Summer Bass - Having Trouble

[idn713]

Quick Question for the more seasoned bass guys out there. What do you do to find fish in the deep summer? It seems like I CANNOT find a deep weed edge in our lakes (think Sodus or Conesus). All I find when I look for the deep edge is grass that comes up to about 5 ft down in 12 ft of water. This is where I see most guys flipping or dropshotting. The real deep break is around 17 ft and it just desolate beyond that break. Seems like I never catch anything when I fish that hard break. 

 

So here I am stuck. It seems like most guys are just flipping to seemingly endless stretches of weeds with no real holes, breaks or edges. Do they just do that long enough to run into a couple of fish? It's been all I can do to grind out a 4-5 fish day lately. Granted the bites are big, but its not worth the drive or the gas for 4 bass. 

 

So what do you look for in the dog days of summer? Do you just poke around in productive foot of water and flip randomly? Or do you look for something more defined. 

 

Thank you in advance for any tidbits you might offer. And yes I have advanced electronics and have been bass fishing my whole life. Just seems like late July - August in these weedbowl lakes of ours defeats me. 

[justtracytrolling]

Largemouths are in the weeds and most guys are doing just what you said.  A couple years ago Greg Hackney won fairly easily on Cayuga and if memory serves me he only culled 1 fish.  He had all he could do to get 5 bites.  It's all about making a thousand good drops into the weeds and keep working....or fish smallmouths.

[justtracytrolling]

My boys have been pre-fishing for some up coming tournaments on Oneida and the smallmouth bite has been solid on 3+ lb fish in most conditions.  Ned rigs if it's not rough and Carolina rigs when it's blowing have been productive.  Even get a few walleye along the way as well.  

[DavidWP]

I've been fishing Sodus Bay all week, the best results have been big spinnerbaits around the weeds. I haven't been having much luck with anything else.

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[idn713]

I was just on Sodus, got a couple nice bites on the dropshot but the fish are deep in the weeds. I might try a crankbait and rip it through the weeds next time I go back. Try to get some reaction bites. 

[BSmaster]

In the heat of the summer I like Texas rigs right in the weeds.  Guys are punching docks with 1/4 ounce jigs cruising up and down the lake and I am 10 feet deeper with 1/16 ounce Texas rigged worms (fish slower instead of covering more territory).  It is all about the right color and the right tail.  Once you find the right worm, it is hard not to catch fish.  I bring a duffle bag full of soft plastics with me.  It flips on me in the end of summer and crankbaits/spinner  baits are hot.  I don't like using cranks early because I catch too many smaller fish and the extra hook points are harder to deal with.  It can be hard enough to get a single gamakatsu offset hook point out of a LM bass's cartilidge.  But that is just what I do.  Guys on here live for it.  I am only a part time bass fisherman.

[000]

I have been picking up some small-mouth in lake Ontario along the south shore.. Not much luck with Senko's, worm variations, or Ned rigs this season.

 

Best action for me has been flat line trolling deep divers in 27 to 32 feet of water along the drop offs.

 

[krux5506]

I'm in the same boat as you, but really the dog days of summer are my least favorite times to bass fish except for early morning. I can go out on my home port for 5 hours and end up with 4 fish. Between getting the boat ready, waking up early, getting everything together and going out in the hot sun, it can get pretty daunting and just frustrating. I said a couple weeks ago I was done in the bays until we get into September and the water starts coming down in temp. Lake O is worth focusing on more during summer than any of the bays.