Major League Fishing pro Roy Hawk knows a thing or two about catching bass during extreme heat. He lives in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, a location known for sweltering temperatures and he holds the title of WON BASS U.S. Open Champion on the sizzling Lake Mead, Nevada, in September 2015.
When the temperature rises, he has a plan of attack that includes attacking shade, looking for current or heading out deep.
Hawk’s Hot Thoughts
When faced with hot air temperatures, Hawk has an approach that covers all of his bases.
“There are two ways to think of it. The bass are going to be thick inside of cover to get in the shade, or they will be out in deeper water,” Hawk said. “Deep water is much different depending on the fishery and on the Delta it may be seven or eight feet of water and on the desert lakes, it could be 30-feet of water.”
Another thing Hawk looks for during the summer months is any type of current that he can find.
“I always look for moving water because that is where the oxygen levels will be the highest. It could be at the mouth of a river, or watching the tide swings, it all depends on the fishery,” said the Arizona pro. “If the body of water doesn’t have either of those, I’ll fish the windiest sides of the lakes and look for any place that the water is churned up.”
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“Shaded Up”
During the summer months, Hawk will look for bass that are “shaded up” as he refers to it.
“Here on Havasu, it may be grass mats or dead tules. We also look for any of the shade pockets and places they can get away from direct sunlight,” Hawk said. “On other fisheries, it could be standing timber, brush, docks, really anything that they can use to get shelter from the sun.”
Targeting these shaded bass is something Hawk nearly always does with some sort of Texas-Rig that he pitches and punches into the cover. He’ll use anywhere from a 3/8 ounce to a 1.5-ounce tungsten weight to penetrate the cover and will use the lightest weight he thinks he can get away with.
“My number one bait for these bass is the Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog, but I also really like the Yamamoto Mermaid. It has a big profile and does well in the thick cover,” he said. “If the bite is tough, I like the Psycho Dad because t has a nice small, streamlined profile.”
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Going Deep
When fishing deeper water during the heat of the summer, Hawk will often use either a drop-shot rig or Carolina-Rig and varies it based on the area he is fishing and how difficult the fishing is.
“Generally, the Carolina-Rig is a ‘big fish’ technique and something I do quite a bit during the summer. You can fish it pretty quickly to cover water and I like to use a ¾ or 1-ounce weight to keep it on the bottom and drag through areas,” Hawk said.
He likes to use bigger baits for his Carolina-Rig and says the possibilities for what to use are endless, but one of his favorites is the Yamamoto Stretch 40 grub.
“It has a nice subtle action and is great for the Carolina-Rig,” Hawk shared. “I rig it on a Yamamoto Sugoi Hook, which I think has the perfect gauge of wire. It is in between a light wire and heavy wire and just right.”
He fishes his Carolina-Rig with a mainline of 20-pound Yamamoto Sugoi Fluorocarbon with a leader of their 16-pound Gray Casting Fluorocarbon.
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When drop-shot fishing, Hawk will often use a Yamamoto Shad Shape worm and selects it over a Carolina-Rig when the fishing is tough and when targeting specific pieces of cover.
“If there is one brushpile, I’ll throw a drop-shot, but if the are several around, I would rather drag a Carolina-Rig through the whole area,” he said.
One more approach he utilizes in the sweltering heat is a football head with a Double Tail Hula Grub.
“I like to use a ½ ounce to a 1-ounce weight when fishing deep and vary it based on the depth and how active the fish are. That is such an underutilized lure in many parts of the country and works great anytime the fish are in deeper water,” Hawk shared.
Targeting Current Related Bass
When the bass are feeding on bluegill and shad in current, Hawk says there are many ways to catch them, including with a spinnerbait or swim jig.
For both of these, he will pair a Yamamoto soft bait as a trailer and says the new Paddle Tail Zako is an excellent choice, along with the Heart Tail swimbait, that he says it is his choice when he’s in a big fish area.
Fishing during the warmest months of the year always includes challenges like trying to keep cool and stay hydrated while also working for the next bite. Roy Hawk’s approach is to look for shade, exploit the deeper water, and look for any available moving water.
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