I usually fish in the morning, I start fast & shallow and work out to deeper water. I reverse in the evening. I try to have the spot help me pick the presentation, I don’t go set on using one lure and run around trying to find the best spot for that lure.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
They are definitely pushing out deeper but are also sitting on docks.Do you view summer patterns like tactical bassin where they say some fish stay shallow and some go deep? It may be more lake dependent on available shallow cover but I am curious if you see more go deep in summer.
As the other guys have said, some bass spend the whole season up shallow. Resident bass they call them. You will pick a few of them off here and there. The numbers and numbers of big fish are out deep. That’s not to say you won’t catch bigs up shallow in the summer also, but since I’ve gotten comfortable fishing out deep, I’ve caught more fish and more big fish.
When I used to fish only shallow, late June and July were really tough. Now I find myself liking those months because I can sit on a deep weed edge and pick one fish off after another because they are schooled up.
Big fish are on the best structure, they do not care about depth, but the best stucture is usually shallow. If you want to get them shallow you have to be ready to really push into the slop, go VERY shallow and into wood/weeds etc. Not worth it for me but they are there.
Big fish are going to be on deeper weed lines and transitions. But you will find many sizable bass near docks as well but not the numbers you find deep. Once you learn to fish the deeper spots you won’t want to fish the shallower areas.
I start my morning fishing slow, big jigs typically and as the day goes on I will change up presentations. After the morning progresses I’ll start throwing dt10s and other cranks trying to cover the deeper weeds. But morning and evenings are for jigs, nekos and stuff like that slower type baits on the schools.
Big fish are on the best structure, they do not care about depth, but the best stucture is usually shallow. If you want to get them shallow you have to be ready to really push into the slop, go VERY shallow and into wood/weeds etc. Not worth it for me but they are there.
This is just not true. Typically the best structure in Summer (which is what this thread is specific to) is deep structure. It holds the most fish and the most big fish.
This is just not true. Typically the best structure in Summer (which is what this thread is specific to) is deep structure. It holds the most fish and the most big fish.
It’s certainly partially true on some bodies of water. The theory that the biggest bass in the lake move to deep water is not backed by any data in this part of the country since most of our lakes do not develop a thermocline. They are seeking relief from the sun and warm temps. So they could move deep. They could also stay shallow in thick weeds or go under pads/docks. Anything that provides shade.
Water clarity and fishing pressure also play a role. Clear water generally sends fish deeper whereas murky water doesn’t necessarily do that. Fishing pressure could send them out of an area entirely.
We had one of those magical days today. Got to the lake a little after 6:30. Noticed right away that the water depth was probably the highest this lake has been in 3-4 year. Started fishing some shallow weeds close to the landing and caught a few on a swim jig. Partner tried a buzzbait and did not have one hit. Noticed rather quickly that all the fish we right in the weed edge. Backed off and switched to a Neko rig with a 1/16oz nail weight. Started catching fish right away. Seemed like every place we located 1 fish we caught several. Not real large schools but 4-5 in each pod. My partner once again was sticking with the jigworms and I switched between the Neko and a drop shot. The bite seemed to get better as the morning went along and the fish started to roam a little more off the weedline. Once again the weeds on this lake seemed to be way ahead of schedule. Ended the day with 7 fish over 19” and 3 over 20. Its days like this one a fishermen lives for. A few photos of a few of the better ones.
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Notice how beat up the tails were on some of these fish. Also these fish had been feeding heavy. They were really fat and great fighters
Notice how beat up the tails were on some of these fish. Also these fish had been feeding heavy. They were really fat and great fighters
Looks like a great day John!
The weeds are ahead of schedule, does anyone else think the water temps have been behind? Nice fish BTW
Nice greenies there thumper
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
This is just not true. Typically the best structure in Summer (which is what this thread is specific to) is deep structure. It holds the most fish and the most big fish.It’s certainly partially true on some bodies of water. The theory that the biggest bass in the lake move to deep water is not backed by any data in this part of the country since most of our lakes do not develop a thermocline. They are seeking relief from the sun and warm temps. So they could move deep. They could also stay shallow in thick weeds or go under pads/docks. Anything that provides shade.
No one said the biggest bass are deep, or that there isn’t big bass shallow. What isn’t true is that the best structure is shallow.
The most numbers are deep in the summer which means you have the best chance at catching more big fish. It’s a pretty proven theory.
