"Light conditions during a well-lit night resemble the last light of dusk, when bass often forage heavily as they have a sight advantage over many preyfish at that time. After feeding heavily at night during the full moon, they simply are not as eager to pursue prey, though of course they still will bite. But large bass are more discerning and more accustomed than smaller fish to feeding at peak times."

Mitch Looper, a renowned big-bass angler from Barling, Arkansas, sees yet another effect of the moon that nearly all anglers overlook. "I do like the three days before a full or new moon," he notes, "but few anglers recognize that the best time for giant bass coincides with the rising and setting of the moon. The moon's rising and setting times are critical at all moon phases.

"Around the full moon phase, the moon is setting as the sun is rising and vice versa. And around the new moon, the moon rises and sets with the sun. This is an especially strong time, particularly in spring, but also during other seasons. On the quarter (half) moon, the moon rises and sets in the middle of the day and night. This is the time when big bass are most aggressive. I plan to be on my best spots during the two-hour period around the setting or rising of the half moon. The day or night of the actual half moon is a prime day for big bass, all other factors being equal."

SEASONAL PEAKS

Prespawn Period: Every seasoned bass angler knows that the Prespawn Period can produce some of the year's biggest bass. But the timing of this period varies among regions. It's possible, though, to fine-tune your approach to catch giant bass before the spawn.

Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, guided on Lake Fork for 13 years, focusing on lunker peaks, both day and night, to get his clients on Fork's highly sought lunkers. Now Jordon is a successful pro on the major league trail. "Each year, there are only about two to five days where everything is perfectly aligned to catch a giant prespawn female," Jordon notes. "In fact, when conditions are right, you can catch multiple 10-pounders. A day when all the stars lined up occurred at Lake Fork last March, and three Share Lunker bass were brought in, ranging from 13 pounds 9 ounces to 161⁄4 pounds. Dozens of 10s were caught that day, too, but unfortunately I was far away at a tournament.

"These ideal conditions occur in spring at the end of the first sustained warming trend that follows a spell of cold weather. This window starts to open with a cold front, but if clear skies continue for several days, air and water temperatures gradually warm, winds decrease, and the barometer levels off. The longer this stable warming trend lasts, the better.

"Then, when the next front approaches, don't be deterred from spending the day at the lake. I've noticed that these windows seem to invariably occur during the week, so have some vacation time ready. On the last day before the front passes through, you're guaranteed a big fish, 10-plus-pounders on Lake Fork, or maximum size wherever you live."

In northern states, spring warming occurs much faster than in the Southeast, driving legions of bass into the shallows to warm up, begin feeding, and eventually to spawn. Biologists and anglers have recognized this opportunity to catch more bass than at any other time of year, along with the biggest fish in the system. For that reason, closed seasons exist in several northern states and Canadian provinces.