summer fishing

[kohnman]

I am pretty new to boat fishing in Massachusetts lakes and ponds.  I have had good success so far this year until the weather got hot.  Now I am getting skunked for bass with alarming regularity.  Last weekend, In Wallum Lake in Douglas, Ma,  agood spot for me usually, I fished Senkos, live shiners, spinnerbaits and super fluke.  Got nothing.  Any suggestions?

Thanks

[bassindude]

small finess worms, jigs, ugly otters.

[Creel Limit Zero]

Hawg days of summer can definitely make it difficult to find the fish.  My best feelings on this is to get out as early and as late as possible.  Those can prove to be the best times, but all day long can be effective if you find the right pattern.  Read this article on the hawg days of summer.  It lists several methods of fishing during the hottest days that I've found can be very succesful.

http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-home/content/view/3/48/

[kohnman]

Hey thanks for the tips.  What are finess worms?

[Fishaholic]

finesse worms can be proportionally scaled down versions of regular sized worms...e.g., I like to use a FLW finesse worm, which is only 4" long but proportionally looks just like the 7-9" worms I normally use...and the colors aren't nearly as drastic, nor as flashy as the regular worms...it's a more subtle presentation.

[Ouachita]

Right after post-spawn comes the summer season when bass move as deep as possible, to the top of the thermocline. But from that month on the bass begin rising to shallower water because of diminished oxygen levels in the cooler upper thermocline. In September bass will often suspend in open water just 2 feet down.

Laurie's article is excellent reading. I've been focusing on the upper river section of Lake Ouachita. The larger bass are feeding mostly in low light hours and night, but all day long they can be found in nooks against shaded rock bluffs. Their favorite spots are where hydrilla surrounds flooded trees, or where a bush, brush pile, or flotsam covers the surface. Pockets facing the main water body hold lots of floating debris with bass hiding under that. I first target outside edges of any floating cover, then cast 20-30 times to a square foot area where floating vegetation stops against a rock bluff or rocky shoreline offering shade. Bass will back up under the cover to ambush baitfish. I use a small white or neutral color translucent skirted spinnerbait there, or a soft jerkbait. I then switch to a plastic frog or worm cast to the rock and dragged over the cover. If there are open holes in the cover I'll Texas rig a worm, particularly a Senko in daylight, or a 10" black or other dark worm in low light. I work the worm or frog over the holes and let the frog rest or worm sink, jig it a few times, then resume crawling it out into open water about 8 feet. If it's really thick hydrilla I'll opt for a heavy jig & pig that can be dropped from a high cast through the mat, then jigged up and down repeatedly, then dragged over and into open water, allowed to sink to bottom, then jigged off bottom down to the top of the thermocline.

Choosing what creek channel mouth to fish is simple. Use a good map to pick out the creeks with the most tributaries upstream that can provide the most fresh water. After any decent rain more water is collected by many little streams feeding the creek, bringing in fresh forage from upper elevations. Creeks with less than a mile of headwater are usually poor pickings here. I look for a creek with 10 or more combined miles of above-pool streams even though they are all dry. When weather conditions line up for possible rain the bass and baitfish sense that and often move to the mouth of the most productive creeks, holding on ledges and drop-offs there, then moving into the coves as close to incoming water as they can swim. If no rain comes they begin to look for forage elsewhere unless baitfish have also moved in to stay anticipating a fresh forage supply.

Crankbaits are an excellent choice now, chosen in panfish sizes, fat-bodied with little vibration, a favorite forage for larger bass these days. Fish them slowly, erratically, pausing often, speeding up, flitting around, sinking. You want to imitate a wounded bream. Use those in the cleaner water not clogged with floating vegetation. If you can find a main lake point that runs out to deep water, better having deep water off one side, crank from point ridge into deep then move the boat to cast parallel to the point fishing increasing depths. If the sonar shows fish at 10 feet, select a diver that goes to 8-10' and fish the 10' depth parallel to the point structure. If there are stumps on the sloped side, bump the stumps to entice a reaction strike. Square-billed crankbaits are better for bumping stumps and dealing with tree limbs. Otherwise try a Carolina rig with a small suspending plastic minnow, soft jerkbait, or plastic worm or Texas rigged worms fished slowly, hopped along through stump fields.

Jim

[bassshad1]

In the heat of summer I like to fish early and late for fish in the shallows. They say shallow fish are feeding fish.I like throwing buzzbaits and spinnerbaits.Mid day I fish deeper,with jigs and crankbaits. bassshad1