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Most Largemouth fishermen agree that Summer can be the toughest season of all. Somehow it just doesn't seem right that the times of best weather, longest days and vacations should also offer more difficult fishing conditions. Smallmouth fishermen can enjoy 50 to 100 fish days simply casting soft plastics and filling the livewell, but if you're going for Largemouth, it will take a little more planning and attention to detail.

While the fish are mostly done spawning and have ample feed in lakes and rivers, and while they may be relating more to underwater humps or shelves, most catchable Bass will still be found shallow – anywhere from 2 to 15 feet of water – though in some lakes big fish will be found along dropoffs or ledges or in very deep water from 25 to 50 feet. You can use your electronics and attempt to catch these very deep fish using vertical methods with such baits as heavy jigging spoons, blade baits, Senkos, tube baits, Texas or Carolina rigged worms, finesse drop-shot rigs and heavy jig and pork combinations.

One big fish hunter I know of uses very large swimbaits such as the Castaic Rainbow Trout, marking fish and then 'parking' the bait on the edge of weed lines where the vegetation begins to take hold just up from deeper water. He goes for long periods with no fish, but when he scores on a big one it is usually a dandy. He 'deadsticks' the bait, just leaving it still for long periods of time.

Some guides will employ a similar tactic while helping their customers go for shallower, more active fish. The guide will simply drop a large, Texas-rigged worm over the side of the boat and leave it sitting or slowly drifting on the bottom. Sometimes this deadsticking or do-nothing approach will result in the capture of a monster Bass that took his time locating, examining and eventually biting the 'easy prey.' Both methods usually involve anchoring your boat. If you are a particularly patient person, able to stay relatively still for mind-numbing periods of time, have at it. I may not be so twitchy that I have to constantly run-and-gun up and down the lake, but I do prefer systematically fishing an area, moving from place to place fairly often. When it's not too weedy, I use the side-scanner feature of my fish finder to help find more productive spots.

Watching for surface activity and concentrations of baitfish helps to zero in on good areas too. Using my polarized Native sunglasses, I also spot big fish. They can be a challenge, but if you don't get too close, and if you find the bait they want, they can be caught. Sightfishing can be frustrating, but it can be very rewarding. If nothing else, study the fish. Watch what he does, what he seems to be looking for. How he relates to the cover and structure in his environment. You just might pick up some information that will help you in the future, even when you can't actually see a fish.

This Summer, remember that the old adage is true: There are always shallow fish. Along with this is the fact that shallow fish will be found wherever there is shade. Summer Fish must seek the protection and cooler qualities of shady areas, whether it is under lily pads, among cattails and bullrushes, under thick weed beds, under or beside mudlines, behind boulders or under logs. I have caught quite a few large fish in our local area that had raw spots on the tops of their tails – a kind of reverse spawning sore – from constantly sculling under their favorite log. I caught a big fish on a Texas rigged black lizard, while nightfishing in Long Lake in Spokane last July. The back of its tail from top to bottom was badly worn. This big Largemouth had been lurking along a vertical rock wall and had obviously taken up residence in a small pocket in the wall, facing out and watching for dinner. All such hideouts offer shade and cover, but the premium spots are also great ambush points where small prey do not see their doom waiting to pounce. Look for such spots!

Whether in lakes or rivers, I look for weedbeds and pads. Then I 'pick them apart,' dropping heavy jigs into holes in weed matts, dragging baits between clumps of pads or working weedless baits through pads. Letting a Spro Frog sit on a pad near an opening, then finally pulling him off and twitching him through the opening can produce a Summertime smash hit. Remember not to set the hook when you see the swirl or splash. Wait until you feel weight, then jab the hook in. The same pad-resting tactic, only with a Texas rigged worm which I eventually drop into an opening, can also tantalize a shady Bass into biting. Clear water and openings in vegetation are also good combinations for swimbaits, Sluggos and flukes. Try parking them like a baitfish hesitating between dashes.

I use the venerable spinnerbait too, but now I can 'burn' it through fish-holding areas. I might use the drop and flutter technique in some specific spots, but mostly I'm fishing the bait fast either just sub-surface or during daylight hours, deep enough so as to be barely visible to me. Usually around two feet or so, depending on water clarity. It's somewhat of a relief to me when the warm weather finally comes and I no longer have to crawl my baits. But if I know for sure there are fish present and I'm not getting bites, I will slow the bait down or even slow-roll it on the bottom.

There was no need for that just the other night when a big fish came near to yanking my 6'6” baitcaster out of my hands. He was lurking in a barely submerged weedbed and after jarring me from daydreaming in the darkness, he dug in for the battle. Proof that even on moonless nights, Bass can still see and attack fast moving baits! This time topwaters didn't work, but spinnerbaits did.

That happened in a lake, but don't neglect the Columbia River. Its backwaters have some monster Bass hiding and they can be caught in daylight hours as well. I usually prefer slack or outgoing tides, but I used an incoming tide one afternoon to push a weightless, weedless, 10 inch black Powerworm under a jumble of crossed logs. A big fish gave an aggressive yank and then headed up-current in an arcing, Steelhead-like run. I had never seen a big fish make such a run. River fish have attitudes! I often find them hiding near shore along big laydowns or partially submerged logs, and such fish seem to be most vulnerable to a jig and grub dragged parallel – not across – the log.

Persistence pays off, so this Summer don't get discouraged by the dog days and 'slow' doldrums. Use a mesh hat and some cool clothes to beat the heat. Bring plenty of fluids. Make lots of casts. Don't be afraid to use big baits. And about the time you're feeling like settling into that easy chair or lounge out on the deck at home, head for the water instead. It can be beautiful out there at night. So can the big fish that are waiting. {Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt and put on some insect repellant…the skeeters are on the bite too!}

See you in August.

Your fellow fishing fanatic and Bassmaster,

Bob Larimer

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