(Editor's note: This feature comes from Alan McGuckin at Dynamic Sponsorships.)
East Texas bass fishing legend Stephen Johnston doesn’t always carry an inflatable innertube and a fruity drink on the spacious front deck of his Vexus, but when it comes to having summer fun with trophy-sized summer largemouth, he’s never without big plastic worms and deep-diving crankbaits.
Fisheries biologist and Bass Fishing Hall of Famer Gene Gilliland explains that Johnston is wisely appealing to a big largemouth’s warm-water appetite. “Bass are cold-blooded critters, so in the summer, when water temperatures are at their peak, a bass' metabolism is ramped up as high as it gets all year, and that demands a lot of food intake,” says Gilliland.
“Furthermore, Mother Nature programs predators for efficiency. So, eating a big meal is more efficient than burning a lot of calories while chasing down lots of smaller forage items,” he explains.
Before you can feed them a big worm or oversized crank, you gotta find them, and Johnston says today’s electronics will easily show a horizontal band of ‘pepper’ across the screen representing the thermocline. This is where a major change in water temperature and oxygen levels exist as you go deeper in the water column.
“There’s hardly any oxygen below a summer thermocline. So, for example, if you see the thermocline is 20 feet deep, then you want to target fish-holding spots a few feet shallower, around 16 or 17 feet deep, because there’s obviously no need to dredge around where there’s no oxygen,” says Johnston, who appreciates the super-wide front deck of his Vexus VX21 that allows him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with two clients as they line up precise casts on schools of fish he’s located.
Oversized worms and deep-diving crankbaits are often served together like backyard burgers and potato salad during summer, but Johnston says it’s wise to offer a school of hungry largemouth the worm first, because fish hooked on a big crankbait sometimes pull loose and that spooks the rest of the fish in the school from biting. However, bass seldom come unbuttoned on a plastic worm.
“The one thing I do a little different when fishing a big worm is use a 1/2-ounce sinker instead of a 3/8 or 5/16. I want that heavier weight to help me get their attention by creating a bigger disturbance on the bottom of the lake."
Crankbaits that dive to a max depth of around 15 feet or less, and weigh less than an ounce, can be thrown on 12-pound line, but when stepping up to the mega-sized deep divers like Strike King’s 10 XD, which weighs a hefty 2 ounces and can consistently reach depths of 20 feet or more, you’d better be throwing it on at least 18-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon.
A really long cast is absolutely critical to achieving maximum depth and keeping the lure at that depth for a long period of time. That’s best achieved by utilizing a rod at least 7 1/2 feet in length with plenty of flex to allow you to "sling" it. Johnston’s deep cranking rod of choice is a Shimano Zodias glass casting rod.
So, don’t be intimidated by the bigger baits preferred by the high metabolic rates of hot-weather bass. First, find the thermocline, and then feed ‘em the sort of oversized treat that appeals to them in the same way you’re likely fond of a burger on the grill and a refreshing beverage amid the year’s warmest months.
