Summer heat and reading the elements. 

   Watching the bottom and what it holds, looking for what they stalk, matching the hatch, matching their stubbornness, and their wild instinct. In the early and during the spring, Bass seem to strike at anything. Because "They will"........... When spring is over though, the angling really begins. This being said, I have had some tell me they caught a fish twice in a single hour..... To me, I don't think so............... I think that once a Bass has been caught he goes into a restrictive state of feeding and extreme caution, especially for a heavy weight. It may take several days for him to strike again............ and you should think about this while you are pre-fishing for a tournament. 

   Locate a school, and move on!.... Record from your sounder, "The fish pattern on the screen, the depth, the temperature, types of structure close by then go find more that are patterned in this same way... I will bet you that you will find more Bass grouped up in the same manner. These fish will group up in size, numbers, and feeding consistency. Each group may vary slightly in their selection of baits too. But the strike zone will remain consistent.  I have been out now with a few who don't use their Depth Finders or Fish Locators.... I can't do this! It is like fishing w/ one arm cut off........... Mine is on constantly and I am always looking for schools of fish.... i.e........... bait fish, game fish, or just groups of fish. If you don't see anything on your depth-finder that looks like fish, YUP, there are NO FISH THERE.......... of any kind.... SO, don't stop! Even if it is your favorite "Honey Hole" or what ever....... You should always be detecting something........... 

                               (Less than 6 FT gets a little more complicated than this and is used by the more advanced angler) 

But, we are talking summer..................

(Q) If you were real hungry, going down a blank HWY. Let's say Nevada.. and you see nothing....... How many of you will exit and wonder the endless desert looking for a hamburger stand?
(A) I rest my case...........................

   Many of you think that Big Bass have "NO BRAINS" and, in fact, they may not.... IT AIN'T ABOUT BRAINS. It is about nature. They will react to a natural looking thing long before out-landish colors and shapes.......... Mostly unwilling to take a chance to something that just doesn't fit in their normal feeding habits and habitat...... Never rule out Grubs........... (Just a little tip.... Tee Hee)
   

   The best way, I can tell you to look at this is they are a whole lot like your old Tom Cat sitting around in your living room.... the older they get, the more cautious and wise they become, the harder it is to entice them to play with that feather or fast moving object.. If your old Tom Cat gets out, you entice him back with food........ and usually something from table scraps or icebox and not from their pet bowl. Bottom line is, they are hunters by instinct. 

Surprise attack; 

     Bass are this type of creature.... So treat them as such........ and use camouflage tactics;

1) Water color.... i.e........ Green or Blue, Cloudy, Murky, or Clear. Types of cover, brush, moss, trees, ledges, stumps, or even light penetration. Where the light fragments and presents a shadow underneath.  Look at the fish you catch, look at their color. Lines vivid and well defined generally means they came from vegetation or deep water...... Very white and almost washed out with almost no obvious lines, from cloudy, murky, or sun-beat water.......  Remember, "The bait is going to be wearing the same type of armor"..... 

 2) THE ONLY THING THAT WILL KEEP A BASS OUT OF REAL SHALLOW WATER IS TEMPERATURE.  Period..!  That old myth about sun light, please refer to the heading;

The truth is that oxygen depletion is the reason and the ONLY reason. It starts at 88 Deg and ends at 96, death!

 3) Eye Sight.... Even though you might think that the lure matches the water color and might be hard to see. The Bass has 150 times the sight of us, the human, in water......... They can detect movement from very far away.... Even if they see your lure, they have to react from instinct or anger.............  I read years ago if the Black Bass had teeth it would be marked, "DANGEROUS" Just like their first cousin "The Purana" ............. Hummm.............. (Scary)

It works the same for bait fish as well....... Don't fish the banks in the heat of the day unless it is on a ledge that includes very deep water or heavy shade....

     Use your depth finder;

      As the summer approaches, you may spot a large fish next to a stump on your sounder............ ,absolutely, teasing him for a long period of time just may work. The wise is unsure, cautious, hungry, but is always "WILLING TO KILL" from annoyance, if it doesn't look to un-natural..............

(More Information on Depth Finders)

If all of this "Bla Bla" doesn't give you something to think about............ then, you ain't out for 1st place................ and most certainly, you are going to be real disappointed as the season moves into the hotter months.

Your comments are welcome..............................!