BEATING THE SUMMER DOLDRUMS
By Christie Thomas

In Southern Africa one of our longest seasons is the summer, which in itself is good for fishing because with an early sunrise and late sunset we have more daylight hours to practice our sport. However, we have all heard anglers referring to mid-summer as those ‘dog-days of summer’ when fish can be uncooperative, the sun merciless and you start wishing for those cooler days earlier in the year when fishing seemed easier. Unlike the spawn period, summer brings stable weather, stable water conditions and stable fish reactions which means that once you have figured out when and where to look for bass, fishing for them will be a whole lot easier.

WATER TEMPERATURE:
Of all the factors that play a role during summer bass fishing, water temperature plays the most important role of all. By mid-summer the surface water temperature is hot everywhere, usually the highest it will be at any given time of the year. Generally, only shallow flatland dams and small farm ponds are likely to see water temperatures rising above 85 F and then only in their shallowest sections.

In dams with little vegetative cover but enough depth for a thermocline, most of the bass will be in the cooler, deeper water of the thermocline. In shallow dams fish cannot go very deep for cooler temperatures so they have to rely on weedbeds, lilypads and any other cover that can provide them with shade and food. The water temperature beneath a wide, heavy matted weedbed can be up to 12 F cooler than the water on the outside perimeters of the weedbed.

THERMOCLINE:
During the summer period when water temperatures reach their maximum they stratify and separate into three zones.
• A warm surface layer (epilimnion)
• A layer of rapidly declining temperature (thermocline)
• A deep, cool layer with insufficient oxygen (hypolimnion)
The thermocline becomes the comfort-zone for fish and any cover or structure situated within this zone becomes a drawcard for bass.

This is the time of the year when you have to use some of your grey matter to do some practical thinking. Do not fish where and when you did earlier in the season. You need to focus on the fish’s comfort-zones and think about where their major food source would be. Fish have to eat and you can know for sure that they will be eating even during the heat of summer.

Summer fishing is not always easy and you cannot expect maximum results with a minimum of effort. You will need to pay attention to matters such as what cover the fish would use for shade and forage and what depths they would seek for optimum temperature. Small baitfish are usually plentiful at this time of the year in shallow areas and bass will move up to feed heavily, but often briefly, because the abundance of prey reduces competition for food. Fishing may get tough as bass become finicky and concentrate on specific prey during specific times.

SMALLWATERS:
Actually, bass are seldom out of reach, no matter how deep they go. Fishing effectively for them when they are very deep is not as easy as we would like it to be and because most of us are not used to fishing this deep we do not enjoy this kind of fishing. If this is your case you might like to try to fish smaller, uncrowded waters where bass are more accessible. For most anglers, the more accessible the fish are, the easier they are to catch.

In mid-summer, small dams and ponds can provide better fishing for the average angler because there are fewer hideouts, the fish are relatively shallow and accessible and the fisherman can use his best skills most advantageously and end up having a really great time.

SUMMER STRUCTURE:
HUMPS: During the summer months bass gravitate to areas where they can comfortably live and eat. One of the best places for them to hunt and ambush their prey is on submerged humps, bumps and islands. A hump is any raised area on the lake bottom surrounded by deeper water and comes in all shapes, sizes and heights and can vary in depth from a few feet to more than 70 feet. Not all humps hold bass though. Some are totally lifeless whilst others are loaded with fish. The secret is to find a hump close to bass highways such as river channels, deep ditches, steep ledges, etc.

POINTS: Bass gravitate to a point because it creates a bridge connecting the shallow shoreline with deeper offshore structure and open water. Unlike humps, ditches and channel drop-offs you do not need to rely as much on your depthfinder to locate them because points are easily visible to the naked eye. Not all points are equal in attracting bass though and because of their visibility, points are often subjected to a lot of fishing pressure, especially during tournaments. There are basically two kinds of points:
• FLAT POINTS – have a gentle slope and often run a long distance into the dam before dropping into deeper water. Flat points generally attract bass from late winter through to the end of spring.
• DEEP POINTS – have a steep trajectory that often fall quickly into a creek or river channel and are generally found at the entrances of tributaries joining the main channel. Deep points attract bass best during temperature extremes such as winter and MID-SUMMER.

FLATS: Shallow flats are prime feeding areas for bass. A flat can be defined as a large expanse of water with a uniform depth. Flats that border river channels, that have abundant cover and/or deep holes are generally better than large flats with uniform depth and little cover.

The game plan for summer fishing is to consider bass habits, bass habitat and bass food. If you can find an area where all of the above elements converge then this is where you want to be fishing!

LURES:
When bass are deep, suspended in the thermocline, it would be unrealistic to expect to catch them on a surface lure in the shallows on a hot, sunny day. Unless, of course, a school of baitfish has been herded there and you have observed the splash of an actively feeding bass, then you may get in some quick action.

When fish are deep you have to get your lure down to their level, generally 10 to 12 feet. In some instances though, on very clear, deep lakes you could be fishing as deep as 40 foot.

