It's hot outside, and while it may be easy to take a break from fishing for a while and stay nice and cool indoors, bass fishing can be excellent even in the hottest temperatures of the year. Catching fish this time of year requires more preparation to stay comfortable and a different approach to finding and catching bass. With the right mindset, gear, and supplies, the year's hottest weather can be great for bass fishing.
Preparing for the Heat
The first step in fishing in extreme heat is wearing the proper gear. Like fishing in freezing temperatures, staying comfortable is the key to keeping you on the water. Protecting yourself from the sun's rays also helps prevent damage in the long run.
Today's clothing has come a long way regarding how well it keeps you cool. Several brands manufacture breathable long-sleeved and hooded sunshirts that keep you comfortable even in blazing hot weather. Face masks and sun gloves have also become much better and help to protect your skin from sunburn. After taking them off at the end of the day, your skin feels much better, and you also avoid some long-term damage and, possibly, save you from skin cancer.
Another great way to stay cool when fishing is to take a dip by jumping in the lake every few hours. It will cool you down for a while, and you'll also dry quickly in the warm temperatures. Lastly, staying hydrated with plenty of water is a simple tip, but it can pay dividends when fishing in scorching temperatures.
Fishing During the Heat
When the temperatures are at their highest, the best times of the day are simple: the first hour or so of daylight and the time right before it gets dark. Plan your trip around one of these bite windows, and you can experience some excellent action when the bass are at their most active periods of the day. Capitalize on the early morning and evening bite with lures like topwater walking baits and other lures you can fish quickly to take advantage of the best bite.
As the sun rises, things will slow down some in most instances, but bass will still bite in the right conditions. Most bass will seek shelter in the form of shade, and finding this will be vital to putting your bait around the bass. On clear fisheries, the point where the sunlight stops penetrating the bottom is a great place to look. The first darker water on a clear body of water is a likely place for bass to hide; this depth will be different depending on the clarity of the water. This shade line is a prime place to fish and may adjust during the day depending on the sun's position.
Another excellent place to find bass in the heat is around aquatic vegetation. There are many types of vegetation in bass waters, each providing shade and cover for bass looking to beat the heat. For fishing on top of vegetation, a frog is hard to beat, and if you want to penetrate the cover, a heavy weight and punching bait like the Strike King Punch Bug will allow you to get in and out of cover quickly so you can make many presentations in a day in search of a bite.
Finally, moving water is another thing to look for during periods of extreme heat. Current from rivers, creeks, or even areas with pumps, dams, or rain runoff will congregate fish and baitfish because moving water will always be slightly cooler. Moving baits like crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and ChatterBaits are all great options for casting to moving water.
Hot Baits
Aside from topwaters in the lowlight hours, several more lures are ideally suited for fishing in the dog days of summer. Soft plastic baits are some of the best lure styles you can use whenever the water is warm. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but overall, a soft bait is perfect for warm water because of how much action they have. They appeal to bass with a high metabolism and need to eat plenty in warm water temperatures.
Some good baits to try when the water is warm are finesse worms like a Zoom Finesse Worm or Roboworm straight tail on a drop-shot rig, a ribbontail or curly-tailed worm on a Texas-rig, or creature baits like a Zoom Brush Hog or Strike King Game Hawgs on a Carolina-Rig. Using a variety of these proven soft baits and focusing on areas that hold bass, like shaded areas, submerged cover, and the edges of vegetation, will produce for you even during the year's hottest temperatures.
The Night Bite
If the summer heat is unbearable during the daytime, there is always the opportunity for some night fishing. It's one way to fish in cooler temperatures, and the fishing can be fantastic for bass that can turn nocturnal when the mercury rises.
Fishing at night poses some challenges, mainly regarding sight, mobility, and added safety measures, but it can be done with the right gear, like headlamps, boat lights, and some added caution. When fishing at night, try solid black lures, which may seem counterproductive but show up very well in the light of the moon. Popular options include big vibrating spinnerbaits, noisy topwaters, and ChatterBaits for covering water. When slowing down and dragging baits, try large worms and jigs with bulky trailers to add sound and vibration and make it easier for the bass to hone in on them.
Don't let the hottest weather of the year keep you from bass fishing. While it takes a little more to stay cool and comfortable, the bite can be red hot with the right approach and mindset.
