Summer Bite Just Got Slow

[Bluegillslayer]

Hello, recently the bass bite in my local lake has slowed down the past few outings and I am unsure what to throw to catch the bigger bass again. From May all the way up to a few weeks ago I had been consistently catching largemouth from 1lb to almost 5 lb on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Recently I have started fishing the texas rig with berkley pit bosses and have caught a few decent bass but mostly have caught fish about 9 or 10 inches. My last outing I caught about 4 or 5 bass that were only a few inches, the bite got so slow that I decided to just troll for rainbows. The temp has been in the 70's and it has been pretty sunny and dry recently if that info helps. Basically I am asking for bait suggestions to throw right now. Thanks

[Dogfish_Jones]

Almost every summer, I tend to go with the C-Rig or a jig to catch those hard to find bass.

I might use top water early in the morning but after 9 am, that bite is over.

[WRB]

Understanding seasonal periods should help resolve your problem. Lures are rarely the answer location is.

Your success was tied to the spawn cycle, that is over now.

Continuing to fish where juvenile bass are located you will catch that size bass.

Summer period gives adult size bass a lot of prey choices and locations to hunt successfully.

Tom 

[Sphynx]

I do believe @WRB is on it, couldn't tell you much specifically because there's a million different factors not avaliable, but generally speaking you'll find more success throwing the wrong lures in the right places than the right lures in the wrong places, summer can be either the most productive or most infuriating patterns for me, if it's hot as blazes out, and sunny? Shade is your answer, and cooler, more heavily oxygenated water. they get super predictable for location then, occasionally it's a pain because they won't bite anything you don't drop right on their heads, but you can catch some nice fish shallow, or deep, you will just have to figure out which cover they are relating to and what it is they are hunting for. 

[padon]

yes i believe its more about where your fishing than what your using. smallmouthe are probably in a little deeper water on some form of cover. probably gravel or rocks,

[FishTank]

Fished a tournament this weekend and dealt with the same thing.  We fished our usual spots and I couldn't convince the guy I fish with to get away from the bank.  We caught two keepers but the guys that finished in the top 5 all fished off shore and used their electronics to find the fish deep. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

After the number of fry guarding fish in my area decreases I have to continually fish deeper and deeper into cover to catch fish better fish.  I throw a chatterbait throughout the spawn, but once the fish move into cover(wood and or grass) I go from the chatterbait to a swim jig for covering banks and grass lines.  Fish get lazy this time of year and just post up in cover and wait for something to hit them on the head and thats where pitchin or flippin a T rig comes in.  Sometimes you have get it right in front of their face for them to hit so dont be afraid to throw that T rig or flippin jig into gnarly cover.     

[scaleface]

I'm still catching them shallow . Bass like to hang around stuff so I've been casting at stuff . Spinnerbaits , buzzbaits , toads and texas rigged worms are the lures I've been using because they work well at the stuff I'm casting at , mostly weeds and wood.

[Bluegillslayer]

Well I appreciate the advice, sounds like I need to start fishing deeper.

[PhishLI]

24 minutes ago, Bluegillslayer said:

sounds like I need to start fishing deeper.

Not exactly. Deeper might be the answer, but deeper in the weeds is pretty surefire as long as you hit the shadowey sections. If you're not interested in punching, a swim jig built like the 6th Sense Divine swim jig is ideal for ripping cleanly through thick grass and weeds. Its head shape comes through better than anything I've tried, and the spring bait keeper keeps the trailer pinned.

 

If you're able to spot baitfish near a weedline, or stand of weeds, drop a jig in and rip it through. Bass have an endless supply of dumb food right now that's easily ambushed, so they tend to hunker down in prime ambush spots. Have patience and pick those spots apart meticulously because, as mentioned above, they're usually not willing to chase much because they don't need to. Pulling or dropping a bait right past their nose is your best bet on high sun days. Deep running crank baits are also your friend on days like this.

[Bankc]

My summer habits are to fish the topwater bite the first and last hour of light.  Maybe more if they're biting it.  Then, I switch to jigs, spinnerbaits, or squarbills to fish the shade in the shallows.  By around 10:00-11:00, I do deep with deep diving crankbaits, T and C-rigs, drop shots, sometimes jigs, etc until the heat peaks, usually around 4:00-6:00.  

 

Basically, I start off shallow and progressively start moving deeper.  Then, in the evening, I slowly start moving shallower again.  I won't say it's the best method, but unlike spring and fall, it seems to work better for me than just focusing on one depth all day long.  

[WRB]

The OP being from north western Washington State based San Juan Islands isn’t known as a LMB fishing area. Lake Washington near Seattle and a few nearby lakes I am aware of.

Not sure what lakes the OP is trying to fish?

Tom

[Spankey]

Wish I had temps at 70 deg. 80+ on the river stinks. Think it’s holding some of the bigger fish low and back. 

[Bluegillslayer]

16 minutes ago, WRB said:

The OP being from north western Washington State based San Juan Islands isn’t known as a LMB fishing area.

I fish a small 37 acre island lake known as hummel, and their are many lakes in this area with largemouth and other warm water species as well as the cold water species like trout.

[PhishLI]

9 minutes ago, Bluegillslayer said:

I fish a small 37 acre island lake known as hummel

This?

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html?title=Hummel+Lake%2C++San+Juan+County+boating+app#15.38/48.5209/-122.8925

[Bluegillslayer]

1 minute ago, PhishLI said:

This?

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html?title=Hummel+Lake%2C++San+Juan+County+boating+app#15.38/48.5209/-122.8925

Yup.

[WRB]

The sat map shows a hump along the the west side, the map referenced depicts Hummel lake as a bowl? Without any detail in depth I can only assume it has spring water to support stocking Rainbow trout.

If the underwater island/hump/large weed bed exist this is where to start. Frog, buzz bait, weedless spoon, light weighted T-rigged worms and wacky Senko working the weed line and pockets.

Tom