?  

NORMALLY THIS TIME OF YEAR I'M ICED-IN BUT WITH ALL THIS MILD WEATHER WHAT ICE WE HAD MELTED. I WAS JUST FISHING IN MY CANAL, I DIDN'T CATCH ANYTHING BUT IT SURE FELT GOOD TO HAVE A ROD AND REEL IN MY HAND AGAIN.

FALCON

fishing on long island new york does not get good until the first week in may id say, before than its real tough to draw a bite espcially with bad winters and water temps still cool

"George, I have great respect for your abilities as a guide and your advice, but I'm not sure if your cold spells in Florida are much more than a chilly fall day further north. "

"Yeah whats a cold spell in Florida?"

Hey we get cold - two weeks ago there were snow flurries in Orlando! Of course yesterday was 81 and I feel so guilty. Not!  

Date Fished: 1/25/03

Water Temperature: 42

Water Clarity: 2-3 feet

Fortunately I did not have to work in yesterday's cold as I was able to reschedule my client for a day next week. It was cold and it was windy. We had snow flurries in several locations down here around mid-day to include as far south as Port St Lucie.

As promised the 18th was definitely frigid. Temps with wind chill were in the mid-twenties but Tim and Robert were ready to roll bright and early. Bruce and Wyndham were also ready to go and ready to have a great time. Day two for Tim and Robert, (THE 18TH), was one they will probably only remember as numbingly cold. No one could anticipate the cold that descended into Florida and trying to keep the hands warm enough to work a bait and handle the reel in these temps is extremely difficult. Fortunately, the water was warm enough that nothing was freezing except the fingers.

Well, it shouldn't but, for me it's also from Jan. 1 thru Dec. 31. If there is no ice, which there hasn't been lately, I'll go at least once a week. If nothing else, I'll walk 47 steps to my dock and make a few casts. It also includes two or three trips to Texas Jan. thru March and a couple in the fall.

47 steps..... someday I would like to me that close.

I'm just a "little" longer than 47 steps, but 15 or 30 minutes ain't all that bad

I did not know it ever ended.    

matt

Start of Bass fishing?  Let's go way, way, waaaaaayyyyy back.  

http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm

fishing on long island new york does not get good until the first week in may id say, before than its real tough to draw a bite espcially with bad winters and water temps still cool

Hey, my man, you're just not putting in the time yet...On LI the last 2 years, I've been good from the end of March.  The water's still pretty cold, but with the right amount of technique and patience, those fish will bite.  This year I kept a log, and though they weren't large, I did catch more bass in March and April than I did in September and October.  Gimme a shout in March and I'll show ya what I mean 8-)

Fishbear,

My sentiments exactly!

Regardless of the weather I am hitting my lake every weekend. I may be in the South but it does get cold wet and windy in the winter but if there's a chance for a tight line and a fish on I am game.

Hello! Here in sunny Portugal, bass fishing goes from January 1st to December 31st, with a 2 month breeding period (March 16th to May 16th) when fishing isn't allowed for most of our species. In fact, around here there are two distinct fishing periods, one specific for salmonid waters and one for all other species. My favorite times have to be mid-June to early August and mid-September to late November, when the bassin' action can really pump you up in some places. But at times, you get more than you asked for