Nice greenies there thumper
Yeah those are fatties.
The weeds are ahead of schedule, does anyone else think the water temps have been behind? Nice fish BTW
Haven’t been on a lake lately but I would imagine if the temps are “behind” it’s probably due to all the rainfall and lower than average air temps??
The weeds have definitely gotten quite the head start. A few couple weeks ago they were already surfacing in 12 ft on some of these local lakes.
We got out again this evening.decided to mix it up a little and fish a lake without much for any deeper weeds. I would not call it a slop lake but leaning that way. Started out on a deeper sand point that normally holds a few nice fish. Noticed right away that like most lakes in the area the water is really up. The last few years a big portion of this sand point is exposed. This year none of it is. Caught a few fish on the favorite bait of choice these days the Neko rig. Caught far less than is the norm on this spot. Headed to where there is a flow out of the lake. When the water is high and flowing we can normally catch a few nice ones in this spot. Only managed a few dink fish. With it warm and sunny we decided to hit a shoreline that was rather shady. Caught a decent # of fish on a weightless wacky rig. Funny thing is the fish didn’t seem to be relating to the cover at all. Neither overhanging tree’s or docks. Most of the fish just seemed to be roaming between the docks and real tight to the bank. Decided to end the evening throwing a swim jig and a buzzbait in 3-5ft over scattered weed clumps. Managed a few fish but not many. Overall the fish were all a decent average size ( 15-17”) lots of fish from the same year class. Like the other day these fish were all healthy and looked rather well fed. By the look of things the last 3 outings, the fish look to be about recovered from the spawn and seem to be feeding rather heavy. No picture worthy fish this outing. Water temps were 73 deg. On the sunny side and 71 on the shady side
Haven’t been on a lake lately but I would imagine if the temps are “behind” it’s probably due to all the rainfall and lower than average air temps??
Definitely
I can recall more than once in the past few years when water temps were near or at 80 already by mid June.
I can recall more than once in the past few years when water temps were near or at 80 already by mid June.
I can as well. I remember one year it was nearing the mid 80’s and people told me my graph Temp gage was broken. My buddies graph read about the same and I was told both Graphs temp gages were broken
Mixed it up this weekend. First lake good defined weed edge all fish 5 feet in the weed edge Ned rigs and wife cleaned up with Neko rigs. Got chased off with the rain. tried 2 lakes that were dirty high water we could hardly scratch a fish so my brain kicked in we got off right away and went to clearer lakes good choice. We did quite well this weekend although we both thought the size of fish were much smaller than usual. Tried a new lake to us got 20 bass. Smaller lake but deep all on weed edge they were in 22 FOW. We didn’t push it any deeper as we release all our fish. To top it all off caught up with a fellow fisherman I truly respect was good to chat with him you know who you are 
. One thing we noticed is when Ned rigging it seemed like they wanted a small craw plastic or a fatter wacky worm cut to 3/4. They did not want anything with a finesse tail. Funny how that goes. Great to hear from all you guys. Nice fish Thumper!. Till next weekend.
Nice catch pike!
Fished 2 different lakes today.
First lake we had a tourney on and it’s a shallow lake with a lot of reeds. The water on that lake is pretty stained. Caught fish on a chatter bait and a missle D bomb, Texas rigged. Didn’t really try any other colors other than green pumpkin the whole tourney.
Fished the lake my parents live on. It’s a long skinny clear deep lake. Pretty minimal flats and all break lines are steep. The flats that are in the lake are shallow. Less than 5’ of water. Fished points on the flats. The taller weeds EHD around 14’ of water but the shorter weeds carry out to 18’. Caught 30 fish on a Neko rig and a jig worm tonight. All fish came in that 12 to 15’ range.
Finally had a chance to get after bass tonight. Fished a new small lake by me and had my heart set on frogging. Well the bite was fairly decent. Had a handful of 1ish pounders. Switched to flipping the edge of pads a found better size. Did have a monster blowup the frog. Didnt get hook sadly.
I like the deep weed edge, but I am not stuck on that. Certainly not a pro. Spend most of my time help others in the boat.
The other day – within 30 minutes of each other I boated a 20″ LM in 20 feet of water and a 21.5″ LM in a foot of water 2 feet from undeveloped shoreline with an overhanging branch.
Summer is fun, but it is hard not to love those days when you find that “spot” where every cast puts a fish on in late May.
