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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
Largemouth Bass Fishing Kicks Into High Gear!
By Mike Guarino Some real summer weather has settled into the region during the 4th of July holiday weekend. The weather was perfect for boaters, sunbathers and lakeside lounge lizards and offered excellent viewing for one of the greatest firework displays in Belgrade I've ever seen. Three cheers to everyone who helped put on that awesome display — my kids thank you too! These hot and humid days are often accompanied by afternoon thunderstorms which helps cool the surface temperature of the water. This creates a perfect scenario for catching largemouth bass in shallow weed beds or near fallen timber. When the water warms up, sometimes the fishing can slow down a bit, especially in the heat of the day. Bright sun, warming water and an increase in boat traffic are all to blame. Don't despair though, the lakes around here are loaded with largemouth (sometimes big largemouth) and they feed heavily during dawn and dusk. All the lakes have largemouth populations, but North and East Ponds along with Salmon Lake are very popular spots among largemouth fishermen. Candee and Doug McCafferty over at Whisperwood Lodge report that her guests are enjoying good success on big "bucket mouths" by using purple and black worms and Senkos. These are always a great choice when fishing Belgrade waters, and Candee and Doug's tackle shop located in the main office has a great selection. One tip when fishing the shallows around here for bass is to keep in mind that the fish are not always tucked up tight to the shoreline. Many fish will slide off the shoreline and onto sunken weed edges in as much as 10 feet of water. Counting down your Senko so it reaches the strike zone is really important. A lazy bass might come up to feed on your offering, but in the heat of the day, they prefer to have the worm slowly drift down to them. In addition to the weed beds, big bass are being caught over sunken timber on lakes like Great Pond and North Pond. Sometimes anglers have to search out these fallen trees, but the rewards are worth the extra effort. An easy way to spot timber under the water surface is to cruise the shoreline and look for old tree stumps just up on the shoreline. Mother Nature threw our area a wicked curveball last fall when a severe thunderstorm / tornado crashed over Rome and Great Pond. If you look at the west side of Hoyts Island, you'll see the remnants of this storm. Inevitably, some of these old broken trees are lying at the bottom of the lake within casting distance to the shore. You might not be able to see the structure, but it's down there. When I was younger and way more ambitious, I use to find old stumps, anchor the boat and jump in the lake to see what was down there Many of the logs are old and have sunk quite close to the bottom, but the number of big bass on these spots can be eye-popping! As a bonus, you just might find some nice lures down there hung up on the structure. Good Luck! Mike Guarino can be contacted at | ||
