When we hear the phrase “getting in over your head,” we usually think someone has gone too far, and now they must suffer the consequences, but sometimes it pays to get in over your head when it comes to fishing lakes. In other words, it’s time to start targeting the deeper water rather than the shallow shorelines. Summer has arrived, and with it comes the warmer temperatures, and fish are very sensitive to those temperature changes and are quick to respond.
Case in point; right around the middle and end of May, as usual, my fishing buddies and I could be found targeting crappies on several area lakes. Crappies move into shallower bays to spawn and preferably to find abandoned structures like stumps, assorted weed growth, and manmade submerged structures. Not only is this preferred habitat, but the warmer water temperatures are also being sought out following the cold winter months. All winter long, we caught good numbers of crappies through the ice in deep water but come May, it was time to head to the six-foot and less water depths, where we again racked up good numbers. Come mid-June; however, it is again time to make the shift back to the deeper parts of the lake.
If you are new to crappie fishing and you happen to hit a bay or some good shoreline structure in May during the spawn, chances are you had some pretty good action; but if you return to that same location now, don’t expect to get the same results-those fish have moved to deeper more comfortable water since the shallows are now too warm. Sure, you might catch an occasional fish, but the real action is likely in 12-20 feet of water where schools of crappies roam at various depths. A lot of this is also true for perch. Bluegills, on the other hand, spawn later than crappies, and sometimes they may still be found in shallower bays and shorelines even into the mid and late summer months.
When it comes to bass fishing in lakes, here again, it’s wise to be conscious of spawning periods and water temperatures. Bass in our part of the country will usually spawn in late May or early June. Bass will move into their shallower spawning grounds in one to four feet of water and when water temperatures reach around 60 degrees. I tend to avoid fishing for bass during the spawning period and be aware that fishing over or targeting a bass spawning bed is not legal. I try to avoid the circular spawning beds that are often visible in the shallow water and fish a little deeper for fish that have not yet started the spawning process. Following spawning, females move out to deeper water, where they may not put much effort into feeding for a couple of weeks. Males guard the nest for a period of time and vacate the young when they are about an inch long.
While fishing in the 6-10 foot range can still be productive as we move into the summer months, you may also want to consider even deeper parts of the lake. My best bass two years ago, a largemouth, was taken in about fifteen feet of water while working a jig and grub near the bottom. However, I must say that you can certainly make exceptions to fishing deep when it comes to bass fishing, even during the warm summer months. Bass will often move into shallower bays and shorelines late in the day and into the evening hours to feed; the sun is down, and temperatures have dropped off considerably. That late day, evening hours, and early morning can produce some great surface activity, and working some kind of surface lure can produce some of the most exciting fishing you could ever ask for. As the day heats up, it may be time to get back in over your head and work the edges of deep weeds and deeper water.
