By Bob Jensen

Early summer is a great time of year, especially if you’re a bass angler in the Midwest. The bass are just completing their spawning ritual and are hungry. Hungry fish are usually easier to catch, and that’s a good thing. Here’s how you can catch those bass in the early weeks of summer.

There will be some bass in the shallows, some bass on weed flats, and some more on the weedline. They’re all willing to bite, but it’s really fun to chase the shallow ones. They will often be the most aggressive biters, and much of the time you’ll be able to see them take your bait. In fact, some of the time you can see them before you cast to them. When this is the case, be sure not to cast your bait right on top of the fish. Cast ahead of the fish quite a ways to avoid spooking it.

The best shallows will be those with cover for the fish to hang around. Reeds, lily pads, logs, anything that provides some cover will hold fish. When approaching a shallow area, shut the outboard motor off and use the electric motor to move into casting position. It works well to move into an area with the electric on low power. When you reach an area close to the shallow cover, shut the motor off and cast the area thoroughly. After covering the area, turn the motor on low and move into a new casting position. You’ll catch more fish if you sneak up on them. Minn Kota makes electric motors that are very quiet and easy to operate and that will allow you to effectively fish the shallows.

A spinnerbait is a great shallow water bait for largemouth bass. It slides through the cover without hanging, and the bass really like to eat them. Sometimes a straight retrieve will be best, sometimes a lift-drop retrieve will be most productive. The Pro-Series Reed-Runner spinnerbaits have high quality ball-bearing swivels that allow the blade to spin while dropping or when being retrieved at slow speeds. It’s important that the blade keep spinning for fishing success.

Work the spinnerbait through the cover. Heavy line and tackle are required. Even a two pounder can wrap you up if you don’t get them away from the cover right away. Seventeen pound test Trilene XT on a Lightning Rod Flippin’ Rod teamed with one of the new Abu-Garcia Revo reels will do a great job of getting the fish coming to the boat. Don’t hesitate to go to heavier line. You’ll get just as many bites and you’ll be able to handle the big ones better.

After working the area with the spinnerbait, go back through with a Gulp! or Power Jerk Shad. Fish this rig slower along the edges of the cover as well as right down the middle of the vegetation. This is a slower presentation that will appeal to the less aggressive fish that ignored the spinnerbait.

A late afternoon or early evening spent in the shallows chasing bass is time well spent. Find out for yourself in the next couple of weeks how much fun this method can be for catching largemouth bass.

For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com