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By Walt Young
sports@altoonamirror.com
Summertime bass fishing is popular with anglers throughout the country.
Lake-dwelling largemouth bass are a great summer fish because they are usually receptive to a huge variety of baits, lures and angling techniques.
But catching bass consistently during the summer presents its own special set of challenges during the frequent hot, bright days, because even largemouths can only take so much heat.
Often, the bigger bass will move to deeper water during extended hot spells like we will continue to experience in the coming weeks. While many bass anglers will catch enough fish by continuing to fish shallow water or shoreline cover, others will make the seasonal adjustment of probing deeper water during the summer.
"Deep water" is a relative term and will vary for a particular body of water, depending on its overall size and average depth. On a small, shallow lake like Canoe Creek Lake, 10 to 12 feet could be considered deep.
On a massive impoundment like Raystown Lake, "deep" could be two or three times that, or even deeper. And just locating deeper water isn't the sole answer to finding and catching fish. As bass move deeper, they typically relate to some sort of underwater structure such as old creek channels, drop-offs, points, ledges or humps.
Locating deep structure is not difficult with the state-of-the-art fishing electronics available nowadays. That is for those anglers who can afford the luxury of such devices, which can represent an investment of $10,000 or more. For those of us who fish from small boats or kayaks, however, detecting what lies beneath the water's surface requires a different approach. Fortunately, detailed underwater maps are available for many of the more popular lakes. Our Department of Conservation and Natural Resources here in Pennsylvania has also mapped the underwater structure of many of lakes in the state parks. These valuable tools can be found and printed from the DCNR website for the specific state park.
Once you have located a few potential deep-water hotspots on your favorite lake, there are a plenty of dependable lures and rigs that will catch bass in the depths. Jigs are one of the best bass lures for searching deep structure. For summertime bass, an assortment of jigs with silicone skirts is a good choice.
For more action, adding some type of soft-plastic trailer to the jig is also an effective combination. Using heavier jigheads will help to maintain a good touch with the bottom. For moderate depths, jigs in the ™- to ¢-ounce range are a good choice. In deeper water, heavier jigheads up to three-fourths to 1-ounce may be necessary. Fishing jigs on braided line with a 3-or 4-foot monofilament leader is a great setup. Braid is extremely sensitive and has minimal stretch, making it ideal for jigging and making solid hooksets in deeper water.
Deep-diving crankbaits are a good choice for covering a lot of water when bass are holding deep. Look for baits that are rated to dive deep enough for the depth you are fishing. In recent years, many crankbaits have been designed to dive 12, 16 or even 20 feet or more, affording anglers the prospect of probing extreme depths with these effective hard baits. To get the maximum diving depth from deep-diving crankbaits, make long casts and use the smallest diameter line practical.
The Carolina rig is another bottom-fishing method that can cover water more quickly than with a conventional jig. Braided line is also ideal for Carolina rig. To make a Carolina Rig, thread an egg sinker or bullet-shaped worm sinker on the line.
When choosing the weight of the sinker, use the same guidelines as suggested for jigheads. Some anglers then thread on a round plastic bead, one-fourth- to three-eighths-inch in diameter, behind the weight; to produce a clicking sound for extra attraction. Next, tie a size 10 or 12 barrel swivel to the end of the line.
To the other end of the swivel, tie a short monofilament leader of a foot or two and a hook appropriate for the lure you will be fishing. A variety of soft-plastic lures can be fished on a Carolina rig, including lizards, worms, creature baits and even tubes. Fish the Carolina rig by fan casting an area and dragging the rig along the bottom with short sweeps of the rod tip.
When bass often desert the familiar shallow-water liars during the summer, fishing deeper is often what it takes to find the fish and make them bite. Going deeper often takes extra patience and dedication as well. But the rewards can be well worth the effort.