My 3 Favorite Summer Patterns

There is no such thing as the dog days of summer when it comes to finding fish that bite. The hot weather may affect fishermen, but the bass still have to eat. If you’re where they’re eating, you’re going to catch them.

I’m not one to sit in one spot, especially during the summer months. I like to move fast and often, doing everything within my control to be in the right place at the right time. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with sitting on a hole and waiting for fish to bite, if that’s your style. It’s just not mine.

Here are three summer patterns that work for me.

Early And Late Topwaters
Not only is this fun, but you also can catch a lot of fish during that short window of low light around dawn and dusk. Concentrate on main-lake shallows that have depth nearby. Among my favorites are rocky points, riprap along the dam and bridges. These usually have deep banks that allow fish to move up during low-light hours, feed aggressively and then move down.
Long, sloping points also can be excellent because fish will move up to feed during the low-light hours. Try to stay close to the main lake and avoid the backs of creeks. Don’t waste a lot of time on one spot. I give an area 10 minutes, and if there is no action, I race to another.
When topwater fishing, I look for shad schooling near the surface, around the bank or for the presence of gulls or herons working minnows. The thing to remember is that if you find fish early and late on a given day, you can expect them to be there the next day, too.

If the water is clear, I like walking baits such as the Lucky Craft Sammy. If it’s stained, I use a Strike King Spit’n King or even a prop bait to create a surface disturbance.

Cranking Offshore Ledges
Once the topwater bite dies, I move to channel ledges. I’m watching my graph for the presence of bait, but more importantly I’m looking for bottom contour changes and changes in bottom content, such as where it switches from gravel to rocks or mussel shells, or from sand and clay to gravel. The fish will congregate on these little sweet spots.

Current is important. If the power company is generating electricity, it pulls water through the system and makes fish more active. Obtain the local generating schedule and you’ll know when to be on these spots.

My favorite technique for ledges is to crank Strike King Series 5 or 6 crankbaits in shad colors. Depth dictates which lure I throw. The Series 5 runs about 11 feet on 10-pound line, and the Series 6 runs about 15 feet.

Upriver Shallow Pattern
This pattern gets better during mid-day hours when the sun is high in the sky. If the ledge pattern slows, I’ll run to the headwaters where the water is less deep and more stained. That combination moves bass shallower and makes them easier to target because they get tighter to the cover.

Look for channel edges and outside bends and work the little flat points coming into them. Logs often wash onto the edge of the channel and make these spots even better.
Shad is the primary forage, so try to trigger strikes by bouncing lures around the cover. Square-billed crankbaits, spinnerbaits and flipping tubes are ideal for upriver fishing.

Most of the fish upriver are resident fish that spend most of their time around shallow cover. While you may not catch five giants, you can fill a limit on a tough day.

The upriver pattern isn’t likely to produce a school of fish, so keep moving around. You may burn a little more gas, but you stand a better chance of catching more fish.