Dog Days Of Summer - Your Favorite Tactic For Bass ?

[ChrisD46]

With hot weather day after day now moving into more heat in August - what is your favorite Dog Days of Summer  tactic for bass ?

[Jar11591]

Fishing long after dark is quickly becoming my favorite summertime tactic.

[tcbass]

I fish shallow 99% of my time. Ragetail Toads between docks and Senko's under docks traditionally. This year done well with a KVD Sexy Dawg topwater. Actually had 2 muskies go after it last outing and lost a 40" muskie on a Ragetail Toad at the boat where he bit.

 

 

 

Gonna try more swim jigs (Seiberts), spinnerbaits (Terminator), buzzbaits (Cavitrons and Booyah) and crankbaits (Rapala Scatter Rap shallows).

[ChrisD46]

Traditionally in the SE we rely on shakeyheads with either a strait tail roboworm or zoom finesse worms bottom hopping on a ledge .

Docks or shady laydowns are good bets as well to throw a shakeyhead during the hot days later in summer .

[Jrob78]

Ideally, use your electronics to find humps, ledges, points, roadbeds, etc in deep water.  Some of them should have bass stacked on them or around them.  Use jigs, deep diving crankbaits, c-rigs, spoons, etc to catch them.  This works better in theory than in practice sometimes though.

[Catt]

Deep water structure by the light of the moon 

[frogflogger]

All good advice or you could throw a frog or big topwater all day and hope for one strike.

[tcbass]

All good advice or you could throw a frog or big topwater all day and hope for one strike.

I've always had great luck with frogs (Ragetail Toads) all season and this year got a KVD Sexy Dawg and have been very successful so far.

[RipzLipz]

In your area and if fishing a lake, I'd be fishing evening and night first, keeping in mind what's already been mentioned above with techniques and location. If that time isn't possible, then I'd choose early morning. However, if you have the electronics and can find the fish, nothing should stop you from fishing deep offshore structure during the day, as Jrob pointed out.

The places I fish, there isn't as much traditional reservoir structure available, so I seek odd structure or deeper breaks, weedbeds or fallen timber in or near deep water by day, and then seek shallower areas near these daytime holding areas for those fish that move in shallow to feed in the evening and later into the night.

Soft plastics, jigs (including the pegged weight with skirted soft plastic rigs), and deeper running cranks or maybe slow rolled spinnerbaits by day and during the night I prefer most any top water, jig, soft plastic or slow rolled spinnerbait in the shallower areas or first break.

[nascar2428]

I'm still waiting for Summer!!

[Brian6428]

10" worm and 1/2 oz jig.

[adam lancia]

Slowing right down has worked for me this year so far, with smallmouths at least. We don't have any largemouths in Nova Scotia. Going to a darker colour than what I fished in the morning has helped as well. A week and a half ago we got to the lake around 6:30 and fish were breaking the surface all over the place. The three of us were throwing everything from wacky and Texas rigged 5" Senkos, Flukes to chugs to a Heddon Torpedo and every lure caught fish for the next 3 hours. Once the bite slowed, a 4" wacky rigged Senko was the ticket. I also changed from pumpkin to black/blue laminate and really slowed how much I worked. Drop shot might have worked well too. My father in law, who has never fished bass before, was breaking the Senkos up into inch long chunks and putting them on a wacky hook and catching fish right up until we called it a day at 2pm. They were by no means big but he wasn't lacking any bites. He was even having luck when he didn't notice the Senko chunk being up on the actual leader and not even on the hook anymore... I have no idea why that worked but it did...

[Catch and Grease]

Topwaters, and anything I can fish around thicker cover lol

[FishTank]

Medium running crankbaits seem to be hitting well right now but we have had cool weather here in Indiana.

[RipzLipz]

Medium running crankbaits seem to be hitting well right now but we have had cool weather here in Indiana.

I'm not missing the humidity LOL

[Bluebasser86]

jigs, 10" worms, and bladed jigs, preferably after the sun has gone down

[Jigfishn10]

I can't get out at night, my work day starts at 3:00 AM, so during the day I key on deep water structure and if I get into shallow water I look for shaded areas. If I do catch fish in shallow, I find that they are near a breakline to deeper water.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Weedmat ,slop ,pads anything that gives shade and an ambush opportunity. Fish on top or go through to get bites. Ill throw a fat ika or wacky stick bait hop it on top create a disturbance, find a hole and let it drop down in get strikes both ways.

 

 

[ww2farmer]

#1 Jigs and/or t-rigged creature baits in deep milfoil

 

#2 Same baits, under docks on sunny hot days when there is lots of shade under said docks

 

I will switch to a wacky rigged stick if the jigs or creatures haul water, or drop shot if the bite is really tuff.

[fishballer06]

Topwater. Early morning, late evening. Nothing beats the action. 

[roadwarrior]

Ledges, especially midday.

 

10" Thumper

Siebert Outdoors 3/8 oz Big O (PB&J)/ Rage Craw (PB&J)

BPS 3" Skinny Tube (#71)

[iceintheveins]

Topwater and spinnerbaits in the morning, mojo rigged centipede in the day. Senkos and jigs are still always producing for me though too. The centipede is just my go to when it's HOT and the bite tough. They'll hit it when nothing else is working.

[leandro_santos]

Here in Ontario, Canada where I live we haven't had too many hot days this summer, but I've noticed that bass are inactive during the day, starting to actively feed after 9.00 pm, so I am doing mostly night fishing. Fish have responded well to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits slow rolled, small lipless crank baits and 3 inch senkos t-rigged which was the bait I have caught most fish with, they apparently can't say no to a small offer. Will try fishing with 3/8 oz jigs and some medium diving crank baits.

[JigMe]

Most of my summer bass strike comes from early morning 6-7am using bronze eye frog, after sun comes out then I will switch to a swim/flipping Jig with Rage Craw trailer. If I am pitching heavy cover, then I will stay with T-rig sweet beaver or worm. At my home lake, there are lots of lilly pads and drop a senko on the edge usually get a strike.

[J BASS]

Cranks/jig