When Do Largemouth Bass Bite?
Last updated: 2026-09-26
Public app: This model has been available since version 1.6.6. The changelog also records older models, which no longer describe the current rating.
Short answer
The current model gives its largest possible change to estimated water temperature. Dawn and dusk are second. A moderate exact-hour wind helps, fall and spring score above summer, and a full-moon window adds only a small amount. Missing required data means no rating.
This page documents the current Largemouth Bass profile, the sources behind each driver, and where PrimeBite made a bounded model choice. Exact numeric tuning stays private.
Looking for what to throw?
The bait guide is separate from the 1–5 rating. It shows 15 ranked lure categories plus 5 separate, unranked natural baits, with exact source excerpts, honest limits, local-rule warnings, and fish-care guidance.
How It Works
The Largemouth Bass profile rates each available hour from estimated water temperature, dawn/dusk timing, exact-hour wind, season, and moon phase. The app's Why this rating section shows each real contribution; the displayed rows add exactly to the displayed rating.
Rating Structure
- One hourly rating: Every available hour uses the same five drivers on PrimeBite's familiar rating scale.
- Hourly activity curve: Shows only hours with every required input, including that exact provider-hour wind reading.
- Main app card: Today and Forecast show the expected daily range from the hourly curve, not one all-day Bass number.
- Best-stretch summary: The strongest complete contiguous two-real-hour average. If no complete window exists, the day has no rating.
- Best Times: Identifies the strongest windows from the hourly curve, typically around Dawn and Dusk.
What Drives the Rating
- Estimated water temperature — The largest driver. The positive catch relationship comes from Maahs et al. (2022); the app labels water temperature as an air-derived estimate.
- Dawn/dusk proximity — A strong driver informed by low-light catch evidence. Exact timing curves stay private.
- Wind speed — Moderate wind is favored over calm or strong wind, based on Maahs et al. (2022).
- Seasonality — Fall scores highest, then spring, summer, and winter, following the checked creel contrast.
- Moon phase — Small, conservative effect. One direct-angling study found full moon higher (p<0.01); telemetry warns patterns are not consistent year-round.
What Is NOT Used
- Barometric pressure — Two independent direct-angling studies found no significant effect.
- Cloud cover — Not scored. Dawn/dusk timing is the separate light-related driver.
- Solunar window positions (overhead/underfoot) — No bass-specific evidence found after comprehensive search.
Study Limitations
- Mixed methods: Smith, Maahs, and Mallison measure catches. Hanson, Hlina, and Winter provide movement or feeding context only.
- Moon phase: One direct-angling study supports a full-moon bump (p<0.01), but telemetry warns patterns are not consistent across the year. Included with very small weight and single-source risk flag.
- Water temperature: Estimated from recent air temperatures, not a measured lake reading. Actual water can differ, so this is not a local accuracy guarantee. The positive catch relation comes from one Iowa lake; the model does not extend it beyond the study's observed range.
- Regional variation: Optimal temperatures and seasonal patterns may differ by latitude and lake type.
Ratings are relative indicators, not guarantees. Where sources do not publish comparable point sizes, PrimeBite uses the bounded choices recorded in the model-change record.
Variables
Every variable is classified as research-backed, a disclosed bounded model choice, or excluded.
| Variable | Status | Evidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawn/dusk influence | Research-backed | 3 independent evidence lines | Second-largest allocated response. Direct hook-and-line evidence supports asymmetric low-light periods; telemetry and observed feeding are context. |
| Wind speed | Research-backed (single source) | 1 direct-angling study | Maahs et al. (2022) found a moderate-wind optimum in one Iowa lake. Exact app tuning stays private. |
| Water temperature | Research-backed (single source) | 1 direct-angling study | Maahs et al. (2022) found a positive catch relation across the temperatures observed in one Iowa lake. The app uses an air-derived estimate and a bounded response. |
| Seasonality | Research-backed | 1 direct creel study; movement context | Fall highest, then spring, summer, and winter. The direction follows the checked creel evidence. |
| Moon phase | Bounded model choice (single source) | 1 direct-angling study | Full moon higher (p<0.01). Telemetry warns patterns are not consistent year-round. Small weight. |
| Barometric pressure | Excluded (null result) | Current model does not allocate points | Mallison found no significant relation. Pressure adds no points. |
| Cloud cover | Excluded from scoring | — | Cloud cover adds no points. Dawn/dusk timing is scored separately. |
| Solunar windows | Excluded (no evidence) | N/A | No bass-specific open-access evidence found after 5 search sweeps. |
Current evidence roles
Season — Smith et al. 2024
Direct Texas reservoir creel data rank fall first, then spring, summer, and winter. The study groups black bass, with Largemouth Bass as the main target.
Water temperature and wind — Maahs et al. 2022
Direct tournament data support a positive water-temperature relation within 5.71–28.72°C and a fitted wind curve peaking near 12.2 km/h. Both effects come from one Iowa lake.
Dawn/dusk and moon — Mallison 1988
Direct hook-and-line data support the light-time blocks and a small full-moon-window effect. The study lasted 35 days, and moon phase changed with water temperature. It also found null wind and pressure results.
Moon contrary context — Hanson et al. 2008
Telemetry did not find a repeatable annual lunar pattern. PrimeBite therefore keeps the moon effect small.
Light and season context — Hlina et al. 2026
Telemetry supports dawn/dusk movement peaks but shows summer movement peaks, which limits the season transfer from catch data.
Early feeding context — Winter 1976
Four limited surface or feeding-like observations mostly occurred early. This is context only, not catch-rate magnitude evidence.
Full Source List
| ID | Authors / Year | Title | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current 1 | Smith et al. 2024 | Seasonal, spatial, and water-level predictors of angler catch and effort in Texas black bass reservoirs | Article |
| Current 2 | Maahs et al. 2022 | Tournament capture, water temperature, and wind | Article |
| Current 3 | Mallison 1988 | Hook-and-line time blocks, moon, and null wind/pressure results | |
| Current 4 | Hanson et al. 2008 | Lunar telemetry contrary context | |
| Current 5 | Hlina et al. 2026 | Dawn/dusk and seasonal movement context | |
| Current 6 | Winter 1976 | Limited early feeding-behavior context |
Changelog
- 2026-09-13 — model now public in version 1.6.6: The new model replaces the April baseline-plus-adjustment approach with direct hourly contributions. It uses exact provider-hour wind, fall-first season effects, asymmetric light windows, and no rating when a required input or complete two-hour headline is missing.
- 2026-04-13: April rebuild truth-sync: replaced BASS-S4 dome with BASS-S6 linear-positive temperature, replaced BASS-S2 moon with BASS-S9 direct-angling + BASS-S10 context, updated pressure section from BASS-S3/S8 to BASS-S8/S9 (S3 retracted), added S9 and S10 to source table, marked S2 deprecated / S3 retracted / S4 demoted. 10 sources total.
- 2026-03-30: Refreshed the public Bass page after the live recalibration closure and full re-audit. Updated the visible app-story wording so it matches the current range-first Bass UI.
- 2026-03-12: Updated wording to match the live Bass v2 app model: day baseline + intraday modifier, hourly curve, and best contiguous 2-hour headline summary.
- 2026-03-08: Initial release. 8 open-access sources. Environmental day rating with hourly activity curve. Calibrated using 6-step evidence-anchored process.