Im wondering if someone could advise on how the angle of the sun may impact fishing strategy.  Thought about it early this morning as the sun was rising and brightly reflected off of the water.  Im curious, does it matter if I cast towards the sun or perpendicular?  Do the fish turn towards the sun or away from it?  Thanks

This is a great question that I have often thought about myself.

On a bill dance topwater show, he said that if possible, you want to be casting TOWARDS the sun. This is because casting towards the sun helps break up the outline of the lure, making it harder for the fish to spot it as a fake. Not seeing it exactly for what it is, and thinking that it is a meal getting away, might help you draw extra strikes.

I have also been trying to figure out if early in the mornings, you should fish the side that receives the sun first or if you should fish the side with the shade. From my early experience, testing for this variable, I think the side that is receiving the most sun is usually a good place to start. Of course, I know the ponds I fished this summer really well and I do remember that sometimes, water depth, and structure determined a lot where these fish became more active. It wasn't only about what shore the sun was hitting but what side possessed the best structure.

Following along the same line of thought, I have heard Doug Hannon say that when he doesn't know a body of water very well, he usually heads for the North West side. This is because the sun hits most of the bodies of water in the US on the North West side. The strength of the sun in these areas usually causes microorganisms to grow better there and use photosynthesis, which then brings out the smaller baitfish, bringing in the bigger predators and eventually bass.

This is the video where he talks about that. It also talks about "chasing the sun" and "the sun as the foundation of the food chain" pretty good stuff as far as I'm concerned!:

Hope this helps man. I am sure the more experienced and knowledgable guys on here will chime in. This is just some stuff that I have noticed and learned in my early fishing carreer.

Carlos

In shallow water, You don't want the shadow to arrive before the bait.  In deeper, clear water, the shadow of the boat can shake up a spot.  Its not always bad, but its something to be aware of.

  For the most part, isn't one taught to cast to the shaded side first before probing the side that the sun is cast upon in warmer months.

    Take a dock for example, early morning, a bass may be feeding in front or behind that dock.   As the sun rises, it adds more light into the water and that bass will retreat to the edge of the boat dock, and as the sun gets higher, it positions it self further under neath the boat house.

   Light penatration plays an important part in positioning of fish.

   

   

The suns position compared to the horizon can affect the activity level of any predator that relies primarily on sight and camouflage to hunt prey.

Largemouth bass are sight predators and use shadows to help break up their profile and blend into the background. Generally the suns position 30 degrees above the horizon increases the suns rays penetration into the water. As the sun moves above 30 degrees from horizontal to vertical, the light penetration increases, shadows increase, sight improves.

Wave action helps to break up the suns rays penetration, giving the bass an advantage by improving their camouflage factor.

However bass have excellent low light vision, better than the prey and tend to be more active in low light conditions; one reason why night and very early morning or late evening are good times to fish.

Answer to your ? about casting into the sun when it's low to the horizon; it doesn't affect the bass, the light penetration is minimal into the water at that low angle. How your lure approaches the bass is far more important. If you can't see well, you can't cast accurately.

WRB

In shallow water, You don't want the shadow to arrive before the bait. In deeper, clear water, the shadow of the boat can shake up a spot. Its not always bad, but its something to be aware of.

You got that right J

I have learned this to be true in many of the waters I fish.  Often times to beat it. I transit in way shallow water to get in position on a spot so as not to spook wary smb.

;)A-Jay

In shallow water, You don't want the shadow to arrive before the bait.

I am not sure if your talking about the shadow from the bait? Or the boat? And if you are talking about the bait please explain.