Could that title actually be right? Shallow water fishing in the summertime? Yes, it’s true, you can catch fish in the middle of summer, in shallow water. Here’s how:
Lakes with vegetation offer an opportunity to catch fish shallow or relatively shallow practically all year long. If you regularly fish a lake that has milfoil, coontail, hydrilla or water willow (also known as “Coosa grass”) you have an opportunity to catch fish shallow all summer long. You can fish the edges of the grass lines with a Lunker Lure buzzbait early and late in the day, and experience some great topwater fishing. On days when the there is cloud cover or light rain, you can fish these grass lines all day with a buzzbait and absolutely wreck ’em. Another great techique for fishing shallow vegetation is using a jig. Not just any jig, a jig designed for heavy vegetation, like our Triple Rattleback Monster Grass jig in sizes up to an ounce, you can take this jig and flip it into emergent vegetation and access fish that have not been pressured by other anglers. Black and Blue and Green Pumpkin are two of the most effective colors. Be sure to equip yourself with a good flipping stick and 65#-80# braided line when employing this technique.
So what if your lake has no vegetation? Does that mean you’re out of luck when it comes to fishing shallow in the summertime? In short, the answer is absolutely not. One of the best bass forages available are rampant in shallow water during the summer. What is it? Bluegill, or bream depending on where you live. All summer long, late May, June and July the bluegill will spawn. They will also position themselves around shallow docks before and after they spawn, this makes them easy targets for lurking largemouths. One of the best ways to fish shallow docks in the summertime is with a jig. The Limit Series jig is one of our best in this situation, preferably in a bluegill/bream imitationg color like Green Pumpkin, Rootbeer w/green flake or Cumberland Craw. Select a jig in a heavier weight, like 1/2 oz or 3/8ths oz which will allow for easier pitching/skipping when fishing around these docks. Try to put your jig into the shady or shadiest areas of the dock, that is most likely where the largemouth will be hiding out, waiting for an unsuspecting bluegill to come by. Most of your bites will come on the initial drop, so you don’t have to “work” your jig a lot, just pitch it in, let it sink, hop it a few times and bring it out. Pay close attention to your bait, if you start getting bites when your retrieving your bait back out from the dock, you may want to start swimming your jig around the docks instead of pitching it in and letting it sink.
It may take sometime to figure out the best docks on your lake for the above mentioned technique, but give it a chance, you can fish shallow in the summertime and be successful at not only catching some bass, but catching some quality fish at that.
The Limit Series jig is available by contacting the Lunker Lure Home office. Our contact information is available under the “Contact Us” link on our website.
Good Luck and Good Fishin’,
Lunker Lure/Hawg Caller