Missouri Outdoor

Tired of bucking wakes from ski boats and personal watercraft out on your deep main-lake fishin’ holes? Our experts will point you to shallow-water spots guaranteed to yield more pleasant and productive summer bass outings.

Shallow Summer BassMuch has been written about how to catch big bass in summer by probing deep structure. Indeed, methods such as vertical-jigging a spoon along river channel dropoffs and cranking isolated cover on the ends of deep points will definitely score strikes during bass fishing’s so-called dog days.

But here’s a news flash: not all bass go deep in summer! Surprisingly, even at the hottest time of year, you can cash in on many shallow-water opportunities on your area bass waters…if you know where to fish and what presentation to use. Tired of bucking wakes from ski boats and personal watercraft out on your deep main-lake fishin’ holes? Our experts will point you to shallow-water spots guaranteed to yield more pleasant and productive summer bass outings.

Stump Flats in River-Run Reservoirs

Reservoirs with a marked current flow can be tremendous bass venues in summer. While slack-water impoundments and natural lakes often stagnate in hot weather due to oxygen depletion, current keeps river-run reservoirs cool and highly-oxygenated. Bass tend to remain shallower in these bodies of water as a result.

Pickwick Lake (Alabama) bass guide Steve Hacker scores impressive catches of lunker largemouths and smallmouths all summer long by targeting stump flats along the old Tennessee River channel. “During periods of generation from the upstream dam, baitfish move onto these shallow flats, which typically run 3 to 8 feet deep, to feed on plankton drifting downstream,” Hacker said. “Bass that were holding along the deep channel dropoff in slack water move onto the flats to ambush baitfish schools. The stumps scattered along the flat provide ideal current breaks — bass hold on the downstream side of the cover and dart out to nail passing prey. This shallow pattern holds up day and night, as long as there’s plenty of current.”

Steve’s favorite presentation here is a spinnerbait. “Position your boat along the deep edge of the flat with the bow facing into the current, and fan-cast a half-ounce spinnerbait onto the structure, slow-rolling it back to the boat. Try to bump the lure into stumps — bass won’t swim far in fast current to grab your bait.” Heavy line — 20 pound mono minimum — is highly recommended, Hacker added, due to the size of the bass you’re likely to encounter on this pattern, as well as the abrasion potential of the cover you’re fishing.

Irregularities in Shallow Weed Beds

Dan Thurmond knows where big bass hang out. The legendary guide splits his fishing time between lakes Conroe and Fork in Texas, and Rodman and Loch Loosa in Florida. He knows that shallow weedbeds hold plenty of lunker bass in hot weather. “Weeds produce oxygen through photosynthesis, filter impurities from the water and provide excellent food and shelter for bass,” he explained. “But the trouble with fishing shallow vegetation is, there’s usually so much of it. By midsummer, some of the lakes I fish are veritable jungles of submerged and emergent vegetation, and bass aren’t everywhere in grass. You can waste precious fishing time by casting to unproductive areas.”

In his quest for lunker bass, Thurmond keys on irregularities in shallow weed beds. “If you look at the edge of a bed, it usually has straight stretches broken up by points that feather out or indentations that cut into the main mass of grass. The biggest bass in the area usually gravitate to these irregularities, because they find greater feeding opportunities there — shiners and bluegill are attracted to them as well.”

Holes within the bed are also likely lunker spots, Thurmond has found. “In Florida lakes, I fish holes in emergent grass wallowed out by alligators. Once the ‘gator has vacated the area, you can lob a plastic worm or a big shiner into the hole and it’ll often get eaten by a big bass.”

Weedless rats and frogs are ideal for probing irregularities in vegetation. “Use a long rod with a moderately soft tip so you can chunk these lightweight lures way back into the weeds,” Thurmond advised. “Reel ‘em slowly across the mat, and when a bass explodes on the lure, drop your rod and give a three-count before setting the hook. And never try to winch a big bass out of grass — you’ll end up straightening or tearing out the hook. It’s safer to go to the fish instead.”

Flooded Willow Bushes

B.A.S.S. and FLW touring pro Charlie Ingram says he prefers fishing shallow water regardless of the season, even if most of his competition is fishing deep. Early in summer, he banks on flooded willow bushes to produce limit catches of big bass. “I’ve fished this pattern for years on reservoirs like Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley (Kentucky).” he said. “It’s the most reliable pattern I’ve ever found for the tough transitional period between post-spawn and summer.”

Once the reservoir’s water level has been elevated to summer pool, willow bushes in shallow coves become partly to totally inundated, triggering a major food chain scenario, Ingram explained. “Mayflies hatch out and hang in the bushes by the zillions. Bluegills arrive to gorge on these insects, and the resulting feeding frenzy attracts bass. It’s flipping heaven — just go from bush to bush and pitch or flip a jig or tube bait at the base of the cover. The action can be unbelievably fast — I once caught five bass that weighed 33 pounds in under 15 minutes on this pattern.”

But if the bite turns out to be unexpectedly slow, Ingram jump-starts the food chain by slapping several bushes with his boat paddle. “This sends clouds of mayflies into the water. Bluegill start popping the bugs on the surface, bass hear the commotion and move in for a quick meal,” he said.

Bushes located along a ditch or tributary channel dropoff often produce the biggest bass, Charlie added. “After spawning, lunker largemouths use these shallow indentations as migration routes from shallow coves or flats to deep water. They’ll hold around the bushes to fatten up before moving out to deeper summer haunts. Mark any rut or indentation in the bottom you can find with buoys, and fish the bushes on the shallow side of the drop with jigs or tubes.”

