When fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass during the summer months, an angler will need a range of lures to be successful when the sun shines and the temperatures increase. Because summertime bass congregates in a variety of habitat types, including boat docks, riprap, submerged rocks, underwater humps, long sloping points, drop-offs, laydown logs, and aquatic vegetation. Hence, you will need more than one lure type to induce a strike.
If you want to catch a bucket mouth when the summer heat is on, keep these five best bass lures for summer fishing, or baits as some fishermen refer to them, handy when you walk out onto the lake for a wonderful day of angling action.
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Whopper Plopper:
This one has been popular for several years. Its effectiveness is in its simplicity. Similar to its closest ancestor, the buzz bait, Whopper Plopper style prop-baits are chuck and wind lures. You can cover a lot of water with these, and it all comes down to precision casting once you’ve dialed in the correct retrieve speed. If you pick up one of these style prop baits, put it in your hand, and cover water in the summertime, you will get bit. And it is often a big one.
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Deep Diving Crankbait:
Moving offshore for a moment, the deep-diving crankbait is one of the most well-known baits for summertime fishing. Deep diving crankbaits like the Strike King 6XD illustrated above have certainly ground their way across a million miles of ledges over the years, and they’re responsible for countless summer catches each year.
For most anglers, I’d say the 6XD is the bait that reigns supreme in this category. Several wonderful deep diving crankbaits from various brands are now available, all of which have a similar depth range as the 6XD. However, in the hands of the famous Kevin VanDam, this particle bait has earned a spot at the top of many anglers’ list of crankbaits to tie on when getting ready for summer fishing.
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Popping Frog:
Returning to the bank, a Whopper Plopper, as good as it is, is not an all-terrain vehicle. Because bass seeks refuge in the shadow throughout the summer, having a bait that can be tossed or skipped into and fished through heavy cover is crucial. You can get such bait from a popping frog. It can be tossed into the thickest mats and skipped under anything with a couple of inches of clearance or more.
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Soft Plastic Stick Bait
A soft plastic stick bait may also be rigged in a variety of ways throughout the summer, making it a must-have in your boat or tackle bag. Soft plastic stick baits are incredibly versatile, which is critical during the summer when fish are scattered throughout a wide range of depths.
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Texas Rig:
In muddy water and dense cover, a Texas rig outperforms a drop shot, which is why I believe it stands out. The Texas rig has been responsible for fooling countless monster bass, from big ribbon-tailed worms out on the ledges of Lake Guntersville to tubes and creature baits hurled into shallow shoreline grass.
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