If the weather in your area has been anything like the weather here lately, congratulations…we are officially in what has been referred to as ‘the dog days of summer’. This is around the time the bass slow down and stop chasing moving baits, the bite seems to slow down considerably, and it’s usually best in the earlier hours of the day before it gets too hot. Finesse baits like a drop shot seem to be what works best when this happens, but what if you don’t want to resort to finesse tactics? In this post I’ll cover some baits that I will still use during this time of year that can be a little more fun to throw and still catch fish.
Lure #1 – The Small Underspin
Generally speaking, small underspin still seems to work for me in the warmer months. Granted, you will want to throw one when the conditions call for an underspin, so it should be sunny or partly cloudy and ideally the water will be a little stained but the overall visibility will be pretty good and the bass should still be interested in chasing shad. If those conditions are met then this lure can work very well, and the bass will usually start to move further down in the water column, so having the blade under the lure can help a bit. In terms of colors you can go with a natural lure and a silver blade, or if the water is a little dirtier you can go with a gold blade and something with a little chartreuse in it like the sexy shad Little Dipper I’ve got pictured here. When it’s this hot going with a smaller lure can also help, and so most of the lures I throw around this time are usually a bit smaller than the ones I go with in the spring or the fall.
Lure #2 – The Jig
A jig is a great lure all year but it can be especially useful in the warmer months (as well as in the winter) when you want to give the bass a little larger presentation but still present it in a way that isn’t going to take too much effort on their part. I throw jigs year round but during the summer I usually keep it simple and go with a black and green combination like the Matt Herren Flippin’ Jig from Dirty Jigs in Okeechobee 420. The beauty of going with a black and green jig like this one is you can throw a black and blue trailer on it if the visibility is lower or you can throw a green pumpkin trailer on it if the visibility is a little higher. If you want something a little different I’ve also been trying out some jigs from Seibert Outdoors lately and would recommend any of those as well. They also have a color called swamp monster that is the same sort of black and blue / green pumpkin combination that I have personally landed on. For trailers, I like the 3.5″ Adrenaline Craw from Xzone, but there are plenty of options out there. For sizes, I like a 3/8oz one for ponds and shallow water, and will move up to a 1/2oz one for deeper water. Once you have your jig picked out it’s usually pretty straightforward for me and I’ll usually just move it across the bottom slowly after figuring out where the bass are at. One thing you can do is start out with a finesse presentation like a drop shot or shakey head, and then switch to a jig when you’ve found a good spot and already got a few fish with a finesse lure.
Lure #3 – The Spybait
This time of year can be a great time to try throwing a spybait. I wouldn’t suggest doing that when the visibility is low but if you’ve got good visibility and it isn’t too windy than then can be a great option to have available. It’s also a moving bait so you can use it to cover water if you aren’t sure where the bass are at. In terms of specific models I personally like the Lucky Craft Screw Pointer and the Duo Realis Spinbait, and there are plenty of awesome colors to choose from. Duo actually has a color called threadfin shad that I’ve really grown fond of lately as it’s very realistic looking and still a little translucent but not as translucent as a traditional ghost minnow would be. They also have several sizes available but I usually like the ones in the 80-90 range that weigh about a half ounce. This is also a very dense lure, so even though it’s not very big or heavy you can still usually throw them a long way which gives it more of a chance to be noticed by a bass.
Lure #4 – The Willowvibe
The Z-Man Willowvibe is one of my favorite lures. I already wrote a review about it here so I won’t get into too many details in this post, but will say that if you think a small moving bait would be best but it’s a little too windy or the water is a little too dirty for a spybait then there’s a good chance this is the lure you are looking for. Most anglers seem to be stuck on shaking a minnow these days, so throwing one of these will also set you apart from the other anglers and the lures they are using. For trailers I like the Mooch Minnow from Rapala and they seem to have a color for any color Willowvibe that you can find.
Lure #5 – The Hawg Hunter x Baitsanity Finesse Minnow
Another lure that I picked up recently and have enjoyed using is the Finesse Minnow from Hawg Hunter and Baitsanity. Baitsanity and Hawg Hunter are two separate companies, but they worked together on this lure which is why the name of it is so long. This lure is just different and I don’t really know how else to say it. It’s significantly larger than most of the other lures on this list, but it’s still so subtle that it can work well when other lures that are the same size might not. In terms of when to use it, I’d typically use it in the same sort of conditions that I mentioned for throwing a spybait, but it can be a better option if you want to try and target bigger fish or if you are on a larger body of water and want something with a little more drawing power. It also comes in several different colors but in my case I just stick with blue ghost as that’s the one that looks like the shad that I’ve got around me. One of the guys that created this bait also suggests throwing it on spinning gear, and if you are interested in the 3/4oz version I’ve found a Dobyns Sierra 704SF paired up with a Shimano Ultegra is an excellent setup for this lure. I also like that setup for 6″ flukes and that’s probably a conversation for another day, but suppose you could add a 6″ Super Fluke as a bonus lure for this article as that can be another great option in the middle of summer.
That covers some of the lures that I’ve been going with lately. If you combine these with the top six that I mentioned in my Top 6 Baits For July post then you’ve got about ten lures that should get you through the summer. There are obviously other lures that people recommend and I’m guessing most of those will work as well, but these are what I’ve been going with right now.