Mudlines on Shallow Points

Priest Lake, Tennessee lies within the Nashville city limits, and on summer weekends, the 14,000-acre reservoir is churned to a froth by pleasure boats and jet skis. Veteran bass angler Jack Christian uses this mayhem to his advantage by targeting the muddy water created by all those boat wakes. “Priest is quite clear, and normally tough to fish during broad daylight in hot weather,” Christian said. “But by Sunday afternoon, parts of the lake are downright muddy due to waves washing onto the banks. Wave action uproots crayfish and stirs plankton around, attracting minnows into the cloudy water. Bass that were suspending off the banks or holding on deep cover will move into the cloudy water to feed.”

On busy weekends, Christian will wait until around 4 p.m. to launch his boat. “Most of the skiers are heading for home about this time,” he said. “I’ll target mudlines that have set up on shallow main-lake points at the mouths of tributaries. These are bridges from deep to shallow water, and can hold a lot of bait and bass. The best points are the ones that run halfway out into the lake before dropping off into deep water.”

Jack begins by working the point with a lipless vibrating crankbait. “I’ll start at the end of the point and gradually move shallower, casting into the muddy water and burning the lure back into clear water with a fast retrieve” he said. “Often a bass will grab the lure as soon as it hits the water. I’ve caught 9-pound largemouths and 7-pound smallmouths on this pattern.”

If points don’t pay off, Christian targets launch ramps. “Boats and trailers moving in and out of the water all weekend will make these areas muddy was well. Next time you go to launch at a busy ramp, check out all the minnows swimming around in that stirred-up water — these are awesome bass feeding stations.”

Rip-Rap Along the Dam

Veteran Springfield, Missouri bass pro Basil Bacon has fished competitively since the late Sixties, and won over $100,000 by copping first place in last year’s FLW event on Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee. An master spinnerbait angler, Bacon prefers to stay shallow even when temperatures sizzle. One of his favorite shallow summer patterns is fishing the large rocks and boulders (rip-rap) used to shore up earthen banks along reservoir dams. “Rip-rap is often totally overlooked by bass anglers,” Bacon said. “It traps dead fish and serves as a food cache for crayfish. It also develops a thick coating of algae which shad feed upon.”

Bass will move out of deep water to cruise shallow rip-rap for groceries, Bacon continued. “I’ve had the best luck here in low-light periods, early in the morning or on overcast days, ” he said. “Those big chunks of rock are a bit tough to fish. A jig or tube will drop down between the rocks and get stuck, and a crankbait invariably wedges itself in a rocky crevice. A spinnerbait, slow-rolled so it taps the top of the rocks, is a better alternative.”

Bacon finds this pattern most productive when current is being generated at the dam. “This sucks injured baitfish and plankton along the rip-rap like a conveyor belt carrying food past the bass.”

Rockpiles at Night

Legendary smallmouth bass expert Jim Rivers is an avid night fisherman who has caught many monster bass from Pickwick Lake, Alabama; he holds the 10 pound line class world record on this species (7 pounds 7 ounces). Rivers knows that in the dog days of summer, smallies often sulk in deep water during daylight hours, but will move much shallower at night to feed on crayfish. “Crawdads are nocturnal,” Rivers noted. “They’ll stay hidden under rocks and bottom debris during the day, but at night, they’ll crawl out to forage, and are easy pickings for bass.”

Targeting spots that hold the maximum number of craws will lead to fast bassin’ action, Rivers added. “Main-lake rockpiles are dependable summer structures at night. On Pickwick, some of these rise to within only a foot or two of the surface, and can hold tremendous numbers of crayfish and smallmouths once the sun goes down.”

Rivers uses two types of lures to probe these shallow structures: hair jigs and spinnerbaits. He fishes the former on a stiff spinning rod, the latter on baitcasting gear. “Just position the boat within casting distance of the rocks — an anchor may be needed to hold the boat in fast current — then hop the lure across the top of the structure so it mimics the erratic action of a moving craw. Big smallmouths are incredibly spooky at night, so avoid making any unnecessary noise. I keep all the lures I’ll need for the night’s fishing scattered out on the deck of my boat so I don’t accidentally drop a storage box lid or bang my tacklebox around while looking for a lure.”

Shallow Humps On Crowded Lakes

Lebanon, Tennessee bass guide Jim Duckworth doesn’t let recreational boat traffic deter him from fishing main-lake structure in the summer months. To the contrary, he uses it to his advantage when targeting humps (submerged islands) that rise from deep water to within a few feet of the surface. “Summertime is crankbait time, and there’s no better spot to crank than a small mid-lake hump,” he said. “These places may rise to only a few feet of the surface, yet are usually overlooked by fishermen, and can hold large, unpressured concentrations of big bass.”

The key to scoring a limit catch on the shallow part of these structures is shad, and lots of ‘em. “Bass will move to the top of the hump when a big school of bait moves up on it,” Duckworth said. “When they’re shallow, they’re feeding, so action can be incredibly fast — a fish every cast, as long as the bait stays there.”

But once the shad scatter, the guide lets nearby boat traffic push them back to the structure. “Cruisers and jet skis crossing the lake will actually force scattered baitfish to regroup and run back onto the hump. I’ve this happen time and again — you’ll be catching bass, then the bait scatters and the bite stops, then a boat runs by and the bite starts up again. A weird pattern, true, but it works. If no other boats are around, I’ll often crank up my outboard and run back and forth past the hump several times to move the bait back into prime position.”
written by Don Wirth

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