Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Why wait for spring? The month of love might just bring your best chance of taking the lunker largemouth of a lifetime!

For many outdoor lovers, February stacks up as a relatively useless month. Sure, there’s Super Sunday and, if you’re a lover of more than the outdoors, there’s always Valentine’s Day. But deer and turkey seasons are over, and for most of us, it’s too early to go fishing. The outdoor world is in suspended animation.

At least that’s what a lot of sportsmen tend to think.

A few years back, one intrepid angler who seems not to have been affected by that mindset ended up making headlines in his part of the world. On Valentine’s Day, with most guys out shopping for chocolate and flowers for their girlfriends or wives, our angling friend headed for the lake -- and landed the fifth-biggest largemouth bass ever caught in his state!

Although that happened back in the last century, (this is 2008 you know) this fellow’s catch was neither fluke nor foul-hook. Check the big-bass records for your state and I’ll bet you discover that a surprisingly high percentage of those big bass got hooked in February. Look at the top 10 lists and you’re likely to find as many as four of the big boys -- or girls -- made the record book in February. As recently as two years ago, on Feb. 21, 2006, some lucky stiff reeled in a 15.50-pound largemouth in my home state.

Over a three-day period in late February last year in another Southern state, a couple from the Midwest caught and released 101 bass. The worst day their guide had that February saw his customer boat 24 bass, one of which ran a mere 8 pounds.

Clearly, the empirical evidence is plentiful: Throughout the South and Southwest, February is a great month for catching big bass.

Some months ago, before their metabolism slowed down, bass pigged out and gained weight, instinctively storing up energy for winter. On top of that extra weight gain, the females are now full of roe.

Just because the bass are likely to be bigger doesn’t mean the fishing is particularly easy. You definitely can expect fewer bites.

As one longtime fisherman puts it, “Anybody can catch a bass in the springtime.” That’s just any bass he’s talking about.

But go fishing in February, as long as you’re able to adjust your technique and be patient, and chances are good the bass you catch will be big bass. And, given that most people still think February’s a lousy fishing month, you won’t find yourself crowded by too many other fishermen.

Another reason you’ll likely having plenty of fishing room is that February is not the most comfortable month on the calendar to be outdoors. It can be cold, windy, wet or all of the above, but it also can be relatively balmy, even if spring is still several weeks away in your area in February. In fact, bad weather associated with the development of a low-pressure system can make for improved fishing.

On Valentine’s Day, with most guys out shopping for chocolate and flowers for their girlfriends or wives, our angling friend headed for the lake -- and landed the fifth-biggest

largemouth bass ever caught in his state!

No matter the weather, savvy fishermen know that Cupid is not the only creature that starts getting revved up in the second month of a new year. With the approach of spring, almost all species are ready to begin once again their timeless processes of procreation. Fish move into a pre-spawn mode.

For bass, it’s not so much about the birds and the bees as it is about what the thermometer says. Later in February, air temperatures begin to moderate. That in turn affects the water temperature, starting in the shallows. With their spawning season on the horizon, cold-blooded bass begin to “wake up” from their winter lethargy. They move out of the deeper, colder water toward the shallows looking for food and a safe nesting place.