1. Big Swimbait Bite in Early June
In lakes with trout or kokanee, big bass will readily devour a realistic-looking swimbait in the first couple weeks of June. I love the Huddleston rainbow trout for this type of fishing. Even if your lake doesn’t have trout or kokanee, big bass will still bite a slow-moving hearty meal like this.
I recommend fishing very slow dragging bottom or just cruising it along in the water column. Towards the end of June, this bite seems to die down but can still be worthwhile. You will need a stout heavy action rod to drive that hook once you get bit.
If you want to catch more bass, knowing the exact temperature to fish at can make all the difference. Click here to see this article I wrote to learn the best water temperatures for bass fishing are in every season.
2. Big Baits all Summer Long
While swimbaits are the best in early spring for trophy bass feeding on big shad, trout, and kokanee, big baits can work all summer long. The only difference now is that instead of fishing specifically for big bass, you will be fish schools of bass that do have a couple big females inside it with a bunch of smaller males. But you can still catch that big bass. I like using big baits like glide baits and wake baits.
If you are going to put in the effort and deal with all the boat traffic around during the summer, you may as well throw a bait that a big bass will find appealing. There are a lot of great glide baits but I really like the S-waver for getting a reaction bite from big summertime fish (link to Amazon to see current prices).
3. Fishing Electronics Help a Ton
Electronic fish finders and maps help out a ton when locating summertime bass. They aren’t needed as you can locate features that hold bass without them, but they sure make life a lot easier. If you have a boat and a ton of money, you can afford to get the best fish finding electronics.
For the rest of us mere mortals, something like a castable fish finder can be a great purchase. They cost a lot less than boat-mounted fish finders and can provide you a good value in fish finding capabilities. To learn more about how good castable fish finders can be, check out this article I wrote. I really like the Deeper fish finder for its durability, fish finding and water depth ability, and castability. I really like that you can fish this floating transducer from a boat, a dock, the bank, or through the ice when ice fishing. It is a really good option if you are short on cash or don’t have a boat.
4. Know the Best Times of Day
During the summer, the best times of day are typically during the reduced light hours of early morning and late afternoon. I really like fishing from dawn until 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset until dusk. I find the fish is really good and these are often the most comfortable times to be on the water.
Bass will definitely bite during the middle of the day, but you need to fish very tight to shade to get them to bite. For a complete breakdown of the best times of day to catch bass in every season, check out this article I wrote.
5. Breaks in the Weather Can Yield Monster Bass
Bass are just people in that they become most active when they are comfortable. During the summer, bass will seek out cooler shadier conditions. The dog days of summer can be broken up by a cloudy or overcast day. It can also be interrupted by rain.
Any break in the weather like this can cause bass to leave cover and roam around looking for food. These can be great times to fish for bass. For a complete guide on catching bass on cloudy or overcast days, check out this complete article. To learn how to catch bass in and around rain, check out this article. To learn the best time of day to catch largemouth bass, please check out this helpful article.
6. Observe Shoreline for Clues
Even if you don’t have fishing electronics, you can still get a good idea of what is happening below the water. Pay close attention to the shoreline. If you see steep hillsides along the bank, you can be sure that the water gets very deep very fast.
Likewise, if you see relatively flat land, you can bet the water will be very shallow for a long time. Use these as clues for finding drop-offs and bluffs that bass will congregate at during summer. Also, keep a close eye out for primary and secondary points. These will be great summer locations to catch offshore bass.
7. Big Bass will School with Smaller Bass
During summer, you’ll find a lot of bass schooling up offshore. You will have big monster females schooling up with smaller females and males. Use this to your advantage. Big females are smart when they are alone. They are very hard to trick. But they become dumb when they join a pack. A school of bass is only as smart as its dumbest member.
Throw reaction baits like a glide bait or jerkbait into the school. You only need to fool a few small dumb bass before the school gets all excited and worked up. That big female that is smart on her own, is now just a member of a frenzied pack and likely to take a swing at your jerkbait.
