Summer’s dog days are in full force pretty much everywhere once July rolls around, leaving anglers and bass scurrying to find the nearest shade. As a professional angler, I even have a hard time finding motivation to get out on the water when it’s 100-plus degrees outside, but hooking up on a bunch of schooling bass can quickly take your mind off of the heat.
Schooling bass are always fun to target, but figuring out what triggers a feeding frenzy can be difficult to decipher. There are a few tactics that always seem to work, but I’ve found one that is simply can’t-miss. It doesn’t take being an Elite Series pro to master; all it takes is some patience and time on the water.
I use an old technique that has been around for quite some time. Swimming a lightweight jig through the strike zone may not seem that old, but it was perfected in a time when power fishing was king.
The key to this presentation is focus. The technique is designed to find bass suspended in the water column or hanging just above the bottom. Finessing fish is exactly what I do during months when fishing is slow and power fishing has run its course. It is key to fish smaller areas of water and focus your attention on the technique rather than covering miles of water in search of a few small bites.
The areas I key on are shaded areas around boat docks, bridge pilings and shadows. Once I locate suspended fish, whether by using my electronics or swimming the jig, I go to work.
I position my boat according to where the shade is, relative to the structure, which is what will keep the bait in the strike zone the longest. If I position my boat on the shade side and cast toward the sun, allowing the bait to run toward the front of the ambush-positioned bass, I’ll be in good shape. Click here to go to the Berkley site to read the complete article….
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