Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 26 July 2022 12:10

My Bait Choices in the Heat
As we move into the hottest part of the summer, which is generally August, I mainly focus on baits that I can work over the top of the grass early in the day, then move to baits I can get into the holes of the grass.
For me this starts with swim baits. Those of you who have fished with me know I love fishing swim baits. That means many versions of it, swim bait rigged on swim jigs are first on my list but also rigged on other types of presentations, like just a jig head or a flash rig. I also like big, hard bait swim baits as they seem to catch bigger fish.

It’s also important to note that as the heat starts to burn the top of the grass starting the foaming and browning of the shallow water grass, allowing you to start the frog bite for the season.
Nothing is more exciting than an explosion out of the grass on a frog. Also, do not forget that the early morning bite with a Pop-r is also a fantastic way to catch numbers of fish at daylight, especially if you can find schooling fish as that generally starts in August.

As the day moves on, and the fish start to hide from the sun, I start moving toward fishing a big worm along the edges of the grass or weighting a worm with a three-eighths to ½ weight and swimming it up and down through the holes formed by the erratic grass patterns.

The big worm is a long-standing bait that seems to never go away as a fish catcher.

I also like finding deep areas off the grass that have hard bottom, like stumps or shells, and drop a football jig into the hard bottom cover.

The hard bottom areas of the lake create more oxygen, have cooler water and hold good fish in the heat of August. It is also a good area to be in when they’re pulling current as stumps and rocks create ambush locations for bass to feed in.

Scorching summer fishing is all about confidence find what works for you, and you will be successful!

-Captain Mike Gerry