8. Shallow Bass
After the spawn, half the bass will stay in shallow water for the summer. They will associate with cover like docks, rocks, and grass. Their diet will consist primarily of bluegills, frogs, crawfish, and small baitfish as well as the juvenile perch, bass, and catfish that just hatched. Look for cover adjacent to deeper water. Here, bass can feed in the rich shallows but retreat into deeper water if they feel disturbed or a storm rolls in.
9. Offshore Bass
After spawning, many bass will head for more offshore or deeper water to spend the summer. Now deeper is a relative term. In a shallow lake, deeper could mean 8-feet deep. It could also mean 80-feet in a deep reservoir. And bass don’t always head deeper, sometimes they just move to structure and features more offshore.
You can have relatively shallow water a hundred yards from shore that can attract these bass if food and shelter is there. These bass will feed all summer long on crawfish, trout, kokanee, and schooling baitfish. Frogs will likely not be on their menu.
10. Hot Days, Head for Shadows
When the weather is hot and the sun is out in full blast, bass head for shade. A huge lake can become really small when you understand that all the bass will only in shaded areas. It will make fishing a lot easier knowing you can eliminate 95% of the lake before you even get on the water.
Bass don’t like swimming in the bright sun because it hurts their eyes and makes it hard for them to see. Furthermore, bass will seek out the cooler comfort of shade just like any person would on a very hot day.
11. Shallow Shadows
Shallow shadows are the most obvious for bass fishermen. Look for anything that casts shade into the water near shore. This can be tall trees or a hillside that blocks some sun. It can also be thick grass or laydowns or docks. Anything that breaks up the sun and casts shade will attract bass.
If you want to catch big bass, find the “black” shade in a sea of “gray” shade. What I mean is something like grass will produce some shade for bass to sit in but the thickest nastiest clump of grass will produce a total shadow for bass to rest in. Other “black” shade producing features are anchored boats, floating debris or logs, docks, and trees. These will be where big bass go on sunny days.
12. Deep Shadows
For the big bass that head deep after the spawn, look for deeper or offshore shadows to find these bass. They will school up in much bigger numbers than shallow-water bass. In fact, shallow bass rarely school up during the summer. To fish these offshore bass, look for structure that extends either into deeper water or away from shore.
Docks that extend over deeper water can be a key feature because it will allow bass to find shade in a variety of water depths. Bluff walls and humps, corners with current, and rock outcroppings are great locations. When fishing in deeper water, understand that light can only penetrate down so far depending on water clarity.
Where light stops can be an awesome place to catch schooling bass along that transition. That transition can down 10 feet in murky water or down 60 feet in ultra-clear water. But this line will attract bass.
13. Outcroppings on Bluff Walls
For bass that move to deeper water after the spawn, bluff walls are excellent locations to catch fish. In the morning, the western facing bluffs have a ton of shade and a lot of bass. In the afternoon, eastern facing bluffs will hold bass. But that can be a ton of water to cover to locate the fish.
If you can find the prime rock outcroppings on the bluff wall, you can have big bass sitting comfortably in the shade with the water all around them directly in the sun. This makes your life a lot easier. If you know where that shade is, you only have to fish a very small area instead of the whole bluff face.
14. Fish Transitions of Rock
If you have big sections of deeper or offshore rock, fish the transitions of the rock. Don’t fish the middle of a big rock group. Big bass won’t be there. Instead, bass will school up at the transition of rock and mud at the front of the rock. Bass love transitions, especially during summer. Fish the sides and front of rocks, not the middle of them.
15. Cast Tight but Parallel to Rock
Bass will hold tight to rocks. I recommend positioning your boat so when you cast, you cast lengthwise alongside the rock. You want your bait to move close to the rock but not on the rock. Likewise, swimming your lure parallel to the rock will draw more fish and keep your bait in the strike zone longer.
Big Baits are More Enticing for Big Bass
Big fish like eating big baits. You can catch small bass on big baits and on small baits. But generally speaking, you can only catch big bass using big baits. You may as well through bigger baits. I love fishing with big swimbaits and glide baits in the 6-to-8-inch range. Many bass anglers go even bigger. If you want to catch your record bass, give her a bait that is worth her time eating. Big crankbaits and jerkbaits are also attractive to big bass.
