Page 46 - ODUMar-Apr2019

Summer

Time

Shallow

Fishing

Capt. Mike Gerry

As the heat of the summer moves upon us, most fisherman believe that fishing in 20 plus ft. of water is
where they need to be to catch fish; although this is a correct belief it is not necessarily the only way to
catch fish. Bass do live in the shallow water during the hottest time of the year and there are some
advantages to finding shallow fish. The fact remains that in many lakes where there is a big stand of
grass like Guntersville the shallow water can be your best alternative.

First of all when the grass mats over the top on these grass lakes the water temperature is actually
cooler by as much as ten degrees under the mats; pushing the bass into the cooler water temps. It is
also true that oxygen is more plentiful in the grass as the mixture of grass and water has a biological

effect on the oxygen levels in the grass and becomes a better habitat for bass to survive in during the
heat of the summer. Bass feed more when their oxygen level is high and getting a bite is many times
easier in the shallow grass mats.

The enticing thing about the deep water in the summer is with today’s electronics you can visualize the
large schools deep on your Lowrance products but that is not necessarily a good thing because the best

of the summer time fisherman likes to hang out on those deep schools increasing the fishing pressure
substantially in the deep off shore locations. Many times, the shallow water guy has the spots by
themselves just because the deep gets crowded with the off shore guys. With the pressure on today’s
lakes having any area by your self can be a gift!

Another thing about deep water in the summer is that rain seems to dirty up the deeper water longer
during hard rains in the summer creating mud lines in the water that separate the deep and shallow.
The mud lines move the bass to the shallow and as the deep-water stay’s muddy longer the clearing in

the shallow allows them to feed along the mud lines in the skinny water. There are certainly many
reason to fish shallow in the summer and being versatile enough to try it has its advantages.

Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service - www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com,
www.facebook.com/FishGuntersville, Email: bassguide@comcast.net & Call: 256 759 2270