Early summer bass fishing tactics

Temperature is key when understanding what bass are doing, which lure you need to tie on and how you need to fish it. Early summer and late spring is a transition time  for weather in a lot of the U.S. Sporadic spring weather becomes more stable and temperatures stop fluctuating and slowly rise. 

Spring fishing requires a lot of changing tactics and some guesswork when figuring what a bass wants in regards to changing weather, water temps and the spawn. It often seems as soon as you start to figure things out the weather starts shifting to summer. 

Changing with the weather is the name of the game right now and we are exploring some expert tips for targeting bass at different times of day, as we head into summer. 

From beds to summer grounds

Depending where you are in the country, early summer means bass are leaving their spawning beds and heading back to deeper water. Southern states will see this mini migration before the official calendar start to summer, while northern states see this happen closer to early June.

According to Fishbrain’s Fisheries Data Specialist, Ryan Hearn, largemouths will mainly be deeper on structure or in shaded areas (under weeds, docks, tree shade, etc). The deeper largemouth will likely be targeting shad, or whatever deeper water baitfish is around, while the ones in the shaded areas will still be targeting bluegill/other sunfish.

As an angler you need to identify the depth of the water you’re fishing, the available bait and time of year to help you hone it on where the bass are and what they're eating. 

How Fishbrian helps

Check the new and improved depth maps on Fishbrain. Now you can chart where shallow bedding areas slope off into deeper hunting waters where bass hunt shad, while getting accurate sateliite imagery. You can also find overhanging trees and vegetation in the mid depth waters, where bluegills will be the primary food source.

Watch your fishing forecast

Weather can mean everything when planning your day. From deciding when to show up and where to make your first cast, to deciding which bait to use and how to fish it, weather dictates all these decisions. 

Bass get more lethargic the more the weather changes to consistently warm. Laregemouths will seek deep water and shade when the temps rise and they'll be most active rainy, cloudy, mild temp days. If you dont have any cool and overcast weather on your forecast, you need to be on the water early, or late. Bass will hunt during cool and low light conditions, to help not only help them as predators, but also offer safety from overhead birds of prey.  

Overcast days will give bass more confidence to hunt later into the day, due to the low visibility for aerial predators. Rainy days cloud the water up enough for bass to feel safe from predators, while giving them the water clarity ideal for hunting, as well.

How Fishbrain helps

Use the up to date weather forecast to track patterns and temperatures by the hour. You can find sunrise and sunset times as well to know exactly when to be on the water for whatever kind of day it will be. 

You can also track wind speed, and direction, moon phases and air pressure for when its time to really dig into the weeds on the best times to fish. 

From power to finesse fishing

When the water is beginning to warm after winter and you start fishing closer to spawning time, aggressive fish want an aggressive lure. When that sun gets high in that Texas sky, in the summer, though, bass are prone to get lethargic during the day. Nothing seems to turn off a bite for largemouth, and smallouth, like hot weather, high sun and clear, warm water. When these, unfortunate, conditions combine, your quarry can be quite picky about taking anything in your trusted tacklebox.

“On the hotter days, I'd definitely recommend a shift from power fishing to finesse fishing,” Hearn said.

In the heat of summer, many anglers have the shared experience of follows with no takes, or they get not attention at all. When Hearn switches to finesse fishing, he slows everything down, often letting a senko, shad, or other soft plastic bait, sit on the bottom for several seconds before a light retriever and repeat. 

This method is extremely effective when sightfishing for smallmouth as well. Smallies enact the same behaviors as largemouths in these situations, but will feel much safer grabbing a bait, lure, or even fly if you let it sit in the rocks, or under a fallen tree with little to no movement.

How Fishbrain helps

Water conditions and bait types are all important factors when planning how you’re going to fish in summer. 

When looking at your map on fishbrain, you can filter all the catches on your map to only include posts from the last 30 days. This will give you an idea of catches made within the realm of these changing conditions. You can also check individual catches to see if other anglers included the lures used and rough time of catch. This should give you a great starting point to know when to fish a certain water and whether power fishing a spinner, or finesse fishing a lizard are the right options.

When fishing for bass in rivers, you should also be checking the River Gauges on your map to watch for rising, or falling water levels. This knowledge will give an important clue as to how fish are acting and how they will react to your lure, as well. Low waters, below the average probably mean finesse fishing soft plastics, while a rising trend could mean powering a jerk bait, or spinner through partially cloudy water.

You can also get water temperature readings on select gauges too, which makes for a third important piece to a puzzle. 

Fishbrain is the perfect addition to your tacklebox, regardless of what conditions and fish behaviors early summer throws at you. Whether you’re planning in advance, or making on the water adjustments, make sure Fishbrain is with you to help with erase the skunks and celebrate the catches.

Now let’s go fishing. We’ll bring the finesse baits.

If you haven't experienced the #1 fishing app worldwide, make sure and check out Fishbrain to see all the fish data, fishing spots, weather conditions you've been missing out on plus much more.