Summertime Blues

[BKbassblaster]

Is it just me or is it much harder to catch bass in the summer? I fish early morning normally and here lately, I have been getting skunked or just catching a few jakes. Just how deep do bass (smallmouth & Largemouth) go in the summer? Also, do fish bite better at night in the summer?

[slonezp]

We killed them yesterday. 88 degrees and bluebird skies.This was a coldfront after 2 weeks of triple digit temps, 84 degree water temps fishing shallow. Less than 3fow Bite was steady from 5:30-9am, died from 9-noon, and exploded from noon til 2. The morning bite, fish were tight to shoreline structure for the most part. A couple frog bites fishing duckweed. The afternoon bite was simple. Find shade, find fish. Docks, trees, boat lifts, skipping under pontoon boats, anything shady held fish. Aside from the frog bite, everything was on t-rigged plastics. Couldn't get a jig bite and didn't even try to fish any type of fast moving bait. We tried fishing a spring fed creek that fed into the main river channel. Water was 10 degrees cooler NOTHING! Go figure.

[Crestliner2008]

I can certainly tell you this much, smallmouth go deep in summer. Some of my favorite summertime structures are in 35' - 45'. Here the drop shot really shines.

I don't regularly fish for largemouth, but a few decent (3 - 5 lbs.) ones I've caught over the past few weeks have been very shallow and early in the am. With 10" Yum "Mitey" worm becoming a very reliable producer. Hope this is of some help.

[mikey5string]

I have been doing well especially around dusk to about an hour after sunset with topwater baits. This is at a small private lake with minimal fishing pressure. I have been having decent to lousy days at other lakes but havent been skunked in a while. I fish weedlines, drop offs, trees & other structure, docks.... the only place i dont really fish is deep open water. Since I dont have electronics I cant see the structure on the bottom so I stick with what I can see.

The summer is my favorite season for bass. I LOVE fishing topwater at dusk.

Theyre out there.

[SirSnookalot]

With any species you have to be prepared to take the bitter with the sweet. When one bits is slow that's the time to look for other species. In Florida, for me summer is never a good time for bass, the weather does not moderate, it's pretty much the same every day for 3 solid months. Once it starts to cool just a bit, the bass turn on.

[Sam]

You are in Arkansas.

It gets hot during the summer in Arkansas unless you are in the Ozarks.

Hot temperatures warm the water and deplete the oxygen. The bass will go deep to find more oxygen and they will stage by any cover they can find and stay put until they decide to head out for breakfast, lunch and dinner along the bank.

Look for places where you caught them before. They are still in the area, only they are deeper. Look for spots with deep water access near the shoreline.

The bass will still cruise along the bank, just minding their own business. They may not be feeding so it is up to you to throw your favorite baits to aggravate them into hitting your presentation. Throw your plastics at least 20 times at a target. Keep throwing your topwaters and crankbaits over and over again. Aggravate the heck out of them. Get 'em angry so they try to kill your bait.

Smaller bass are more active and you will catch more of them than the larger ones. The ratio could be up to 10 dinks to 1 nice one.

Don't give up. Yell "sooweeeee pig" after each cast for good luck and keep on fishing.

Remember your sunscreen, poloraized sun glasses and a cap. You need to be able to see into the water and prevent skin cancer at the same time!!!!!

Let us know how you do and if the bite improves as the water temperatures go lower.

[Sam]

"The summer is my favorite season for bass. I LOVE fishing topwater at dusk.

Theyre out there."

X2

[Nitrofreak]

I agree with the bass being deeper, the shallower bass need oxygen as other posts have stated, what you want to look for are wood, and plant life around the area that can provide that for them, the bite can/will still be tough and you must be methodical in your approach and very thorough when working your baits around areas such as these, it can be just a matter of inches that will or will not earn a strike.

Just how deep is deep though, it depends on the body of water, some bodies are no deeper than 8 to 15' some are hundreds of feet deep, so for fishing a lake that offers over 100' depths, fishing in 30 to 40 feet of water is concidered to be fishing deep at least for me, and a place where I spend a lot of my time.

Do the fish bite better at night? well I think there are a couple of different factors that will play a role with that question, one concideration would have to be public use of the body of water, how much traffic and how hard it is fished can play a major role in how you decide to fish and when you should fish, cooler temps, less stress all add up to better fishing opportunities, but the water you fish still has to be able to provide everything needed for the survival of the species, non of that changes much over a 24 hr period of time so let the fish tell you if it's better at night.

Structure, bait fish, when we talk or ask about how deep we should be fishing during summer months are the 2 most important considerations in my opinion, along with other factors, like o2 levels etc... if you are getting skunked in the am keep working at it and find areas that offer good cover and stuff like stumps that can still help provide o2 to the area.

Hope that helps a little.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[Pleiades]

What Sam said. If you're just after LMB or SMB, I've seen the smallies surface-schooling with the hybrids in the deep, open water near the dam site this time of year. You have to be there for first light and the bite will turn off like a light switch around 0800. Let me tell you, that's some exciting fishing! You'll catch some hybrids and a few smallies. I've caught them on a white fluke.

As for catching large mouths during normal daylight hours at Greers, I can't help you. The lake baffles me. I was going to give it the college try on Sunday, but was chased off by the storms.

[Bigbarge50]

Don't give up. Yell "sooweeeee pig" after each cast for good luck and keep on fishing.

Sam always has great advice...... and this is another gem

FInd the theromcline, find the fish

[AK-Jax86]

Man I can't seem to catch anything! My pond is deep in the middle and there is little to no structure what so ever. So I don't know where the fish are. I am guessing the middle of the pond where it is deepest. I don't know what to do to find these fish it is crazy. I was pullin them out left and right anytime of the day now I can't get one, it's been like this the past few weeks it's ridiculous.