Fishing Tip of the Week

Try something unorthodox
As Spring moves on to the summertime of the year, some things change, and some don’t. The one big similarity of Spring to Summer is the all-day heat leaving the water temperature to soar and oxygen to deplete in the water. This factor alone makes summer fishing extremely tough, and trying to overcome this and put together a pattern that catches fish can be really tough, but doing something different can sometimes be a key to success.
To me, this says try something unorthodox. Meaning, try a favorite wintertime presentation; that being, fishing a presentation that targets suspending fish, like a jerk bait. I know most of us use this bait when the water is cold, but many times you get the same result in the warm-water days of summer.

There is a slight difference that I try to change this time of year: meaning, I go to a deeper jerk bait presentation like the SPRO McStick 95, that goes eight to 10 feet down the water table, allowing you to fish it deeper than the traditional jerk bait presentation. Or try a countdown jerk bait that allows you to count it down to your desired depth.

There are also jerk baits that sink quickly, allowing you to count them down to even deeper depths, giving you more ability to fish suspending deep fish at the depth you see on your Lowrance Active Target unit. I also believe that as the day moves on, that bass suspend along the grass lines we have on a lake like Guntersville, so fishing that jerk bait along the many grass lines can really focus in on the bass. This is also an area that you find gobs of bait balls, and presenting jerk baits through the bait balls around the suspending fish can really prove to be rewarding.

This bait, you really have to be patient with, so letting it sit for several seconds in-between movements can be the key to getting this to work. As I always tell my customers, do what you’re supposed to do – what the textbook information tells us – then change presentations until you find one that works. Of course, repeat it when it does. Fishing, something different away from the textbook recommendations can be productive.

-Captain Mike Gerry

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