Motivating bass to choose your lure above seasonally abundant natural food can be tough but not impossible and the best is to select lures that are productive throughout the summer.

SURFACE LURES: are just about everybody’s favourites but during the summer you often waste too many daylight hours trying to coax topwater strikes. It is best for fishing in shallow, cover-laden areas on dark, overcast days or to work weedless surface lures over matted vegetation such as lily pads or weed beds. Generally, low-light conditions such as early morning or very late afternoon offer the best opportunities for surface success.

CRANKBAITS: do catch summer bass but are not top producers because most anglers fish them too fast. Summer bass have an abundance of food available to them and are experts at ambushing their prey. They are not going to expend a lot of energy trying to catch a meal that seems to be healthy and swims quickly away from the strike-zone. If you can get a deep-running crankbait down to the proper depth and then suspend it, giving it a stop-and-go retrieve, jerking erratically imitating an injured baitfish, then you might have a full-time summer producer. It is important to match the size, usually 8 to 10 centimetres, and appearance of the lure to the main mid-summer food source.

SPINNERBAITS: are disappointing as summer lures. Most of us are accustomed to fishing them in shallow, murky water where you can see the strike. In summer the shallows may be too warm with few adult bass around to be caught. However, single-bladed spinnerbaits tumbled over submerged ledges and drop-offs and retrieved in a lift-and-drop manner along steep shorelines might produce a couple of fish.

PLASTIC WORM: should be the first choice amongst all summer lures and includes the traditional texas-rigged bottom crawler, Carolina-rigged floating lures and soft plastic jerkbaits. The key to their success during the hot months is that they are unobtrusive, seem vulnerable, and are fished slowly and deeply right into the bass’s summer domain. The message here; if any of the other lures mentioned above could be fished as slowly and attractively in the same places as soft plastics they would also produce summer bass in equal quantities.

JIGS: with rubber skirts and a pork/plastic trailer come a close second to soft plastics. Even thought they are bulkier and heavier and the catch-rate is not always as high they are well-known producers of good-sized quality bass.

JIGGING SPOONS: are very effective tools for catching those deep-dwelling bass. Unfortunately jigging requires some deft underwater probing to entice the bass and to prevent too many hang-ups, which is a skill learnt from experience, and many anglers tend to pass on this method of catching fish.

MORE TIPS FOR CATCHING SUMMER BASS:
• FLOWING CHANNELS IN SUMMER – With hot weather oxygen levels can dip dangerously low in some dams, causing bass to move closer to flowing creek and river channels, where oxygen levels are higher. Structures such as points, ledges and humps that are swept by current become prime bass locations. Fish with: Carolina-rigged worms/lizards and jigging spoons.
• MIDSUMMER – Bass seek cooler water around springs and flowing rivers. Fish with: plastic worms and crankbaits.
• DOG DAYS OF SUMMER – think SHADE. Fish inside and under thick weedbeds, heavy cover and structure offering shade. Water temperature under large piers and docks may be 5 degrees (F) cooler than sunny areas.
• STORM FRONTS – Barometric pressure influences a fish’s use of it’s swim-bladder. The bladder is used to maintain the fish’s position with minimal expenditure of energy. Low barometric pressure makes it difficult for fish to remain at mid-depths and they tend to sink to the bottom and go into a negative behavioural mode. High barometric pressure allows fish to remain at any depth it chooses with only the slightest movement of its fins. GOOD FISHING – slowly rising barometer provides best fishing and a sudden, fast-falling barometer prior to a summer storm front also produces good fishing conditions. BAD FISHING – a low or high barometer that stays constant for several days turn off fishing action.
• HOW SLOW CAN YOU GO – try s-l-o-w-i-n-g down your retrieves. Bass eat well in the summer but they are not always swimming around, ravenously chasing down bait. They have plenty of feeding opportunity and do not need to chase a lure unless it is EXTREMELY tempting. So slow down your retrieves, get your lures to work as tantalising as possible and keep the temptation in the strike-zone for as long as possible.
• SUMMER DOLDRUMS – when all else fails, dig deep into your bag of tricks and try something totally different. If you’ve been going slow-and-subtle for hours to no avail try a really noisy lure which might entice some reaction strikes.
• CRUISING BASS – bass are generally shallow-water creatures and as long as a dam offers scattered cover on flats and the water is not too warm there is always a possibility you could spot a cruising bass in clear water. This is summer so you are not sight-fishing for bedding bass where you need pin-point accuracy to cast as close as possible to the fish. This time of the year you cast to where you think the bass is heading, at least 20 yards ahead, and try to entice a bite. Cruising bass are notoriously difficult to catch and it is extremely important that you see the fish before he sees you and that you gently present a lure he cannot resist. Fish with: French fries, small tubes and finesse worms in natural colours.

Article reproduced with permission from Stywe Lyne/Tight Lines Magazine.
Photos by Christie Thomas. All rights reserved.