For a complete breakdown of catching bass at night, please check out this helpful article I wrote. It covers everything from best colors, seasons, conditions, and tips to catch more bass after dark.
17. Frogs for Summer
Summertime is frog time. Frogs work well in spring and fall but shine the brightest in summer. I recommend trimming the tasseled legs on your frog though. Bass like grabbing onto the legs of a frog to subdue it.
If you keep your legs long, bass will bite the legs and not the main body where the hooks are. If you want a better hookup ratio, trim your legs by at least a third and you’ll see more body bites. For a complete article on the best time and season to throw frog lures, check out this article I wrote.
18. Punching Baits to Access Darkest Shade
Punching is one of the best hot day bass technique that few anglers actually do. Punching with heavy baits allow you to throw a bait into the thickest, nastiest cover where big bass live. These spots have the best shade which attracts big bass.
The trick is to use just enough weight to get your bait to slice through that nasty stuff but not too much. Also, use very heavy action rods and super strong braid. Go with 80-pound braid. If you can present your bait back in that thick stuff, I assure you bass will bite it because they never see lures that far back.
19. Downsize in Clear Water
Murky water lets you get away with a lot of stuff. But clear water eliminates that margin for error. When fishing in clear water, you need to fish with thinner diameter line, more realistic smaller baits, and at a slower pace. Bass have sharp eyes and the clear water gives bass plenty of time to study your bait as it moves. If they see anything wrong, they are out.
20. Big Bass Claim Prime Locations
Big bass have a lot of weight to throw around and with great age and experience comes great privilege. Big bass know exactly what conditions are best for them and they will occupy locations that are best for them. You will want to locate the best shade with the best access to current or baitfish you can to find big bass. Small bass are a dime a dozen and can be found anywhere, but those giants deserve the best shade.
Bass are Very Predictable on Hot Days
On hot days, bass behave very predictably. Just like peoples and just about every animal you can imagine, on hot sunny days, the shade is where we head. Bass are the exact same way. On hot days, bass will head right for the shade.
This can make bass fishing really simple. You can have a huge lake that suddenly only has a few viable fishing locations with enough shade. If you find the good shade, you find a ton of big bass holding up on the key locations. Not quite like shooting fish in a barrel, but it sure makes it simpler.
22. Fish Corners of Structure/Points in Current
For warm-water fishing, choose features that are affected by current. This could be on a river or the main current in a reservoir. Look for points that jut out into the current causing it to divert. The corners of that structure will be great places for bass to wait for bait to pass. Likewise, current breaks like laydowns and boulders can have bass hold onto the corners.
23. Shallow/Deep Transition Can be Huge
Big bass will favor the prime locations on the lake. If you have a lake full of shallow grass, big bass will only choose the most perfect locations. When you have miles and miles of shoreline, big fish will hold up in just a few locations.
A big bass will pick a thick clump of grass with easy and quick access to deeper water. Big bass won’t want to swim a hundred feet just to reach a drop-off into deeper water. Meanwhile, a thick clump of grass feet away from a drop-off down to 15-feet of water is a prime location for big bass in the summer.
24. Grass Transitions are Bass Hold-Outs
If your lake has a lot of grass, chances are it has multiple species of grasses or aquatic vegetation. Often times the best location to find bass is right where one species (shallower) ends and the deeper species begins.
Warm-weather bass love transitions and that transition line where two species of grasses merge will often be the best shade along the bank. And what did we decide early? We decided that the biggest females will occupy the best shade on the lake. They are big and have earned that right. If you want big bass, fish these transitions.
25. No Stinger Hooks for Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbaits can be great bass baits because they cover a ton of water and mimic a fleeing baitfish with the flashing blades. But it is common knowledge that the hookup ratio for spinnerbaits isn’t great.
As a result, a lot of anglers add a stinger hook to the back of the spinnerbait. I recommend you don’t do this for warm bass. You will be fish around a ton of cover like weeds, lilies, bullrush, and laydowns. That stinger hook will take your naturally weedless spinnerbait and turn it into something that snags onto literally everything.
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