Summer is the season when most people fish for largemouth bass. Although this species can be caught year round in many areas, summer can be an excellent time to enjoy bass fishing.
To be successful during the summer season, anglers need to recognize a few seasonal aspects of largemouth bass behavior.
Summer Spawning
Although bass often spawn in spring, this may not always the case. In some areas it is not unusual to find bass in spawning areas as late as July. The practice of catching largemouth bass from spawning areas is has been strongly debated. To address the issue of catching spawning bass, each angler should learn to identify spawning habitat and then make a decision either to avoid or fish these areas.
Best Times to Catch Largemouth Bass
During hot weather, the best times to catch largemouth are usually the first and last hour or so of daylight. During these periods, bass often feed aggressively and are quick to attack surface lures or slow-sinking choices such as plastic worms.
During the daylight hours, largemouth bass often avoid the sun. They may be found sulking in deep areas near food sources, lurking under overhanging tree limbs, beneath docks or oriented to submerged obstructions such as stumps, downed trees, or other objects.
Aquatic Vegetation
During the summer season, many areas where bass are found experience explosive growth of aquatic vegetation. Although these plants present challenges to anglers, they often provide vital habitats for bass and other species.
The biggest challenge to anglers is usually finding a lure that is suitable for fishing around aquatic plants. Weedless designs are usually the best choice, especially lures that remain on the surface or sink only a few inches. Among the most popular lures for fishing heavy vegetation are weedless frogs, mice, weedless, slow sinking plastic worms, tube lures, buzz baits, poppers, weedless spoons and other surface lures.