It's Finesse Time
When the dog days of the summer start to set in and the heat has the fish suspending and skittish it's time to go to those baits most power fisherman don't enjoy. Yes, I hate to bring it up but the dog days are one of the only times of the year that I get out finesse baits. My favorite way to go finessing is to use a weightless bait, there is no doubt in my mind that the benefits of a weightless bait far outweigh any of the other finesse presentations we all have in our bag of tricks.
To me the rewards of fishing weight less are just key to catching fish; you see weightless baits give you the best opportunity to keep your bait in the strike zone for a long period of time and still let the natural fall of the bait be the enticement. A weight less bait falls with precision through the strike zone; if the bass are suspending at ten ft. of water the bait slowly and naturally drops through them and sinks with such enticing movement bass can't resist it. Many times the pure fact that your weight less bait is in front of a basses face for some extended period of time is the reason alone to get a strike. Many times bass just react because your weight less bait annoys them by hanging around.
Another important point is that bass like to feed upward, it is a proven fact so when you're throwing a weight less bait over the top of grass in 6 to 10 ft. of water that natural reaction to feed upward keeps the bait slowly in the strike zone in grass. Bass generally find cover in the grass in the dead days of the hot summer the slow drop into the holes around grass are deadly and very rewarding.
Lastly don't underestimate the ability of a weight less bait like the Missile Bait '48" stick bait to catch a big fish during this dog day heat. I am generally a believer in big baits big fish, but in the dog days that may very well be the wrong thought process. Weight less baits catch big fish during the heat and summer months sometimes better that any other bait you can fish with. The proof is in the results and I have caught many big fish this time of year with a weight less Missile bait '48."
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
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Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Capt. Mike Gerry