Summer Fishng

[GABassHunter]

It's in the 90's here recently and the fish bites have slowed down alot. Three weeks ago I could toss a Senko out and get a bite every other cast. Now...it seems the bass have taken a vacation. Any ideas for what might be taking place and what can I do? New to bass fishing but had all kinds of luck (including a 10#) until recently. Thanks!

[5bass]

Well,now that the spawn is pretty much done with and the water temps rising,the fish are most likely starting their migration to the most common "summer hangout"........DEEPER WATER.

The senko bite is still on where I am (Va.) but I would guess in the lower south,the water is warmer and the fish could be moving deep by now.OR they could just be in post-spawn (depending on your lake) and tight lipped for a little while before going into summer (pattern).I dont know where exactly you are fishing or the current water temps there but if you know and follow water temps,they will point you in the right direction and clue you in to what the fish are doing or where they have gone.

If you have trouble getting bit shallow,move out a little bit at a time until you find them and experiment with different baits that cover from surface to bottom.

[Randall]

What I am finding is that this heat wave is sending some fish deep but they are scattered and you just get one here and there. If the heat lasts another week or so I expect these deeper fish to bunch up more. I have also found some fish still shallow and they are bunched up in small areas. The only problem is that 90 percent of shallow water doesnt have hardly any fish. Two weeks ago you could throw anywhere shallow and get bit. Now the fish are just using the very best shallow structure but they are bunched up on it. Find the sweet spots and you can still catch a bunch still shallow on the lakes I fish. Dont find them and you would swear all the fish have gone deep. Keep in mind that all lakes are different though. On the lakes I fish there are a lot of shallow fish year round. On others the majority of fish live deep year round.

[Randall]

I noticed you live in Fayetteville. Are you fishing any of the smaller lakes like Horton there?

[RoLo]

What you're experiencing is pretty common, and something that we usually deal with every year.

The transition between the spawning season and the summer season is normally a pretty tough period.

The hot spring-bite is a hard act to follow, which only makes the ensuing slowdown more noticeable.

Although the action in shallow water slows down significantly, most of the bass that were shallow

are still shallow, and most of the bass that were deeper are still deeper. As we approach summer,

the temperature of shallow water rises above the comfort zone of bass before that of deeper water.

That is to say, bass that already reside in deeper water will be insulated from unfavorable conditions

by the extra layer of water. The difference in behavior between shallow bass and deeper bass

creates the illusion of a bass migration, but bass can usually be found in all depths most of the time.

During the pre-summer period, bass lying in shallow water will not be as catchable

as bass holding in deeper water. But as we all know, when bass are in a negative mood,

they might as well be gone because the end result will be the same.

     The lakes in central Florida are predominantly shallow, in fact a high-percentage of lakes

have a maximum depth of 10 ft or less. Regardless, the same phenomenon takes place

in shallow lakes, but on a smaller scale. For instance, the difference in bass disposition might involve

bass in 2 ft of water versus bass in 5 ft of water. Here's The Upshot: As soon as conditions

are favorable for shallow water, the bass still holding in the shallows will become more catchable

than the bass holding in deeper water. Leave it to Mother Nature, she covers all bases.

Roger

[Whopper-Stopper]

If you can, fish with a topwater when it is pouring down rain. That cools down the surface temp and has worked for me many times. It seems like the topwater bite usually stops when the rain stops.

[GABassHunter]

Thanks for all the help. I am fishing in Fayetteville and at Horton. GREAT lake! I now have a depth/fish finder and that should help with the shallow doldrums...I hope!

[RatONaStick]

It's in the 90's here recently and the fish bites have slowed down alot. Three weeks ago I could toss a Senko out and get a bite every other cast. Now...it seems the bass have taken a vacation. Any ideas for what might be taking place and what can I do? New to bass fishing but had all kinds of luck (including a 10#) until recently. Thanks!

I'm experiencing the same thing here in southeast NC in two lakes I fish regularly. A week to two weeks ago the fish were holding in the shallows and were tearing up the Senkos, now I can't buy a bite with them.

