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Summer bass fishing is one of the most exhilarating experiences for anglers, pros, and amateurs alike. While it is the warmest time of year, it is also the best time to exceed monthly catch targets. Now, if you are actually going to have any fishing success, then you absolutely need to know how to fish for largemouth bass in summer.
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How to Fish for Largemouth Bass in Summer
Now that you have the perfect season, up next, you would need to ensure that every other box is checked. This would typically involve getting a suitable bait or lure such as plastic worms, spinnerbaits, or skirted jigs. You also need to be able to recognize areas in the water where they would likely be.
In addition to these, the following tips would effectively help guarantee you’re getting a good haul:
Know the Best Time to Fish Largemouth Bass
You must know the optimal time to fish for bass during the summer is not when the heat is at its highest. You would likely be wasting your time and probably experience some sunburn from exposure with no result to show for your efforts.
Rather, low-light settings are usually the best times of day to fish for huge bass. Early in the morning when it is still foggy or at dusk when the day cools are prime times to cast your rod in the water. This is because bass would likely be mobile and on the search for food.
If you want to do some midday bass fishing, your bait or lure must go deep into the water, where the sun’s rays cannot reach and where these fish concentrate. Alternatively, bass fish can hide in vegetation, so you should be on the lookout for clumps.
Know Your Shorelines
A good angler is one who understands the composition of the lake before anything else, not one who puts his boat on a lake or comes to the lake early and casts his line into the waters. Paying close attention to factors like how your shoreline appears can give you an excellent sense of what is going on in the depths, making catching a monster bass highly probable.
If the banks of your shoreline have steep hillsides, this implies there is a strong drop to the depths, and you may simply cast your bait to the depths when it is sunny for giant bass hiding among drop-offs, rocks, and vegetation.
If your shoreline is a flat piece of land. It indicates that there will be no deep waters for a long time, and instead of casting your lines into the water, you will be able to look for vegetation where giant bass are known to cluster when the water is shallow.
Use the Punching Baits Technique
Knowing and employing the punching baits technique is critical if you truly want to catch largemouth bass. It grants you access to the seas’ thickest, darkest, and deepest reaches, where the big ones are known to lurk. It allows you to cast your bait in the most inaccessible locations for a catch, and the approach frequently results in landing a monster bass in your boat.
The approach makes use of enough bait weight to allow for a clear transit through the dense vegetation, but not too much to startle your catch. This bait must also be made of robust materials to prevent the loss of your catch. It’s best to use a 7.1-speed reel and braid that’s between 65 and 80 pounds.
Since these fish are not expecting your lures or baits to reach such depths, this strategy is very effective. They are not afraid of predators, and their comfort makes it simpler to trap them.
Use Electronic Fish Finders
Technology has made the world a lot easier, and fishing is not left out. If you have trouble remembering your shoreline, you may utilize fish finders to stay one step ahead of your catch. While it may cost you a pretty penny, if you own a boat and are an avid angler, it is a terrific addition to your arsenal.
There are several types of fish finders available:
- Castable fish finder
- Chartplotter fish finder
- 360 imaging sonar
- 3D fish finder
- Ice fishing flasher
- Side imaging fish finder
- Down imaging fish finder
- Live sonar
These finders’ functions overlap, and most do not have stand-alone features. However, you would also find inexpensive deeper fish finders that work well for off-boat bass fishing.
How Do You Go About Finding Largemouth Bass?
Understanding where largemouth bass would most likely reside, whether in a natural lake or a reservoir, increases your chances of making a decent haul. To actualize this, you would need to be familiar with where these fish tend to aggregate in summer.
Solid knowledge of where there is an abundance of food, oxygen, and shelter in the water is necessary. So, whether in a natural lake or a man-made reservoir, you can be certain that bass would gravitate to areas in the water that provide all three.
Fishing for Bass in Man-Made Reservoirs
When bass fishing in a reservoir, keep in mind that they are known to congregate near ledges and drop-offs. They can readily obtain food, have a better temperature for shelter during the warm water season, and the oxygen levels are excellent in these places. They seek protection in the depths and feed on other fish in the shallower parts of the reservoir.
If there is a rapid drop from the shallows to the deep in a reservoir, largemouth bass will feel safe and it would be easier to catch them in that area since they would be familiar with their surroundings.
You should keep in mind that you can easily target the shallow sides for some catches on low-light days, cloudy days, or at night because these fish are known to stay on the shallow side when it isn’t too sunny or hot. When the sun is at its brightest, fishing in the depths is highly recommended.
Fishing for Bass in Natural Lakes
Natural lakes are often shallow bodies of water with an abundance of various types of oxygen-rich flora. Deepwater shelters are limited in natural lakes, unlike man-made reservoirs. However, they both have vegetation that largemouth bass use as a refuge to avoid predators.
Since these lakes grow too heated in the summer and there are no depths to hide in, bass fish congregate near the vegetation because it shields them from the sun and provides an excellent supply of oxygen. If you are fishing in natural waterways, look for huge patches of vegetation, especially clumps of vegetation or unique vegetation that’s long enough to hide a giant bass and can be employed as a camouflage in the hunt for smaller prey.
Keep in mind that the amount of vegetation impacts how productive your fishing trip will be. Basically, the more vegetation there is, the better. Underwater vegetation acts as a shelter and a good location to access food sources in both habitats. As an angler, you should use baits that can fall through the plants without scaring the fish to target these spots.
Conclusion
Fishing for bass is a pretty exciting venture and is even better when you haul in multiple largemouth fish. Provided you have your timing right, are conversant with the shoreline, apply effective techniques, and possibly apply technology, then you are on the right track. Rest assured that your catch will arrive sooner rather than later.
Finally, knowing just how to find largemouth bass would come in very handy as well.