The answer isn't just yes, bass bite after it rains, but some of the best bass fishing can actually be right after a big rain. Right after a good rain, the bass may stay where they're at, but after full rivers cause lake water to rise, the bass will move. The aggressive bass will move up into the shallow banks and take advantage of the higher waters in order to feed.
It's always a good idea to follow that movement of water and fish shallower right after a good rain. A good rain will also create more current which frequently helps the bass bite.
Post-Rain Bass Tackle: Topwater Lures
Rain will cause a lot more action in a lake and stir everything up. It's also likely that there will still be good cloud cover after a rainstorm. These are perfect conditions for using topwater lures. Some great topwater baits to consider are hula poppers, jitterbugs, spooks, frogs, and buzz baits. If you know you want to learn more about topwater lures for bass you can check out our lure picks for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, and striped bass.
Post-Rain Bass Fishing: Where and How to Fish
As a general rule, bass will become more aggressive after rain. This means you should pick up your fishing pace, and try to fish your lures faster. You should also search for common holds of fish or places where there will likely be more bass. Fishing near ledges, points, stump fields, and run-offs will be more productive.
If you can find a run-off into your lake or river, you should definitely take advantage of that after a rain. You'll see that the water level rises in rivers and pipes, which washes down nutrients and food into the outlet. Bass know this and will cluster around these areas looking for an easy meal.
Water Clarity: Pros and Cons
Rainstorms will also likely cause a change in water clarity. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage to bass anglers. Muddy water that comes into a lake will also bring bait such as grubs, worms, bugs, and larvae with it which makes the bass bite better, but the fish will have a decreased amount of eyesight.
This doesn't mean you won't catch fish, but you won't be able to rely on fish seeing and chasing down your lures. Instead, you should focus on trying to get a reaction strike from the fish.
Low Water Clarity: Reaction Strikes
A reaction strike is different than a regular feeding pattern. Bass don't just bite when they're hungry and out hunting for food. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass will attack a lure based on pure instinct if you present it correctly. You can get reaction strikes out of fish by dragging lures in front of their face or casting near or on top of them.
The reaction strike instinct can also be triggered by running crankbaits or spinnerbaits into submerged objects such as logs, rocks, ledges, or stumps. Bass will naturally think your lure is an injured baitfish and will take the easy opportunity to feed, regardless of if they're hungry or not.
