Fishing with Scott Patton: Catching bass in deeper water
Catching bass in the summer will require an angler to fish the deeper ledges and humps out on the main lake. This is sometimes difficult for a lot of anglers.
Most of us learned how to bass fish by fishing visual targets. So that’s what we tend to want to do whenever we go fishing.
Unfortunately that will not get the job done. The bass have moved out because of the food (shad), oxygen source and more favorable water temperature. There will, of course, be some fish that will remain shallow, but the largest majority have left and retreated to deeper water.
Knowing this we need to look under water ridges and humps that are next to the main river or creek channels. These areas will be the key to finding the bigger schools of bass.
I will use two tools for doing this. One is a good lake map that I can study at home or at my hotel room. I also recommend the Navionics Hot Maps mapping system. They have a CD that can be uploaded onto your computer, which you can find at Bass Pro Shops. The other is a good GPS.
Both are critical to being successful on the water. I will use my map to highlight key areas that will likely hold bass. Then on the water my GPS will allow me to locate and give me a visual mapping on the water.
A GPS also allows me to see where I’m at on that spot while I’m fishing. This is so important when trying to locate the fish. I can see my depth and location and not be guessing if I’m on the right spot or not.
Now that we are on the water we will be searching for objects on these humps that will hold fish. This could be stumps, brush, rocks, shell beds, or anything else that might be there.
I like to start fishing the current point first. This is the point of the hump that the underwater current is facing into. This will be the cleanest of any silt due to the current.
I will fish the entire hump so that I can find any areas holding fish. Once I have located some fish I will mark it with my GPS, saving the location. A lot of times bass will use the same places year after year.
The tackle I prefer will be some good cranking rods 7 to 7 ½ feet long. A good bait cast reel, spooled with 12 lb. test fluorocarbon reel with a deep running crank bait. And also I will use a 7 to 8 ft. rod for casting jigs or some type of plastics like a ZOOM Ole Monster worm or Brush Hog. These are my two favorites, and I will cast them on 14 to 17 lb test fluorocarbon line.
Scott fishes the ESPN Bass Master Tour and is sponsored by: Nitro Boats, Tracker Marine, Mercury Outboards, Bass Pro Shops, Zoom, Coats Del Mar, Bluegrass Lures and Eagle fence, Scott Patton Guide service 502-526-6237
