Summer Bass Struggles (Please help)

[Lucas Raber]

So I love to fish. I go basically every other day. But in the heat of the summer (which is usually the only time I get on the water) I have a really hard time finding any bass. I try everything from A Texas rigged Senko to a shaky head to a spinner bait or chatterbait or a topwater frog, but I will MAYBE catch 1 fish. If anyone has any tips for consistently getting these summer bass out of the water, I would greatly appreciate it. 

[scaleface]

Cant help you without any information of the water you are fishing , part of the country , equipment , boat or bank ...Dont leave anything out . The more info the better advice you will receive .

[RoLo]

 

I'm sure you'll receive a wealth of excellent summertime tips (BR rocks).

I'd only enter one tip in the suggestion box, spend more time with the plastic worm of your choice.

Opt for a straight-tail worm in waters with clear to fair clarity, and a noisy worm in waters with poor clarity.

 

Roger

[DitchPanda]

Was gonna say without knowing where you are and what type of water your fishing limits tips. But I do have a couple suggestions for what I do in the hottest time of the year. First off I suggest fishing super early or up until and even perhaps after dark. For this I like a noisy topwater especially a buzzbait. Jitterbug can also work well. Secondly if your fishing during the day is suggest going finesse..even more finessy than a senko. I've done well with a ned rig in very hot weather but my favorite rig is a mojo or slip shot rig with a small finesse worm. I've literally thrown half a dozen baits on a spot without a sniff. I woulda bet my truck there were no fish in the area. Switch to a slip shot rig and catch 5 bass in 20 minutes. This has happened to me time and time again in the heat of summer.

[N Florida Mike]

fish at night or early morning. 

Mid morning I switch to skipping under docks or fish shade. I rarely do this anymore, but I fish the deepest hole in the lake with a big worm very slow. Just cast out and let it sit as long as you can stand it. Oh, and one more option: Live golden shiners or bluegills! 

[DogBone_384]

So far the membership’s spot on (as usual), and the only thing I’ll add is I’ve had great luck this Summer with 3.8” Keitech Fat Swing Impacts and 3.5” Swing Impacts in all types of configurations.

[plawren53202]

Bass (like all fish) need two things, food and oxygen, so in the summer you need to figure out where those two things are in the body of water you fish.

 

Focusing on oxygen for a minute, cooler water holds more oxygen, so look for where there is cooler water. That could be just (like others said) meaning early in the morning and late in the evening or night. Could be water that is cooler from being deeper. If you're a bank fisherman that could limit this one. It could be cooler because it is shaded--docks, weeds, wood cover, trees on the shore. Also weeds have another thing going for them, they generate oxygen through photosynthesis. Cooler water could come from an inflow of water into the body of water like a creek flowing in.

 

I let the cover I'm fishing and the other situational factors dictate what bait I am using. All of the things you mentioned can catch fish in the summer, or they can get you skunked. My experience is that generally (always exceptions) the fish tend to be more active early and late, so things like chatterbait or spinnerbait would tend toward those times. More sluggish in the heat of the day, so Senko or split shot rig during those times. 

[Herbert Lorenzo]

I know the feeling . The water is really getting hot now and it's  tough out there . Other than the chatterbait they should work . Try fishing shade , docks ,floating plants and bridges should be holding fish . Use fishfinder to find bait around bridge or docks and that should be best bet for success. 

[Black Hawk Basser]

Good tips so far, I'll throw one at ya: If you have access to docks, fish them on the sunny days.  My traditional tactic on hot summer days has been to flip jigs around docks/boat lifts.  If jigs don't cut it, a creature or craw plastic usually will.  A mono or fluorocarbon leader is helpful to prevent break-offs from line rubbing on posts and whatnot.

 

If it is early/late, cloudy, or really windy, the dock bite is not as reliable, as I think those fish might feel comfortable enough to roam around outside of the protection of the dock(s).  During those times, I use something like a spinnerbait, chatterbait, squarebill, or just fan-cast a plastic or jig.

[geo g]

I will give you a few things I always do that seem to work for me most times.  If its a tough day I will downsize, slow way down, fish deep, and fish in the thickest greenest grasses and pads I can find.  Two types of green weeds is always better then just one type.  An isolated clump of weeds is better than a monsterous mass. The isolated clump will work as a magnet to pull bass from open waters, seeking shade.  Look for stone walls, drop offs,  and giant boulders and fish around the base especially on the shaded side.  Just a few easy tips to try out.

[CrankFate]

No tips, other than the only time I ever caught a big bass, was when everyone else would say it was too hot to catch bass.

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, CrankFate said:

No tips, other than the only time I ever caught a big bass, was when everyone else would say it was too hot to catch bass.

This is something I'll echo to an extent. Out of my say 10 biggest bass I've ever caught I'd bet half of them came when it was too something..hot,cold,stormy. I was walking down to a weedy parks pond a few summers ago one evening when it was a zillion degrees and not a breath of breeze. Saw I guy say hey I tried and can't catch anything..implying I was wasting my time. On my 4th or 5th cast I caught one between 5 and 6 lbs in a frog.

 

Last summer I caught a 5.5lb on a wacky rigged finesse worm in either July or August in the middle of the afternoon. I'm a firm believer in fishing times other people wont...it keeps fish unpressured. And as mentioned above although conditions aren't ideal bass still have to eat.

[TriStateBassin106]

Shade my friend, the fish get hot too.. grinded it out yesterday pitching into shade and managed a few, here in NJ the air temps were in the upper 80s. Get some senkos and just cast parallel to the bank in pockets of shade (if your body of water has that) twitch twitch let the bait fall on slack line. Rinse and repeat..  

[skekoam]

If the bite is super hard and laws allow, I would try live or cut up bluegills.  Leave a few rods out with these baits and open the spool.  Keep another baitcaster handy to fish other lures.  This is just my opinion from a noob. 

[Bankbeater]

I hear a lot of people say fish shallow in the morning then fish deep when it starts getting hot.

Depending on the structure and cover I do the opposite. I’ve noticed a lot of times the bass will move shallow into the  vegetation for shade, cover, oxygen and baitfish. 

[YoTone]

The night time bite has been almost automatic for me lately.

[scaleface]

On 6/24/2020 at 3:31 PM, Bankbeater said:

I hear a lot of people say fish shallow in the morning then fish deep when it starts getting hot.

Depending on the structure and cover I do the opposite. I’ve noticed a lot of times the bass will move shallow into the  vegetation for shade, cover, oxygen and baitfish. 

Thats been a pattern this year for me . The top water bite dies early , the deep bass are biting then in the afternoon the topwater picks up again .