A great way to catch bass in the summer is targeting the bluegill spawn. The time is right when the water is warm and the moon is full or new. Fishing for blue gill is fun too. I love catching bluegill, but you can also catch big bass that are feeding on those spawning bluegill. Bluegill spawn in warm, shallow muddy-looking flat bays. My favorite way to fish the bluegill spawn is topwater, moving down the bank quickly. But if there is a lot of cover, try a swim jig. I like the Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig with a Rage Craw trailer. It runs shallow and looks a lot like a blue gill. You might move your rod a little to put inflection in the bait, but basically just reeling it in works well. If fish are not chasing topwater or swim jigs, try an Ocho rigged whacky style pitched up in shallow water. You can catch some really big fish during the bluegill spawn. covering a lot of water and using the right baits.
Rage Swimmer
Swimbaits have become more and more popular over the last couple of years. Tournament anglers are always looking to these baits for bigger bites. One I have found recently that has really put some nice fish in the boat is the Strike King Rage Swimmer. It comes in two different sizes, 3.75” and a 4.75”, and really has a great action. To start with, it has a great tail kick with the tail swinging wide, but it also has a good back and forth wobble to it, which is what I think makes it irresistible. It comes in a ton of great colors. You can fish it on a weighted hook or on a jig head. Give it a try. It will definitely put some big ones in the boat!
Upper Mississppi River
The sixth stop on the FLW Tour this year was a place I have never fished – the Upper Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wisconsin on pools 7, 8 and 9. What a cool fishery! Shallow water, current, wing dams, grass, flooded timber – the fishery has it all. The cool thing is that you can catch fish a number of different ways. The tournament was won by Brian Schmitt throwing a swim jig and second place was flipping flooded cover in back waters. I didn’t have my best tournament and finished 66th, but I’d love to have another crack at it another year. I look forward to our return trip.
