Hot Summer TIme Bass Fishing Techniques!

July is just a few days away, and the next two months are going to be extremely hot, and nearly unbearable, with temperatures around 100+ degrees! Shew, it makes me sweat just thinking about it. Fishermen don"t like to fish when its this hot, and bass don't seem to want to cooperate just the same. Many fishermen including the pros sometimes find it very difficult to catch bass during this time of the year.

I know, you have to deal with extreme temperatures, ski boats , pleasure crafts and even recreational boats where they are drinking, and being obnoxious and washing you and your boat up on the bank. Plus, the bass seem to have lock jaw, and the thought of being under the a/c seems to out weigh the thought of dealing with all this nonsense. But like my grandpa used to say "you can't catch fish unless you have a lure in the water"

Bass, believe it or not, still need to eat , and they can still be caught if you just learn a few techniques and learn how to overcome these obstacles. Besides sweating is good for you, as it gets out all those poisons and impurities that we, through our bad vices accumulate. LOL! Man, I sweat like a pig in a sauna! LOL again!

As I stated in an earlier post,( Night time Bass Fishing?) you might consider fishing at night. Unless you know the area like the back of your hand, this can be dangerous, but it can be more productive and enjoyable. And if precautions are taken you can have a safe outing.

Most fishermen will tell you that in the last few years it seems to be getting tougher and tougher to catch fish, not just during the summer, but especially the summer. There is more boat traffic and fishing pressure now than there has ever been. The bass have adapted to these conditions and I believe that, most fishermen have simply not adapted to these conditions!

The first thing to consider is get out there before or a little before day break. Its cooler and the bass are more aggressive and usually feeding, well up into mid morning. Top water baits are an excellent choice. Sub surface crank baits are really good too.When the top or sub surface bite diminishes, the sun is usually pretty high and is getting hot and bright. Fishing in shallower water like coves and creeks are really good early morning because bass are usually in the shallows feeding on bait fish like crawdads,shad, minnows. Lures that simulate these bait fish work best.

Once the sun gets up and things start heating up temperature wise,. start working from shallow to deep. Let the fish tell you what they want and adapt to the fishes desires. My grandpa always told me " fish with lures that the bass want, not what you want to fish with." You see a lot of lures catch fishermen , but not too many fish. How many times have you seen a lure that you thought was pretty? Pretty doesn't catch fish. Lures catch fish. The right kind of lures and the right colored lures.

If your getting a lot of follows but no bites , then you know something is just not right , either the action, the color, or the size is usually the problem. If you are observant , you will adapt to the conditions and desires of the bass. After all the bass is the one who is eating the lure. If you really wanted a steak dinner, and all the cafe had was chicken would you settle for chicken ? OK that's not a fair question if your really hungry. LOL! ; - )

Never the less as the day progresses the fish will usually move to deeper water. Deep diving crank baits or jig and pigs and worms and tubes, are all good choices and very reliable. One thing I want to point out , Bass see a lot of these lures and can get lockjaw or wary of these artificial. During the summer months bait fish have grown to just the right size and there is plenty of prey for these bass. What I am saying is match their natural food and you should have better results.

Crawdad colored lures are good, and chad imitations are good. Some of my favorites lures are the fat free shad, rapalas, rogues, rattle traps. I think you get the picture. Big spinner baits slow rolled are really effective when the bass go deep. Remember to slow down and go down to get to those bass that seek the refuge of the deep waters.

Most fishermen beat the banks. So sometimes off shore structures , like humps, ditches, etc are top spots for big bass that escape the fishing pressure of the bank fishermen. Sometimes these offshore structures hold several big lunkers and your live well can get healthy quick if you can learn to locate and fish these structures. In fact lots of bass have learned that these structures are safe havens for them when the pressure gets heavy and tend to stay there, except to feed.

In order to find these structures and fish you need good electronics and a very effective method or technique is the drop shot or a grub. When you spot a big fish or two with your electronics, quickly drop a grub or jig or even a spoon right down in front of their nose and shake it a little and these bass have a better tendency to hit these lures, because they haven' t been pressured by fishermen.

If you are a die hard bass fishermen, just take plenty of Gatorade, be prepared to experiment and find out what the bass want , where the bass are, try to get away from all the boating and fishing traffic, and remember this, when the summer heats up , so can the fishing. You might just catch the biggest bass you have ever caught . The bass still need to eat and they will. So give them what they want. And when you get back to the house you might just be a hero.

I hope I didn't bore you to death with details and a long post, and maybe you might have just picked up a tip or technique that makes your next summertime bassing adventure a great success. So until next time, stay as cool as you can, drink plenty of Gatorade and keep your hooks wet. Fish safe, and enjoy the "Great Outdoors!" See ya out there! ; - )