Articles/Tips
Seasonal Tips
| Time of Year | Late June |
| Time of Day | First 30 minutes after sunrise |
| Weather Pattern | Stable, clear to partly cloudy |
| Water Temperature | Mid 70�s |
| Water Clarity | 3-6 feet |
| Cover Conditions | Lake has lily pad areas, reeds, and shallow weeds |
- Throw a Scum Frog in heavier cover, following up on missed strikes with a floating worm
- Cover water using a buzzbait (6 � or 7 foot MH rod with 14# line at minimum, 20# preferred). Use a white or chartreuse buzzbait when skies are clear, black when cloudy. Use a trailer hook, even a treble hook if cover conditions allow. Use surgical tubing over the eye of the trailer hook to keep it in place or use a circle punched from a milk carton. Use a Floyd�s in-line buzzer for heavier cover.
- Throw a Pop-R or Chug Bug near the deep edge of pads. Look for points in the pads and weeds mixed in. Let the lure sit for a while before making the first pop.
- Work a Sammy, Yo Zuri Walking Dog, or other cigar bait in shad or baby bass type colors on inside weedlines.
- For all topwater baits, but especially the Scum Frog, wait to set the hook until you are sure the fish has the bait. Count 1-2-3 before setting the hook.
- For all topwater baits, make sure hooks are very sharp. Replace factory trebles with Gamakatsu. Owner makes replacement feather trebles for Pop-R�s. Upsizing hooks can also help.
- Try to flip a bait like a brush hog or jig in the pads.
| Time of Year | Mid summer |
| Time of Day | Mid day |
| Weather Pattern | Blue sky, no winds |
| Water Temperature | Mid 70�s |
| Water Clarity | 10-20 feet |
| Cover Conditions | Weeds growing to 18� with hard bottoms beyond |
- Choose a crankbait that will hit the tops of the deepest weeds. Best colors are Tennessee shad or light green
- Jig a chrome/blue or chrome/black Rat-L-Trap.
- If you see bait schools on your graph, try a jigging spoon.
- Use a 4" straight tail worm (black/blue, black/chartreuse, pumpkinseed or watermelonseed) rigged on a 1/8 � � oz mushroom jighead w/ 1/0 hook.
- Try a drop-shot rig with a 4" worm or Berkeley Power Minnow.
- Use a Carolina rig with a lizard, french fry, spider grub or Guido Bug with a rattle in the back end. Use 12# Fireline with 8# fluorocarbon leader, a 3/8-1/2 oz sinker and 3� leader.
- Use a football jighead with a spider grub on the hard bottom areas at the tips of points. Drag it slowly over the bottom and shake your rod tip with it sticks on a rock to make it sway back and forth.
- Slow roll a spinnerbait with chrome willow blades in subtle colors like shad or baby bass. Sometimes 3/8 oz worked extremely slowly can be more effective than heavier baits worked faster.
| Time of Year | August |
| Time of Day | Afternoon |
| Weather Pattern | Stable, clear to partly cloudy |
| Water Temperature | Upper 70�s |
| Water Clarity | 3-6 feet |
| Cover Conditions | Slop � pads, scum, slime, duckweed, wood, milfoil, rice, reeds |
- Soft bodied weedless frog or rat lures. White or chartreuse are best on bright days, black is best in lower light conditions. Modify by inserting rattles into the body or jingle bells. Hooks must be sharp. Use a 7� or 7�6" heavy action rod and heavy line, such as 20# P-Line or 20-30# Fireline or Spiderwire. Count off 2 or 3 seconds before setting the hook, then fight hard to keep the fish�s head up.
- Look for deeper pads or pads on a point. Concentrate on holes or points within the pads. Look for other weeds mixed into the pads or transitions from pads to other cover.
- When fish miss the frog, have a follow-up bait, such as a tube, Fluke, jig or french fry ready to throw to the spot. Let it drop slowly in exactly the spot where the fish hit.
- Try a Floyd�s in-line buzzbait.
- Try a weedless spoon, such as a weedwalker, jaw breaker or PT spoon.
- Try walking the dog with a Mann�s Ghost.
- Try a jig, Fluke, lizard or floating worm.