Just wanted to put another post LOL!!! It has not changed for a few days. Is it that slow out there?

Don.

Dude - everyone knows you can't catch big bass in the summer time :)

Ok Mr. 15 lber LOL!! I don't get it....Why is it like this? If it is fact that the warmer water makes them need food maybe even a bit more, why do we catch less? Is it because after spring food is more available? If the trout go down or out and away can you catch them in 40' in 200' of water? Gota be more to it this time of year. I don't like catching deep fish much anyway. How deep does a BIG bass go? I know they have the roam of the lake. There is no predator to these fish. What do you think Rob? is there facts to read about BIG summer bass?

I think there's two kinds of lakes. Lakes where all the trout die in the summer and lakes where the trout do not die.

On lakes where all the trout die, they do most of their dying in July and August. As they die, the bass eat them. As they die, they seem to go shallow. I know that doesn't make sense, but I think that the trout get really screwed up when the water goes over 80 and they can't go deep to find cooler water.

So you get a lot of nearly dead trout in shallow water, and the big bass love an easy meals so you can catch them occasionally. This doesn't mean that fishing is good. Big bass have easy pickings in general during the hot months, so they only feed during a short window. I think that the really big ones don't eat every day either, I think they only eat occasionally, every few days.

It's not an easy condition to catch big fish on, but they can be caught. They are most likely to be caught on lakes where all the trout are dying or dead, and they are only likely to bite during small windows during the day. The trick to catching them is to throw swimbaits only, and do it all day, or all night, or all day and all night. A lot of people think your only shot is at night. That's not true. You can catch big bass during the middle of the day in the summer in 80 deg + water. It's just that most people don't try.

And that's the other upside to fishing right now - minimal pressure from other guys fishing for big bass (unless they all get excited by reading this lol). Most people don't like fishing in hot weather and they go home at 1pm. I see boats on the freeway at 2pm in the summer all the time. It's hard to get the fish if you only fish for 6 or 8 hours, you might miss the window. That's why I wear funny looking hats ;)

You asked about depth... I don't think bass go in to 200 feet of water, but they probably go down to 100 on some lakes (cough Pedro). Bass may suspend over any depth but I don't think they like to live super deep.

I've caught three 15lbers in July-Sep and they were all in less than 10 feet of water. They may not live that shallow, but when they get hungry that's where they go. Think about how many times in the summer time you see small fish up shallow - think bluegill, young of the year bass, shad, etc... Where there's life, big bass follow, they are predators. Big predators go anywhere to get the best access to food.

nice explanation Rob! Just the little confidence booster I needed!

I am sure there is more to this. I hope to find out in the next few summers. It will still be fun trying.

Don.

here's a question about summer bass...I went up in to a creek at the lake I fish and the water was cold, like 60', I figured that there wouldn't be any bass up there. Then I saw a school of about 20 planter trout just chillen. Do you think the bass would follow the trout(bait) up river in this cold of water? Main lake is about 74ish'.

Good explanation on summer trouts swimbait.

Luckily for me, trout live in my lake; year round. BUT, most are deeper than 50 feet. BUT, bluegill and baby bass are available in ridiculous numbers! Find a swimbait that matches the hatch and get out and use it.

Been kickin major butt this summer on the 2-4 pounders! No complaints here!
-----------

Go big or go home!

60 is not cold. It is colder then that when fishing is best.

well...cold compared to the rest of the lake.60' in creek and 75' in main lake. I thought bass always try to find the warmest water. I've wondered if bass follow the bait (trout) into colder water and if you can see the bait do you continue to fish for bass in the area? If I was a little bait fish I wouldn't be anywhere near a big bass that could eat me. I'm new to bass fishing so Im still trying to learn as much as possible, not that I'll ever stop learning.:-)

ps. rob, this lake is one you are very familiar with. I have seen you there before.I was in a green canoe at the time.

Jerbs:

Largemouth have a preferred temp range, once exceeded they seek cooler water temps. If youve got a cool creek coming in with trout in it, and it provides some shade, and maybe has access to deeper water (relative term), then no reason why some toady toads wouldnt be up there. Especially at night. Or, maybe they are sitting in the deeper water where the creek empties into the main body just waiting for one of those trout to come swimming out ;)

Thanks urban...I've fished both the creek and outlet to no avail...guess I gotta keep tryin.

Now see that was cool, got a little something going out of nothing. What can we talk about next...... I got one. I will start a new post.

New to forum. I moved from IB a few years ago to south Texas to start up my own tackle business (www.texasbasstackle.com) I still miss fishing the lake of Southern California but it's not quite as crowded here. I can go out of Canyon Lake during the week in the spring/fall and might not ever see another boat. We have just starting fishing the swimbaits here. Most of the big stringers here in south texas are caught on Luhr Jensen Hot Lips. I'll be visiting my daughter in San Diego in the near future what is the hottest lake?