How deep do bass go in summer?

Commonly 10–25 ft on offshore structure once the water is above 80°F, limited by the summer thermocline. Some fish stay shallow in heavy grass or shade.

How deep are bass in winter?

Often 20–30 ft or deeper in clear lakes under 50°F, on steep banks and channel edges near bait.

Bass Fishing Depth Chart: Which Lure at Which Depth

Written by Atlas Editorial · Last updated 2026-11-05

Bass sit shallow (0–10 ft) from about 55–75°F in spring and fall, move to 10–25 ft offshore structure above 80°F, and drop to 20–30 ft or deeper under 50°F — choose the lure that runs in that band.

Bass depth chart

General reservoir patterns. Clear lakes (Smith, Martin) push every band deeper; stained, shallow lakes pull it shallower.
Depth band	Lures	Water temp that puts bass here	Season
0–5 ft	Topwater, hollow frog, squarebill, buzzbait, wacky stick worm, spinnerbait	60–75°F (spawn); 65–75°F (fall)	Spring spawn, early fall, summer dawn/dusk
5–10 ft	Medium-diving crankbait, chatterbait, swim jig, lipless crankbait, jerkbait	50–60°F (pre-spawn); 60–70°F (fall)	Pre-spawn staging, fall
10–20 ft	Deep-diving crankbait, football jig, Carolina rig, Texas worm, shaky head	80°F+ (summer); 55–60°F (late fall)	Summer ledges, late fall
20–30 ft	Drop shot, jigging spoon, football jig, Alabama rig, magnum crankbait	Under 50°F (winter); 85°F+ in clear lakes	Winter, peak summer
30 ft +	Drop shot, jigging spoon, blade bait, heavy shaky head	Under 48°F in clear lakes	Mid-winter in clear highland lakes

What moves bass up and down

Water clarity: in clear water bass go deeper and the light penetrates further. In muddy water even summer bass can sit 2–6 ft.
Thermocline: in summer, many Alabama reservoirs stratify and oxygen drops below a layer roughly 15–25 ft down. Bass rarely sit below it. Find it on sonar as a band of clutter.
Current: generation on TVA and Alabama Power lakes pulls bass to the up-current side of ledges and points.
Bait: bass follow shad and herring depth. Find bait on sonar first, then fish that depth.

Depth pro tips

Pro tip · Count down

Jigs, swimbaits and lipless baits sink roughly 1 ft per second on fluorocarbon — count to the depth you want.

Pro tip · Line matters

Moving from 15 to 10 lb fluorocarbon adds 2–3 ft to a crankbait’s running depth.

Pro tip · Contour

Fish the edge where depth changes fastest — a 10–20 ft drop on a ledge holds more bass than flat bottom at either depth.

Questions from the ramp

Sources

Data last reviewed: 2026-11-05