Many bass anglers focus on deep water during the post-spawn and early summer. It's a time-tested approach that seems to work every year as bass migrate to offshore areas and deeper depth zones. It works, but there is still likely an excellent shallow bite happening, as all bass don't move at once, according to Bridgford Foods and Bass Pro Tour pro Luke Clausen.
Instead of immediately shifting to deeper water, he advises giving the shallow bite a chance, either for bass still lingering around after they spawn or for those fish that have turned their attention to spawning bluegill.
"All of the bass in the lake don't leave to deeper water right after they finish spawning," he said. "Many bass start to head out when they are done spawning and try to seek cooler water or current, but not all of them do it right away. There is always a good shallow bite somewhere, and during the post-spawn and early summer, sticking to shallow water can be a great opportunity to catch some big bass."
Targeting the Shallows
When sticking to shallow water immediately after the spawn and after the calendar switches to summer, Clausen seeks out the obvious. This often means boat docks, overhanging trees, bushes, and places where bass can seek refuge from the sunshine and can still be around food. Another place he looks is where bass spawn, as many will still be hanging in the area.
"Some bass go straight from one bed to another and right when they finish spawning, they'll start seeking out bluegill beds," he said. "The bluegill spawn typically happens right when the bass spawn is at the tail end and you can follow the bite. Most of the time, you don't have to go far from where you were fishing for bedding bass a few weeks ago."
Another critical pattern in the late spring and early summer is targeting fry-guarding bass, which also happens in many of the same places bass spawn. To target these bass, Clausen says it's hard to beat a topwater. He uses a variety, with everything from a small popper to a frog or buzzbait getting the most work this time of year.
"Bass guarding fry are constantly looking around for anything trying to eat their young," he said. "This is what makes topwaters so good for fry-guarders, but they are just as good for bass feeding on spawning bluegill. Fishing a popper, buzzbait, or frog is one of the best ways to catch bass this time of year. Plus, it's fun."
Topwater Tactics and a Wacky-Rig Backup Plan
Although he fishes the three topwater baits in similar areas, he rotates them based on fish activity and where he's casting them. A popper is excellent for fishing slowly around targets, the frog excels around grass, and the buzzbait allows him to cover water as he searches for bass.
"I like to fish a popper and slowly pop it around shade and places where I see bluegill activity," he said. "I fish it on a 6-foot, 9-inch, medium-heavy Phenix Feather, a 7.1:1 reel and 30-pound Seaguar Smackdown Stealth Gray braid. Two of the best colors for your popper are anything that looks like a bluegill and a solid black; that's about all you need this time of year."
For his buzzbait and frog, he also likes bluegill patterns and black as his colors. "I really like the Jackall Kaera Frog; it's a compact body with a great hookup percentage, much better than a lot of frogs," he said. "I'll fish it on a 7-foot, 3-inch extra heavy Phenix Feather rod with an 8.1:1 reel and 50-pound Seaguar Smackdown Stealth Gray braid. That setup will also work for a buzzbait, like the Nichols Reflex."
The wacky rig has proven to be one of the most effective tools for catching shallow bass, and Clausen says it's perfect for fishing right now. "It's great for casting to shallow cover and works well when bass are guarding fry and also when they are chasing spawning bluegill," he said.
His worm of choice is a Z-Man ZinkerZ soft plastic stick bait in any green pumpkin hue that he rigs on a Size 1 wacky rig hook. He fishes it on a 7-foot, 1-inch heavy Phenix Feather rod with a 2500-size reel and a line combination of 18-pound Seaguar PE-X8 braid with a leader of 12-pound Seaguar Tatsu.
Fishing shallow when many anglers are moving towards deeper water can be a way to have more area to yourself, and there will always be some bass shallow. Sticking with topwater baits and a wacky rig is a simple approach that will put the odds in your favor this time of year.
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