Sunrise and sunset are prime times for summer bassing, where ever you fish. (Frank Sargeant)

By Frank Sargeant

Anytime you can go fishing is a good time to go fishing, of course.

But there seem to be certain “magic hours” that consistently produce more fish, particularly in the bassing world.

Prime times also happen to be the most beautiful times of day and the coolest, so you get a summer trifecta.

Kayak fishing adds a special element to fishing at dawn and dusk, and the silent approach often means more fish. (Hobie Kayaks)

Mornings are the best of the best, because the water is the coolest it will be all day. Not only that, but you can pretty much bet that at first light, any fish that have moved into your spots overnight have not seen a lure for many hours.

Last but not least, you’re less likely to have another angler pull in a hundred feet down the shore from you and start casting. Some guys get up this early, but not many.

Oh, and the fish are most inclined to hit topwaters in that magic hour from first light to sunrise.

Most bass caught in the shallows in summer won't be huge, but there are occasional chunks like this one. (Frank Sargeant)

And you’re likely to share the water with a passing beaver or an otter, and see an osprey crash on a shad—it’s mesmeric at times.

On my home lake, Guntersville, the best lures can be anything from a Berkley Choppo to a Bucca Shad to a Heddon Baby Torpedo. The fish are not giants in the shallows in late summer—a 3-pounder is a whopper in this venue—but there are lots of them and they hit consistently.

The second best time is of course that last hour of daylight. The fish seem to wake up as the light fades, even though the water is still hot. And a lot of anglers head for the ramp too—all the tournament anglers are off the water by 3 p.m., and local guys often want to get home to supper a little after 5. If you stay later, you have a lot of water to yourself.

In heavily fished waters like Guntersville, the fish are pretty used to the buzz of passing outboards, but at times they seem to react to the sound of trolling motors close by and the ping of powerful sonar. With all that pretty much disappearing as the sun touches the horizon, the fish seem to wake up.