Sunny vs. Cloudy Fishing Strategies
Story and Photos By Don Wirth

The weather plays a huge role in bass fishing, and is one variable over which anglers have absolutely no control. While you can't do anything about the weather, gaining a better understanding of its impact on bass location and behavior is bound to make you a more effective fisherman.

One aspect of the weather that you're aware of every second you're on the water is the condition of the sky. Is it sunny, partly cloudy or overcast? Many weekend anglers have a strong preference for one sky condition over another. Some claim they catch more bass when it's cloudy, while others might voice the exact opposite sentiment.

Since it's impossible to dictate what the sky will be like when you're fishing, the best pro anglers and guides have learned to catch bass regardless of whether they're casting under bluebird skies or dense cloud cover. To help make you a more effective angler, some of the top names in bass fishing share their strategies that will allow you to score big bass in both sunny and cloudy conditions.

Professor's Insights
Doug Hannon, ESPN's "Bass Professor," has caught some 600 bass weighing 10 pounds or more. A lifelong student of bass behavior, Hannon has kept meticulous records of his bass outings for nearly 40 years. His findings dispel some of our sport's most pervasive myths.

"Most of my giant bass — fish exceeding 12 pounds — were caught during mild, sunny weather," he says. "This should come as no surprise since the bass is primarily a sight feeder, and its ability to see forage is enhanced when light penetration is greatest. Since this is true of the largemouth bass as a species, it stands to reason that the largest, most successful members of that species will be the ones most likely to feed under sunny conditions."

According to Hannon, when the bass's visibility is heightened under sunny skies, they are able to spot highly camouflaged prey species such as crayfish and bluegills more easily.
"On the flip side, they're also able to discern flaws in our lures or presentations that tell them this potential meal isn't real and therefore dangerous to eat," he adds. "The biggest bass learn over time to avoid certain forage species, including spiny-rayed baitfish, as well as all but the most natural artificial lures. They do this by feeding under sunny skies when they can see better."

Many bass anglers, even some pros, have the mistaken notion that the sun hurts the bass's eyes.

"They back up their claim by asserting that because bass have no eyelids, they're compelled to retreat into cover to avoid the sun's harmful rays," Hannon says. "This is totally incorrect. In reality, the bass, a member of the sunfish family, is a highly efficient predator, not a helpless victim of its environment. It retreats beneath lily pads or moves tighter to stumps and submerged trees when the sun comes out in order to remain hidden from its prey, not because the sun hurts its eyes."

Pointers From The Pros
Opinions about sunny vs. cloudy conditions vary greatly among the pros. Veteran Oklahoma pro and former Bassmaster Classic champion Ken Cook swears that he scores more bites when it's cloudy.

"It's not cloud cover alone that makes bass bite, but rather the entire package of weather phenomena that accompanies the clouds," says Cook, who is a former fisheries biologist. "Cloudy skies are associated with unstable weather. When it's been sunny for several days and then turns cloudy, you can predict that weather conditions (and fishing conditions) are about to change dramatically. Often there's a shift in wind direction, a drop in barometric pressure, and then a storm blows in."

Of course, Cook can't pick and choose his fishing days. He has to go regardless of whether it's 85 degrees and sunny or 40 degrees and cloudy. But over the years, his catch has been consistently better in unstable, cloudy conditions than it has in stable, sunny weather.

Nevada pro Byron Velvick says bass are adept at surviving and thriving under all types of sky conditions.

"Like Hannon says, bass are predators, and they'll do what it takes to survive in their constantly changing environment," Velvick explains. "In general, bass position themselves tighter to cover under sunny skies than they do when it's cloudy. This doesn't mean that they're out in the open, far from a stump or weedbed, under cloudy skies. They may still relate to cover, but instead of hunkering tight to a stump or burying in the middle of a weed patch like they do when it's sunny, they'll relate much more loosely to the cover."

For example, when it's sunny, you'll catch more bass by fishing close to hard cover such as stumps, laydown logs and rocks. Bass will hunker down tight to these objects to conceal themselves from passing prey. They'll also hide in submerged grass, often suspending beneath surface mats or burying in beds of coontail or milfoil.