Cold front – high pressure equals deep water bass ??
Had another good weekend of chasing bass. Saturday’s outing was a little more difficult due to some stronger winds. Ended up fishing 2 different lakes as the wind was just to much work on lake #1. My fishing partner had another lake close by where he had located 2 decent schools of fish on Tuesday. We decided to head there and put the spotlock to work. Ended up being a good decision. Both spots still had the schools on them. Had to make some slight adjustments to the weights we were using in the jigworms and Neko Rigs but did manage a few decent fish ( 16-18” ) from both spots and a decent #’s of small fish. With the forecast of little to no wind on Sunday with bright clear sky’s we got an early start on Sunday, was at buddies house by 5am. Didn’t take long to find a nice size school of fish. Probably caught 12-15 fish from this spot and said it was the largest school of fish so far this year. That didn’t last long as a few spots later we located an even larger school of fish. We stayed on spotlock in 1 location without moving for 1.5+ hr. You often hear that fish school by size. In this case that was real true. I think ever fish we caught was within .5” of each other and within a few oz. Of each other. I know we caught 25+ fish and all of them were in the 18-18.5” range. These fish were all really heavy for their length. Really fat well built fish. All fish came on a Neko rig for me and a jigworms for my buddy. One tip on fishing that Neko rig. If you know you are in a area with fish, don’t be afraid to slow way down and just let it sit. Also when you catch a fish pay close attention to where it came from and the angle of the cast. Both schools of fish was in a real small area. A cast a few feet off and no bite. Hit the sweet spot and let the Neko rig hit the bottom and just wait. If no bite after a minute or so. I’d just shake it just a little and let it sit still again. If I fished it as fast as normal they would not bite it. Hard to do, but sometimes it pays off to slow down. Hope all your outings went well this last weekend as well.
Friday was a little slower for us about 10 bass 14 FOW Neko and Ned. The fish were very skittish. Later for my bride we went pan fishing got lots of sunnies and crappies surprised us for this particular lake. On Saturday we went to a lake only fished once glad we did a lake with some pads and bulrushes 3 feet out no weeds at all so we hit the pads and Wacky to the rescue we got 40 bass and most were 18-19 inchers wow that was fun. Then Sunday after church we got 15 bass on the same lake we were at on Friday it really slowed up once the jet skiers and waterski boats started up. Deep weed edge of 20 FOW positive the north winds haven’t been a great help water temps at 73. Mostly Ned rigs they wouldn’t touch the Neko go figure.
Mostly Ned rigs they wouldn’t touch the Neko go figure.
That ned rig is next up on new techniques to try and learn to use. Any tips on when, where, and how to best fish it. What brand and size jig heads do you most often use? What is your go to bait of choice on it?
I mostly use the ned for smallmouth. It tends to get hung up in weeds when I’m in largemouth territory because it has the exposed hook. There is a version called the Tiny Child Rig but I’ve never used it. I’d rather just switch to a texas rig instead, personally.
As far as the jig heads, use as lightweight as you can so that it still sinks to the bottom given the current, depth, and waves. You may have to adjust that. There are a lot of plastics you can use too. I like the zman elaztech because its naturally buyoant and very durable.
There are a lot of brands of mushroom head jigs too. I like the VMC ones. The only ones I would advise not using are the original zmans. The hooks are very light wire and they will bend easily.
The other thing is with the ned, I tend to catch smaller fish on average with it because of its small profile. It can be a dink magnet. It will still catch bigger fish, but it just catches a lot of small ones too.
For most of last summer and so far this summer, The Neko rig has become my #1 go to technique of choice. Its funny how once you have some success on something how quick it can become your top choice. I think often the bait that works the best is the one you have the most confidence in. The Neko seems to be outfishing my partner and his jig worm on most outing and this is while fishing from the back of the boat. If rigged correctly I think it comes thru the weed edges a little cleaner than the Jigworm.
The other thing is with the ned, I tend to catch smaller fish on average with it because of its small profile. It can be a dink magnet. It will still catch bigger fish, but it just catches a lot of small ones too.
That was the knock on the dropshot rig as well. I never found that to be the case with it. I think it was because I tended to fish it a little further from the weed edge than some. I find most of the smaller fish tend to stick much closer to the weed edge and more tucked into it than the larger fish. I guess that makes sense being they are more of a target for larger pike than a big bass is.
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