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Location: Eastern Ontario | How many of you guys favor early morning fishing.I have fished muskies for a long long time and rarely fish very early in the morning (unless on new water away from home, most of my fishing is within 10 min. of home) after 35 years geting up at 3am to go to work I find in retirement it hard to drag myself out the door to fish without a bit of wake up time. I usually get on the water at around 10 or 11 and fish till after dark. My favourite time is the last 3 hours of light. I always found when I went out real early I was too burnt out by dusk to fish hard . My records also show a surprising number of catches between noon and 2 pm.
If I knew how to create a poll I would have asked for your 3 favourite hours like I said mine would be the last 3 hours of daylight. |
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| I would have to agree, the last 3 hours of light and many catches between noon and 3. We dont even rush out of the cabin early in the morning anymore. The only times we will fish early is if a front is on its way!!! |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | Like you I'm close to the lake and ours gets busy during the summer by vacationers so we fish early till 10-11 then go home for a snack and maybe a nap then back out at it around 4-5 pm till after dark.
Edited by shaley 2/5/2011 7:57 AM
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Shaley..... Which 3 hour do you find best first 3 or last 3? |
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Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | Same as Shaley. I like to be on a spot fishing before the sun even starts to come up. Fish til 10-11, then back at it from 4-5 to after dark. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | By far I prefer the early morning. Cacth more fish ta that time, and ALOT less people on the lake! It is a lot more pristine time than any other part of the day. |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | I've fished every imaginable time of day and the only times of day where the action seems to be even a little bit predictable are at moon set/rise and around twilight if the weather is not very good. Other than that I see no cast in stone pattern on when the fish will bite. I've had great days in the hot part of summer during midday hours, and had great days fishing twilight when the water temps were barely above freezing. Over all, I prefer early morning fishing in the warmer weather because I like it out then. Not nescessarily the fishing is better, it's just more enjoyable for me so I do it whenever I can. When it is really nasty out I prefer the midday hours, just seems to be easier to keep focused. When the conditions are right my favorite time is after dark if the topwater bite is on. You gotta love a boatside blast on a topwater in total darkness!
My three favorite hours are the ones when the fish are active, followed close by all the other hours I can fish! Without being on the water every day it's impossible to just speculate on when the fish will bite and be right. |
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Posts: 580
| In my experience, the early morning bite seems to generally be best during mid-late summer and early fall and generally worst in spring and early summer. In the early season, fish get more active after the sun has come out and had a chance to warm up the water a bit. So mid-late morning and afternoons can be best. In contrast, during the warmest water months, overnight cooling can be a good thing and fish will be moving at first light....I've found this to be especially true on heavily-fished waters. Fishing pressure seems to be lightest in the early, early morning.
First light/sunrise can also be very productive during the late fall, especially on stained water systems where there isn't much night feeding going on. Nights are very long late in the season and my simple way of looking at it is that fish are more apt to want an "early breakfast" after a long night.
Of course, any time of the day can be either good or bad and is usually weather-dependent...so we're painting with a very broad brush here.
Bottom line, if you never fish the early morning period, you're definitely missing out on fish.
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Posts: 8779
| Mid summer seems to bring a better morning bite than other times of the year, and that's the only time I really enjoy being out that early anyway. Seems like the "windows" in the spring are during the warmest part of the day. Makes sense I guess. As far as a favorite time to fish? Sunset. |
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Posts: 1287
Location: WI | I work evenings so I usually fish from 7 or 8 to noon. On the weekends I fish the same hours, then go home for a while, then go back out around 5-6pm until dark.
Sometimes I wake up earlier, it depends on where I'm fishing (drive distance). I like the early morning solitude better, a lot less pressure and that's probably when I catch the majority of my fish. |
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Posts: 2361
| I like morning fishing, but feel that walleyes, bullheads, and suckers, are evening movers, and tend to be the preferred big fish meals, and the best movement for them often ends before dawn.
Perch are daylight movers and tend to be smaller meals for smaller eaters.
This is how I justify not getting to the lake at the break of dawn, and instead staying till an hour after full dark. I am ALMOST sure I am right about this.....
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Posts: 32
| Cold time of year , late day
warm days, early part of day |
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Posts: 208
Location: North East PA , 20 mins from Chautauqua | I have had some very good fishing before the sunrise . I want to be the first person at the launch and I want my bait to be the first one the musky will see that day. Many of the lakes I fish get a lot of pressure during the daylight hours and almost none at night so the fish are somewhat "fresh" in the early am hours . Most of the fish I contact early are just hanging out just off the deep weededge most of those fish will be burried deep into the thick stuff when the boat traffic starts up . I also find that boat control is easier during the early hours becouse the winds have not cranked up yet much like when the lake lays down at night . I have to also say that I am a shade dweller and am very fair skined and will just about burn under a 100 watt bulb so it's best for me to be off the water by noon ! And that I normally get up between 4:30 and 5:30 every day for work so Thats just when I am used to getting up and getting moving . And the best part of early fishing is no jet skies ,wake boarders. or the sailboats to deal with !
Lance McFeely
"THE FERD" |
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Posts: 556
| I have to agree and have experienced many of the same results as others here. Love the early mornings during the warmest months of the year and I like the early hour periods on heavy pressured clear water lakes. These have worked for me over the years and have even used these patterns on new never fished lakes with success. |
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Posts: 536
| I have noticed some good feeding windows in the early mornings at first light but they seem to be very short. And then a hour or two after light I notice alot of porposing suggesting maybe they fed a hour or two earlier. This activity seems to be lake specific though I think! |
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Posts: 2324
Location: Chisholm, MN | My experience says that evening has been better than morning. I fish the times fairly evenly. THough, last year, morning was better, while evening was better this summer. |
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Posts: 267
Location: Right behind you (tap, tap) BOOO | Being a family man with young kids, my times to fish don't usually fall in between 9am and 9pm, that being said I used to like the early early mornings 1HR before sun up to about 830/9 am, but lately my preference has changed and find that night is the right time, less pressure and better success, hitting the water at 830/9 pm and fishing until 1230/1 am has been good to me..
Edited by esox23 2/8/2011 4:14 PM
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Posts: 785
| Every lake is different, Some lakes are WAY better in the morning and some are better evening and night. Last year more fish were put in the boat for me right around sunrise to an hour after than were caught right at sunset. Not that way every season though. |
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Early Morning Fishing