In recent articles we've discussed where you can find summer smallmouth - now let's switch gears and talk about where you can find yourself a largemouth bass!
Although largemouth bass and smallies are close relatives of each other they do live slightly different lifestyles.
In case you missed the article, check out "River Fishing: Finding Summer Smallmouth Bass" to gain insight on where some bronzebacks may be in your local rivers.
Now, onto largemouth!
Below we will zero in on some of the things you should be looking for while on the water to really rip the lips of some largemouth bass this summer.
#1 Find Cover
Largemouth bass are the kings and queens of hanging out around various forms of cover offered by a body of water.
Just to recap, cover is something that is placed into a body of water (trees, boulders, grass, car tires, docks, stumps, a sunken boat, etc.). This is different from structure, which is the actual make up of a body of water that takes the form of a flat, vertical rock bluff, a river point, cutbank, riffles/rapids and so on.
Just how a smallmouth bass loves structure, largemouth bass love cover!
So, first things first, as an angler make sure you are scanning for areas that have cover and offers a place for a largemouth to hang out around.
The most prominent piece of cover anglers find when fishing a river is flooded timber. Thanks to heavy rain and flooding, branches or even an entire tree can be washed down river and provide a new hideout spot for fish.
One piece of cover that isn't always so easy to see is subsurface rocks or boulder batches. Using sonar or simply dragging a jig along the bottom of deeper areas of the river are two of the most common ways to locate them.
Subsurface rocks and boulders are big time largemouth attractions. Denser objects like rocks help to maintain lower water temperatures and are also home to many crustaceans, the most common being crawfish.
Another great means of cover for a river largemouth is grass. Common river grass you'll come across are coontail, milfoil, and hydrilla. Most rivers have at least one of these types of grass in them that fish will congregate too. Grass vegetation provides an oxygen enriched environment as well as shade.
Leading us to the next point...
#2 Find Shade
Shade is a friend of the largemouth for two big reasons.
1. It's cool, literally.
The fish feel it just like we do and some largemouth will adjust their patterns to the heat by seeking shade in the summer months.
For the same reasons we run to the shade on a hot day, shade also brings cooler temperatures for the fish.
Something to remember, bass are cold-blooded by nature and cannot regulate their body temperature like us warm-blooded folks do.
The body temperature of a bass is regulated by external factors such as the water temperature. This means that in the hotter months bass are more active and in the colder months they are less active.
However, to avoid having to feed every hour to keep up with their increased metabolism and body temperature, a largemouth will seek out cooler areas such as those that offer shade.
Most rivers you fish will always have a shady side and a sunny side thanks to steep banks or overhanging trees. Be aware though that this will change throughout the day based on the position of the sun in relation to the direction the river is flowing.
2. It makes for a great ambush point
Ever heard a pro mention the "shade line"? It's a real thing.
For lack of better terms, they're talking about the break between shady water and sunny water.
A largemouth will use the shade line to their advantage when feeding by sitting on the edge of the shady side waiting for prey fish to pass by.
Side note: Baitfish typically feed on plankton which require sunlight to grow and survive. This in large part is why baitfish spend so much time just outside of a shade line in sun beaten waters. For this very reason, a bass will use a shade line to their advantage and will prey on these schools of fish that wander a little too close to a largemouth's ambush point.
This is a very common feeding tactic around docks, grass lines, and overhangs that form a canopy and is one of the reasons you will hear seasoned anglers say to fish a piece of cover from the "outside-in".
Targeting your fishing area using an "outside-in" approach is especially true for dock fishing.
Many anglers will troll right up to a dock in hopes to skip a lure underneath it and get bit and then wonder why they didn't have any bites.
It just may have been the case that those largemouth bass were hanging out right at the edge of the shade line produced by the sun and dock. By trolling right up to the dock, instead of using an outside-in fishing approach, there's a good chance you've already spooked the fish in that area.
Don't limit the outside-in method to just docks. The same method can be used for submerged timber, standing vegetation, or the like.
#3 Find Deeper Water
If a largemouth bass isn't running a lateral pattern around shady areas you can bet on them using a vertical pattern between shallow and deeper water.
Just swing from a tree rope into the river and you'll realize that you don't have to go too deep before you can feel a temperature difference from that of the surface.
Aside from the swinging from a rope part, a largemouth will use the different river depths to help regulate their body temperature - especially during the summer months. This makes finding areas that have access to deeper water crucial for a summertime angler.
In many cases a largemouth will stage close to an area with access to both deep and shallow water in the summer. This is one reason why summer is a great time to go ledge fishing.
Another common summer staging ground for a largemouth is around an area of a river that has a deep channel with quick access to either a flat or a point. These areas allow fish to move up shallow in the early mornings or late evenings and quickly move back into deeper water during the hotter parts of the day.
Having a sonar unit makes finding deeper water pretty easy but if you don't have any electronics just trust your eyes.
In simple terms, deep water is darker. So keep an eye out for darker tinted waters on your next river float or fishing trip and consider targeting those areas.
Simply paying attention to the tint of the water to help in gaining an understanding of water depth and river topology is an extremely overlooked skill among anglers.
Happy fishin' y'all!
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