5 Bass Lures for Summer Time Fishing

Put on a pair of flip flops, shorts, and a hat, cause it's summer time fishing. Here are 5 bass lures that are a blast to fish during the warmer months of the year. Make sure to have sunscreen with you to protect your skin and have a good pair of sunglasses. I love being out on the water during this time of year more than any other time, even though the Spring fishing season can be the best for numbers and quality, the summer allows me to use the baits and techniques that are pure fun to deploy. Using top water all day is possible or when it gets really hot out, seek the most dense, nastiest cover on the lake and flip a 1 oz. tungsten weight and a creature bait into the slop and you just might pull out a giant large mouth bass.

As the fish move from a spawning mode to the post spawn doldrums when they are lethargic and tired from the rigors of spawning in the shallows, the summer season is just around the corner. Some of the baits that work during this time of year will work through the rest of June, July, August, and into September. A favorite post spawn bait is the top water frog or spook, fished slow and lazily to entice a fish to eat. They will eat larger baits that are presented as an easy meal. The floating trick worm is one of the most commonly talked about post spawn baits because it just kind of suspends in the water column and is excellent for a fish to swim up to and just suck it in. A fluke fished around boat docks on the outsides of spawning areas can also be a deadly tactic to get these fish migrating to their deeper or cooler water hang outs for the months to come.

Ribbit. Ribbit.

Fishing with a plastic frog is a blast. Get a heavy rod, a reel with a fast retrieve speed and braided line. Traditionally this lure was only for the heaviest surface vegetation such as algae moss, matted Hydrilla and Milfoil beds, Lily Pads, etc. Work the lure slowly over the top of this type of cover and try to get the bait to enter little pockets of open water and along creases made by the grasses and the fish will launch through the mat and take the bait down. This is exhilarating, but certainly not the only way to fish with this lure.

Walking the dog with the frog is very possible and the bait excels in open water situations. Cast the lure to the bank and slowly walk it back over the tops of submerged vegetation. A favorite technique by many is skipping the frog underneath tree branches or along docks and walking the dog with an occasional pause every couple of twitch's. This is one of the most exciting top water bites in bass fishing and something that makes Summer fishing special.

The spook is perfect for imitating the schooling bait fish that congregate in many reservoirs. When the fish are out chasing the schools of bait fish, running and gunning all day looking for active fish is a common tactic for anglers. The spook can be thrown all day long, while it excels in low light conditions such as sun rise and dusk, but don't put it away once the sun is shining bright as some of the biggest bites on a spook will happen during the middle of the day.

Search out the heavy vegetation that you might work a frog around and rig up a heavy punching rig and flip the bait in. When fishing with a punching rig make sure to peg the weight so the lure slips through easily. Pick a creature bait like a beaver or something without appendages such as a brush hog, because they get caught while working the bait through making it harder to get to the bottom. Once the bait gets to the bottom, if it does not elicit a strike on the fall, yo yo it a few times and then pull it out and flip into the next likely bass holding spot. When you do get a bite, reel up quick and set the hook hard and then do not stop cranking on the fish until, it is either stuck in the top of the mat in a big ball of grass and you have to go in and get it, or the fish pops up and slides across the top all the way to your boat. It is always fun getting to open up a Christmas present of matted vegetation, you never know if you have a 4 pounder in all that grass or one well over 10 pounds.

When the bite is really tough, it can be time to bring out a spinning reel with 6 or 8 pound test and start grinding. Find a rock pile or creek channel that looks promising and rig up a plastic worm on one of the following tried and true finesse tactics.

1. Dropshot
2. Shakey head jig
3. Nail weight
4. Split shot

Use a quality hand pour worm like a Roboworm or other custom tackle makers lures. These are much softer than the traditional worms, have a straight tail, which reduces the action making them better for finesse presentations that require a subtle approach, and they come in a limitless range of colors making it easy to find a special color for the locations that you fish.

When the fish are hanging out on deep creek channels, rock piles or other main lake structures in the 16 - 22 foot depths than a deep running crank bait can stir up a good limit quickly. These lures need to be cast a long distance in order to get them down to the maximum running depth for a decent period of time so a longer cranking rod is ideal and light line will also allow the lure to run deeper faster and longer. Make sure that the bait is making contact with the rocks or trees that in the fish holding locations. The deflections from the cover will often induce the strike. Learning how to be successful with deep water cranking is not an easy to learn skill as the baits are only at max depth for a relatively short period of time so you will need to use your boats electronics to help align the boat in the right position to hit your target. These lures are not good for bank anglers or places that do not get deeper than 15 feet of water, which is a lot of locations around the country, however, when you get on a good deep crank bite, it is amazing and can be an untapped fishery since most anglers avoid to do all that is required to be effective with it. This may mean you are the only one showing those fish at those depths the action of a crank bait, giving you an edge over other anglers in the areas that may be just dragging a worm, Carolina rig, or jig through these deep water summer fish hang outs. The fish will be near the creek channels to take advantage of the cooler deep water as the surface heats up into the late summer and early fall, so take advantage of this and learn the hot spots that are often in the bends of the creeks and catch a ton of fish with DD 22's and other deep runners.