(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs four times per week on the World Fishing Network – 6:30 p.m. ET Monday, 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier provides BassFans with tips about various aspects of bass fishing in these weekly submissions.)
Sight-fishing is known to be a springtime thing when bass are bedding or cruising the shallows, but many days some of my best fish come while seeing them – even in summer.
Obviously with smallmouth up north in the clear waters, seeing them is common. You can actually idle with your big motor and look over the side and see fish on some of the clearer northern lakes.
Even on lakes much farther south you will have pockets of clearer water where sight-fishing can come into play in the summertime, especially later in the season when a heavy thermocline develops and pushes fish shallower.
Right now, many bream are spawning all over the South on every full moon all summer. If you approach these bluegill beds slowly, you can often spy a big ol' summer bass staring into the bream bed waiting for one to mess up.
There is also the scenario where you start seeing fish breaking or schooling, and that can be another time you can visually see the size of the bass in the summer and predict where they will bite.
There are a couple of keys to sight-fishing in summer. The first is to make sure the sun is at your back. This lets you see into the water better and also hides yourself, and most importantly it has that fish looking into the sun when it bites your lure. If bass get too good a look at your lure, they often don’t bite it, especially in summer, so the sun at your back is key.
Also, lure speed. Once you have an area that has fish and you see them, you’ll need to figure out if they want your bait fast or slow. There often isn’t an in-between – they either want it fast or slow or a combination of the two. If they want a slow presentation, it's hard to beat a shaky-head cast from a distance. Never cast right on top of the fish. Lead it, depending on how fast it is swimming or how clear the water is. The clearer the water, the more lead you need to avoid spooking.
I use a Jeff Kriet-designed Eco Pro shaky-head, as Kriet is one of the best at the technique. The tungsten head is key as it slips through bass teeth easier without slowing down on the hooks — you'll need every advantage you can get when using spinning gear and light line. It also has the best keeper design, stemming from Jeff’s years of experience. I use it with a Culprit T-Rex worm and the Culprit Incredi-Slim as well. Use the worm for clearer water and the Incredi-Slim for stained water or low light. Yo-Zuri Super Braid in 15-pound main line to a 10-pound Yo-Zuri Top Knot leader gets the nod for a Falcon Expert 7-foot spinning rod.
A topwater is also a great bait for sight-fishing in summer. I like frogs if there is a lot of bank cover. Around bream beds, which are often in the back side of a cove or a flat, the I like the Yo-Zuri Pencil in 4-inch. I can fish this really slow starting out then increase the speed to walking really fast like an injured or scared bluegill. They like that. Fifteen-pound Yo-Zuri Hybrid with a Falcon 7-foot Expert All Around is my favorite setup for this bait.
It’s the same thing when they are schooling – if you have the sun at your back, the odds of catching fish increases a lot. When casting distance is key, I use the Yo-Zuri Pencil Popper if the bait is decent size and I need a long cast. I use the 4-inch Pencil if the bait is smaller and it also casts a mile.
Use these techniques the next time you hit the water for a little sight-fishing action in summer for a change of pace.
