Published: July 24, 2008 11:25 pm            

Finesse fishing time

Sizzling temperatures hovering near the 100 degree mark really put a damper on outdoor activities. Too hot to fish, some might say. Well, the fish have to eat regardless and anglers can increase their odds at catching fish by fishing during the prime times and by changing tactics.

Prime times for bass fishing include the first couple of hours of the day, and the last couple in the afternoon, continuing on after dark. If you can pick your times, these are no doubt the best times of the day to fish. Though there will be obvious differences on various lakes, shady areas on any lake will be preferable when fishing this time of year.

On a recent trip it didn’t take long to realize the bass were hungry and wanted to eat, but you had to slow it down to get bit. And there was not a sign of life on the surface or below, no baitfish flittering, not even an occasional bream popping the surface. The bass were lying in brush tops and in deeper water and not feeding aggressively.



Going light



It didn’t take me long to realize it was time to pull out the finesse fishing gear. In this case I rigged up a lightweight spinning rod and reel combo and rigged it Texas style with my favorite Zoom tube. Various colors will work, but I prefer any shade of purple, or grape in clear water.

The key to fishing a tube under hot weather conditions is to rig it as light as possible and work it slowly. My first strike occurred almost instantly as I pitched the tube up towards the bank in a shady pocket. As I worked the bait back to the boat my line began to move to the side and my first bass of the day was history.

There is no bad way to fish a tube as the bass will surely hit it under a variety of retrieves and conditions. My favorite technique with the lightweight tubes, however, is to let the lure fall slowly to the bottom while watching my line. Once the tube rests on the bottom the line will stop. Then I check to see if a bass engulfed it on the way down. If I don’t have a bite I’ll sweep my rod slowly towards the surface and let the lure free fall back to the bottom.

Almost 100 per cent of the strikes this time of year come as the lure spirals towards the bottom. And usually the bass will suck the bait in and start moving away slowly. Sometimes the strike comes in the form of a twitch of the line and will be so subtle you’ll miss it visually.

Other times the bass will simply suck the plastic offering into their mouths and never move an inch. The only signal that you have a strike will be the mushy feel of the bass on the other end. If it feels mushy, like you’re in grass, then set the hook hard as a bass most likely took the bait on the downward fall.



Scattered feeders



Over the course of the last couple of hours of the day I caught or missed bass almost everywhere I fished. My first pattern brought strikes from bass that were taking advantage of shady areas that were slightly cooler. Moving deeper into water 10 feet deep or more brought even more strikes and the bites just kept coming as I caught and released several bass in the 2 to 4 pound range.

And to top it off I never felt a single strike, as they all bit my lures as they were slowly falling. I would either feel the bass moving slightly, or see my line start moving towards the side. Though I never caught a monster bass that afternoon, I did set the hook on one large bass that I couldn’t do anything with. After quite a fight the lunker just came unhooked near the boat as I tried to maneuver him closer.

If you’re not catching anything this time of year then hit the prime times of the day, downsize your lures and slow down. If you’re not fishing slowly, you’re probably not getting bit. But don’t take my word for it. Get outdoors and try it for yourself, because you can’t catch them at the house.

        

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