Roast, Toast & Boast
July 29, 2015
Soldier of the Year a Larose native
July 29, 2015
When the red line in the thermometer accelerates during the dog days of summer, slow down to catch more bass. Just like people, bass don’t want to move much during the heat of a Louisiana summer.
In the summer, bass go where they can find cooling temperatures, whether under a matted weed bed, shady dock or along a channel with a little current that acts like an air conditioner. Sometimes, a little water draining out of a swamp into a deeper lake or bayou during a falling tide can cool and oxygenate water a bit and attract fish. These little drains also might bring out crawfish, grass shrimp, minnows, small bream or other morsels that bass love to swallow.
Even in these places, though, bass don’t want to chase baits far or fast. Throw small, subtle, realistic temptations and work it so bass can catch it without much effort. Start with something plastic and squishy that resembles natural prey.
“In the summer, I usually throw
a 3/16-to a 1/4-ounce shaky head,” advised Billy Appling, a professional bass angler. “I tip it with a 5.5-to 7.5-inch straight finesse worm. If that doesn’t work, I throw a 3-inch creature bait on a Texas rig with a 1/0 light wire hook. I prefer darker colors in the summer because fish are usually in deeper water feeding upon crawfish.”
Highly versatile and realistic baits, jighead worms, like football head or shaky head jigs make baits virtually snagless like a Texas-rigged worm and resemble natural prey. Instead of a sliding sinker, it incorporates a weight attached directly to the hook. Anglers can rig it with the hook exposed or weedless with the hook inserted into the soft-plastic trailer.
“A jighead worm or football head jig is one of my main tools that I use for bass all across the United States,” said Dean Rojas, a perennial Bassmaster Classic contender. “A football head is more for fishing points when bass are really aggressive. When fishing gets tough and bass require more of a finesse presentation, the shaky head is the way to go. Just throw it out in deep water off points or along grassy edges and let it fall naturally. Shake the rod tip to apply action while keeping the bait on the bottom.”
The ultimate finesse baits, wacky worms work well around shallow, shady cover such as docks or weed beds. When bass turn sluggish, they might not chase a bait far, but may slurp a tempting morsel staring it in the face. Rigged weightless with the hook inserted through the bulbous “egg sack” on a straight worm instead of thrust “down the throat” as in a Texas rig, a wacky worm looks natural – almost like an earthworm washed into the bayou by a summer thunderstorm. As it sinks, the ends wobble and quiver, giving off vibrations that fish can feel. Sometimes, it spirals down, much like dying shad.
Working a wacky worm requires very little effort, but excruciating patience. Simply drop the bait on the edge of cover and let it sink with its quivering action. After it sinks several seconds with nothing happening, pull it back up to the surface and let it sink again. With nearly neutral buoyancy, wacky worms take forever to sink, but that makes them effective down to about eight feet deep.
“A weightless wacky worm is a shallow-water presentation,” explained Mike Iaconelli, who won the 2003 Bassmaster Classic held in the Louisiana delta out of Westwego. “If I’m fishing the zero-to 10-foot range, I use a wacky worm with a 3/0 hook rigged in the middle. Always let it fall on a semi-slack line, not too tight or too slack. Watch and keep control of the line. About 90 percent of the time, fish hit it on the fall before it ever reaches the bottom. Since bites normally occur on the fall, it’s an outstanding bait to use around vertical cover.”
To fish a worm wacky style, but slightly deeper, try a flick shake.
Also called wacky jighead, a flick shake involves rigging a worm wacky style, but instead of a plain hook, use a jighead with a weight on the shank. This creates a pivot point that allows it to sink with subtle action to the bass.
“Flick shake is a finesse technique that shows fish traditional wacky action, but at much deeper levels,” Iaconelli advised. “The weight sinks faster than the worm, so it drives it down with the worm waving and twitching the ends above it.”
Like a wacky worm, a flick shake works particularly well around vertical cover, such as bridge or dock pilings, standing cypress trees or bulkheads. Anglers can cast it or vertically jig it. It also tempts bass lurking near deep sandbars and drop-off edges.
“A flick shake is an outstanding bait to use around vertical cover,” Iaconelli recommended. “People can use it around woody cover, grass beds, trees and docks because those things have vertical edges. Although it’s mostly a deeper presentation, anglers can also use it in shallow water. A dock with a 4-foot piling as a vertical edge or next to a grass bed is an ideal place to throw a flick-shake.”
For an even deeper presentation, a drop shot mirrors a typical Carolina rig, but with the hook above the sinker instead of below it. Use light fluorocarbon line and tip the hook with a grub, worm or other small plastic temptation. Use a special drop-shot hook or an offset worm hook. When fishing grass, brush piles or stumps, use a cylinder weight, which comes through cover much easier than some other sinkers.
In the summer, bass often suspend at mid-depths in deeper canals, borrow pits or lakes. Drop-shotting can tempt suspended bass if anglers can zero in on the correct depth.
Then, anglers can count down as the subtle bait sinks or watch the rig on a quality, sensitive sonar unit to put it at the same depth as the fish. At that depth, just shake it in a fish’s face.
“The great thing about a drop shot is that there is no right or wrong way to use it,” said Mark Menendez, a professional bass angler. “It’s a rig that an inexperienced fisherman can use to catch fish because it’s so easy. I like to use lighter line, 8-to 10-pound test, but it’s not limited to light line. In heavy cover or around big fish, I might switch to 12-to 15-pound line.”
Although mostly a vertical technique for deep water, drop shots can also catch bass in shallow water. Use a drop-shot rig almost like a Carolina rig to dangle finesse baits just above sandbars, submerged weeds or next to pilings, stumps or fallen trees.
In the spring, throw the sinker beyond a bass bed so that the lure hangs over the bed to annoy the fish. Shake the rod to make the bait quiver seductively until the fish can’t stand it any longer.
“Power fishing,” may locate bass more quickly, but finessing them can put more in fish in the boat, particularly during those sweltering days when even the air seems to sweat and fish turn lethargic. This summer, slow down to thoroughly work over every piece of potential fish-holding cover.
John N Felsher grew up hunting and fishing in south Louisiana. He’s a professional freelance writer and photographer.
‘The great thing about a drop shot is there is no right or wrong way to use it.’
Mark Menendez
Pro angler
Steve Niemoeller admires a bass he caught on a wacky worm. Rig a wacky worm weightless with the hook inserted through the bulbous “egg sack” instead of thrust “down the throat” as in a Texas rig. The summer months provide anglers the chance to catch the freshwater fish.