The bass seem to have moved to deeper water, and the few that I have caught in the shallows were dinks. I've verified this by sight fishing and with my depth finder.

I've since moved to deeper water(10 plus feet) using Texas rigged trick worms and lizards and have had much better success. I've also had pretty good luck throwing topwater lures in the evening and at night.

[abelfisher]

One of the lakes I fish here in Central CA (a deep canyon lake) the temps are still hovering around 60 degrees.  The double amont of snowfall this season in the mountains is still meting off and keeping temps cool.   What a pain!

[Randall]

Thanks for all the help. I am fishing in Fayetteville and at Horton. GREAT lake! I now have a depth/fish finder and that should help with the shallow doldrums...I hope!

There are still plenty of fish still shallow at Horton but there are some deep as well. Last Saturday we caught over twenty and most came from long shallow points (way offshore but shallow) on topwaters and on a splitshot rig with a trickworm. Almost all were good size fish. We also caught our biggest fish around four pounds from around 15 feet of water on an old road bed. I will be fishing there the next two days and will leave a report on Saturday or Sunday after I win the tournament. Splitshot rigs and topwaters have dominated post spawn Horton tournaments for years. The splitshot rig always works.

[Guest avid]

Down here is SE Florida the fishing is definitly a  summer pattern.  the water temps are in 80's.  After a nice downpour is always a good time.  It cools and oxegenates the water.  After a good rain, all the fun stuff is worth a try, topwaters, crankbaits, etc.

Otherwise I use two distinct patters to locate the bass.

The shallow pattern involves a heavy "Florida rig" this is nothing more than a pegged 1/2 oz or heavier sinker and your favorite bulky plastic.  I like sweet beavers.  these are flipped or pitched directly onto thin spots or holes in the matted weeds.  The heavy sinker will punch through the canopy and get to where the bassies live.  Some big bass will be shaollow under those mats, so this can be a great tool

The deeper pattern is to find the deepest areas whith structure and drag your favorite worm.  C rigs are excellent for this pattern.  Personally I don't like fishing them so I typically use a t-rigged tube.

there are other methods of course, but these are two that I generally have good luck with

have fun and good luck.

avid

[ga_hawghauler]

ga-basshunter you are not fishing on hartwell by any chance. Because it sounds just like hartwell the last few weeks. Durning the day i have had a little luck fishing the backs of coves where you have you have a good creek flowing in. Also flipping boat docks has paid off some. But I have switched to fishing night tournaments the bite seems to be a more productive.

[Sal329]

Just as stated above the waters in SE FL are very warm. A month ago we were killin the bass from the shore (no baot   ) Now everything has slowed down. I was out this weekend throwing all types of soft plastics. I caught using the Senko and Zoom FLuke. Fishing them very slow and letting them sink to the bottom. The Senko I can cast out very far. Seems the shallow bass are hidden in the weeds. I fished that with the fluke. I cast out let the bait go to the bottom wait 10-15secs and reel in slow twitching the rod, let them go back down wait again and twitch rod with reeling then reel in slack. I was catching on the fall, while it just sat there, on twitches and a few while reeling in.

[mwhitworth25]

yea definatley fish under the boat docks

[bri1]

Down here is SE Florida the fishing is definitly a  summer pattern.  the water temps are in 80's.  After a nice downpour is always a good time.  It cools and oxegenates the water.  After a good rain, all the fun stuff is worth a try, topwaters, crankbaits, etc.

Otherwise I use two distinct patters to locate the bass.

The shallow pattern involves a heavy "Florida rig" this is nothing more than a pegged 1/2 oz or heavier sinker and your favorite bulky plastic.  I like sweet beavers.  these are flipped or pitched directly onto thin spots or holes in the matted weeds.  The heavy sinker will punch through the canopy and get to where the bassies live.  Some big bass will be shaollow under those mats, so this can be a great tool

The deeper pattern is to find the deepest areas whith structure and drag your favorite worm.  C rigs are excellent for this pattern.  Personally I don't like fishing them so I typically use a t-rigged tube.

there are other methods of course, but these are two that I generally have good luck with

have fun and good luck.

avid

Nice tips for SF avid. Thanks for the input.