Written by - Jo Dee Lake
Professional Bass Angler
Summer Fishing – Don’t give up when the heat gets tough.
You know it’s going to be a hot day when at 6:00AM your shirt is already soaked with sweat and you’ve already sucked down a few bottles of water. I had just gotten to my first spot on a local lake during a small tournament where - the weekend before - I had some luck early landing a 3 1/2 pound Spotted Bass on the edge of some grass on a frog. Then I found a few smaller ones in the same area on an 1/8 ounce Shaky Head and Shaky Worm as well as a Lee Sisson SlimWillie Diver, so I felt this could be a good spot to start the day off during the tournament. Unfortunately, there were two main changes that made today different than the weekend before. First, the Willow Fly hatch had disappeared. They were thick as fog before and the shad were gorging themselves, grouping up in schools against the banks. On this day there wasn’t a fly to be found. Second, the heat had really turned on, reaching the upper mid 90’s. It was early summer and the first heat wave to hit. I only had one keeper fish in my first spot and no other bites. Now I had to figure out what to do next. Were the bass shallow or deep, on rocks or in grass, points or flats? What do you do when faced with sweltering hot days and water temperatures breaking into the 90’s?
Read the rest of this entry »
