FINDING BASS ON A HOT SUNNY DAY

We were blessed with another hot sunny day today. The temperature was in the high 80's with a bright, calm sky! We got a late start again this morning but still managed to find a couple of smaller Bass in the shallows. I pulled out one of my old favorite lures, a CREEKCHUB PLUNKER! This bait has been out of production for a number of years but can still catch fish! I was pretty careful not to get it hung up for fear I would lose it! I did manage one small Bass on it but that was it! We switched to crank baits and found Bass stacked on a drop that hadn't been effected by the sun. The sun was almost high in the sky but the drop was on the east side of the lake and was still in the shadow of the sun. We took several Bass from this area before we called it a day! I know I'm ready for cooler weather and the return of Fall! Fall is my second favorite season for fishing. The fish are on the feed to store fat for the winter and will be actively feeding and chasing bait into the shallows, back of coves and bays and, if available, up feeder creeks! This is the time I like to use spinner baits and jerk baits. Hopefully, We'll be fishing up to December!

AUGUST, "THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER"

This has been a really warm summer! A person doesn't want to be too far from an air conditioner these days let alone think of spending the day out on a lake in the baking sun and heat! If you enjoy fishing as much as I do, you suck it up and take plenty of liquids with you and hit the lake! Naturally, the best time to fish is the early morning hours and again in the evening. The lower light provides more shaded areas and the fish will be more active. The warmer water also increases the metabolism of the fish and makes them want to feed more! This can be a huge advantage for us fishermen! On bright sunny days, head for the weeds. This is an important source of cover for the fish as well as for their food sources. If the weed beds are close to deeper water, so much the better. Try to fish the irregular structure of the weed beds such as weed breaks, points, cuts etc.. Watch the formation of the weeds. If the weed stems surface and the main foliage spreads out on the surface, fish will be hiding underneath this coverage. Try dropping jigs through any openings in the weeds, the smaller the openings the better! Fish the weed edges. If the weeds generally thin out before disappearing there propably is a soft muddy bottom under the weeds. If the weeds have an abrupt ending the bottom is either sandy or rocky which both are excellent to hold fish. Again, jigs work really well here but any plastic baits such as worms, grubs or tubes would be ideal to use. However you go about it, it might be down right nasty to be out there fishing but a few nice fish will work wonders at easing the discomfort!