Everyone can catch bass in spring and fall, but summer is a bit tougher. And nowhere is that more true than Florida, where the summer heat can be unbearable, even for bass.
Yet Florida pro Bernie Schultz has a few secrets for using spinnerbaits to catch summer largemouths.
Slow-Rolling Deep
One technique is slow-rolling the edges of deep weedbeds. This well-known method involves using a depthfinder to locate the deepest areas where aquatic vegetation is growing from the bottom. Cast your spinnerbait out and slowly wind it along the deeper edge of the grass, barely keeping in contact with the lake bottom.
"I also like to slow-roll on channel breaks or ledges that have stumps," Schultz says. "If a stump row is down 6 or 8 feet, I'll stay in deeper water, throw shallow and slowly bring the bait back to me, keeping in contact with the cover."
Key for slow-rolling, he feels, is his lure of choice: a 3/4- or 1-ounce Hildebrandt Tin Roller, which he designed for slow rolling. The head of the bait is tin, instead of lead, which Schultz feels allows for a few advantages.
"One advantage is that the Tin Roller has a large profile, but less weight," he says. "So it can be retrieved much slower than a lead bait of the same size, and it will still stay upright. That's important because the name of the game for slow-rolling is getting the bait right in the fish's face."
You also want the bait to look alive, and tin helps, he says. "If you have an anchor with blades, it won't look natural."
Schultz also notes that tin is more responsive than lead, which dampens vibration more. This helps him feel cover, the bottom and bass better.
Fishing Grass Tops
In summer, Schultz and other top pros also like to fish 1/4- or 1/8-ounce spinnerbaits around and across aquatic vegetation that has "topped-out," or reached the surface, and also around flooded brush.
These areas hold minnows and fry, which relate to the contours of the topped- out patches, Schultz says. "On Okeechobee and the TVA lakes you can see bass striking around grass edges, especially in low-light periods."
He'll burn a spinnerbait, topped with a single willowleaf blade or Colorado- willow combination, through the tops of the grass or brush, or where he sees bass working the edges. Speed is key, he says, because "if they see the lure for any length of time, they won't eat it."
