Bass fishing water temperature chart

Short answer: largemouth bass spawn in spring when the water warms into the low 60s to mid 70s °F. Fish agencies give 59–75°F (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service), 62–65°F (New Jersey) and 65–75°F (South Carolina). Bass normally stop feeding in water below 41°F. That makes water temperature, not the calendar, the best guide to where bass are and what they’re doing.

The chart: what fish agencies say

We only list temperatures an agency publishes. Exact numbers vary by region and by lake, which is why the agencies’ ranges differ.

How the seasons play out

New Jersey’s fisheries biologists describe the cycle. Cold winter water pushes bass into a near-dormant state in the deepest part of the lake. As the lake warms in spring they move shallow, stopping at “staging areas,” deeper water next to shallow flats, on the way to spawning grounds. After the spawn, males guard fry in the shallows while larger females return to deeper water for much of the summer. As the water cools in autumn, bass feed heavily in shallow water close to deep water to prepare for winter (NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife). In summer, oxygen limits how deep they can go: many lakes stratify, and the cold bottom layer can run out of oxygen.

Use a surface reading the right way

• Gauges read the water near the surface. Shallow coves and north-facing banks warm earlier in spring than the main lake.
• The trend matters more than one reading. A few degrees of warming over a week in spring is what moves fish shallow.
• Every LakeCharts lake page also shows the weather, solunar times and the state agency’s species list.

Live lake water temperatures

Live data as of Oct 26, 2026. Surface water temperature from the USGS or lake operator gauge on each lake, warmest first. Right now readings run from 75°F at Lake Houston to 48°F at Lewy Lake.

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