"Regardless of what type of cover you're fishing, if it's sunny, your lure usually needs to come into contact with that cover to get bit," Velvick says. "This fact dictates the style of bait you should be using on a bright, sunny day — a saturation lure, one you can fish around and within cover without constantly hanging up. A jig-and-pig, a shaky-head worm and a tube bait are good lures to try when it's sunny on lakes with abundant wood or weed cover."

When it clouds up, Velvick has found that bass roam farther from cover.

"Now is the time to throw search baits, lures you can fish faster with a horizontal retrieve," he says. "Examples include crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures and swimbaits. These are all better suited to covering big pieces of structure like flats, points, ledges and depth contours than they are to probing dense cover. Under overcast skies, bass will actively prowl these structures in search of a meal."

Velvick emphasizes the importance of being a "detail" fisherman and making precise presentations to specific pieces of cover in order to catch bass in sunny weather.
"When it clouds up, you'll do better with a shotgun vs. a rifle approach," he says.

Texas pro Dean Rojas finds that sunny-weather bass are far more predictable than bass on cloudy days.

"When the sun's shining, it's a no-brainer," he says. "You can bet they'll be way back under overhanging trees or buried in the grass. Getting at these fish often requires a high-skill presentation like skipping, but it's worth the trouble. These bass are in places most anglers refuse to fish and will usually bite if you can get your lure to them."

Rojas is best known for his prowess with a surface frog, a lure he's won thousands of dollars fishing.

"This bait catches bass when it's cloudy, too, but I feel super-confident about using it when it's sunny," he notes. "I'll skip it under flooded bushes and shoreline overhangs and retrieve it with quick, frantic twitches. Bass in heavy cover will eat it without hesitation."
Does cloud cover affect different bass species in different ways? Mike Wurm, a nine-time Classic qualifier from Arkansas, thinks so. He finds largemouth bass to be more catchable in cloudy weather, but favors bright sunshine for smallmouth bass.

"Smallies tend to inhabit clear lakes without a ton of cover in them," Wurm explains. "They relate more to structures such as offshore humps, points and ledges than they do to shallow weeds and wood, and spend much of their time suspending in open water over a drop-off or structural edge. When it's sunny, they can see their prey clearly from a considerable distance. A lure with some flash to it, like a suspending jerkbait, small crankbait or topwater plug with a reflective finish, can attract a smallmouth from a mile away."

Largemouth bass, on the other hand, are much easier to catch when it's cloudy, Wurm believes.

"Now you can comb the water with fast-moving lures like a lipless crankbait," he says. "I pray for cloud cover in tournaments. Sure, you can catch fish when it's sunny, but you have to slow way down with a jig or worm. In a competitive scenario, you may be in a position where you're running out of time and need to put some weight in your livewell fast."

Color And Size Considerations
Many anglers fish the same lure colors regardless of sky conditions, but that may be a huge mistake.

"Lures with a reflective finish definitely work best in sunny conditions," Velvick says. "These include crankbaits and surface lures with shiny chrome or gold finishes; spinnerbaits with nickel, copper or gold-plated blades; and translucent soft plastics with metallic flakes imbedded in them. These baits capture the flash common to many baitfish that bass target, including threadfin shad, shiners and rainbow trout. When it's cloudy, however, a lure with a reflective finish tends to disappear from view. It literally becomes a mirror reflecting the grayness around it."

Instead of using shiny lures when it's cloudy, Velvick recommends switching to baits with a flat finish, such as hard baits in bone white, red or chartreuse; soft plastics in dark colors with no flakes; and spinnerbaits with painted blades.

Likewise, sky conditions should have an impact on what size lure you're fishing.

"Bass in clear lakes are sticklers for detail when it's sunny," Velvick says. "Your lure and presentation better look totally natural or they'll reject it. In general, the bigger the lure, the more unnatural it looks to a bass. The exception to this rule is a swimbait, many of which are startlingly realistic. The best ones capture the coloration, movements and profile of large forage fish. No wonder they catch so many giant bass in gin-clear Western lakes."