It’s the beginning of September, 95 degrees and the bite is tough. Common thinking in the bass fishing world would tell you to go finesse. But this time, what if you went the opposite direction? What if I told you big bass hit big swimbaits in hot weather. If the conditions are right, it can be one of the most exciting, and plentiful bites of the season.
Right Conditions and How to Fish It
Having the right conditions make all the difference. This bite doesn’t happen on any hot day. It needs to be hot and there has to be some chop on the water. If those conditions are right and there are main lake points or humps with weeds, there’s a good chance this big swimbait bite will pay off. Wind really helps this bite, because forage gets blown around the lake and the bass can setup on ambush points. The best spots are main lake points. Wind pushes baitfish into and over points and bass setup on either side of the points waiting for the forage to get pushed right to them.
Setup just off of a point and cast to the spine. Slowly reel the swimbait back to the boat, trying to brush the tops of any submerged weeds. Usually right when the swimbait gets out over the break, it gets hit because that’s where the bass are waiting to ambush.
What Gear to Use
Since we are using big swimbaits and heavier weights, a heavy rod is needed. A 7 ft 4 inch heavy, moderate to moderate fast action rod is ideal. A more moderate action helps because of the size of the swimbaits. The fish sometimes need to readjust the lure before getting it completely in their mouth. The moderate action rod won’t pull the lure out of the fish’s mouth before this happens. A 7.3.1 baitcasting reel is a great choice because it’s slow enough to slow roll the swimbaits, yet fast enough to catch up to a feisty fish.
When it comes to line, 30 lb braid to a 15 or 20-pound fluorocarbon leader is the ticket. This setup can put some big fish in the boat. I’m talking 4, 5, and 6-pound bass and the gear you’re using needs to be ready for that. Also, the fluorocarbon adds protection from pike and muskie, because this rig will attract them as well.
There are a ton of paddletail swimbaits on the market but my favorite for this technique is the Magdraft Freestyle from Megabass. This swimbait has a large profile, but more importantly it has a very slow paddletail swimming action, causing it to displace a ton of water. It has a calling power that rivals any bass lure. It will attract fish from deep water, and it will get fish to come out from a dock and hit it as well. I rig it on an 8/0 “The Beast” heavy swimbait hook in 3/8th oz by Owner. This rig is very weedless which really helps the swimbait get through weedlines easily. It has a belly weight and allows the Magdraft to swim extremely level in the water.
Now is the time to give this technique a try. If it’s hot and breezy, this is a technique that can bring in a personal best or big numbers of quality bass. You can keep it tied on into the fall too!
