Fishing tip of the Week – Summer Decisions

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 18 July 2023 08:34

Summer Decisions
by Mike Gerry

As we progress into the summertime patterns, bass fishing becomes more complex and hence, there are many more decisions you need to make to have successful trips during the heat of the summer. Decisions that you make will generally guide you through the day – it will be good or not so good.

One thing I always try to do is examine the bottom structure in the summer. Hard bottom areas like shell beds, rock or just hard clay with scattered grass produce oxygen and make great summer locations. Side scanning for hard bottom is a great way to start.

The result depends on what you’re looking for: size, numbers, top water action, or are you just going to enjoy working different baits and looking for different patterns.
I head to the water in the summer always trying to identify what my customer is looking to do, so that way I can adjust quickly to the conditions, and hopefully offer them some tips to accomplish their goals.

One theme that is pretty prevalent is top water action. Knowing this, I head to the grass and look for bait action immediately, taking advantage of the low light conditions early in the morning. When trying to find the top water action, I always look for deep water near the bank. It appears to me that the bait moves to the bank around lay-downs, rock and grass edges. Many of my customers in the summer are not interested in just hooking a big fish. Yes, that is a great result, but many just want something pulling on their line. This is very different than trying to find tournament size fish, so the decision process is more about baits than anything.

There is no doubt in my mind that smaller baits like finesse worms or paddle worms attract more bites, so I make the decision to downsize and try to get continuous action, and my baits reflect that all day long.

When you head to the water this summer, having a plan of what you’re looking for, will allow you to focus quicker and accomplish more than just going fishing and not putting any thought into your day. Bigger fish have different habits than small fish, and knowing what you want to do can lead you to some better summertime fishing!
Captain Mike