The Secret To Catching Oklahoma Bass In Triple-Digit Heat

Every year, Oklahoma anglers encounter the same problem. Fishing in triple digits is brutal enough, but if you aren't catching, it feels twice as bad.

But when your rod loads up, you don't even care about the weather.

Here's the problem... When the summer heat shows up, the fun fish disappear.

My entire life, as a creature of habit, I still tend to fish the same places I always have, regardless of the weather. Weeds. Rocks. Shallow cover.

There's nothing like punching through cover with a big tungsten weight and pulling a monster out of the grass. Or watching a bass explode on something topwater... But that's shockingly rare when the temps are this hot.

Why? Just like us, the bass are looking to cool off.

Once lake temps come up, bass head for cooler water.

Now, that doesn't mean every fish has abandoned the bank. Some will still hang around grass, shade, and cover. But for the lunkers, it's practically natural law.

I was talking with one of Southwest Oklahoma's serious anglers recently. The kind of guy who doesn't skip a tournament just because the heat index is pushing 110 degrees.

He knows how to find summer bass.

He's going to kill me for sharing his wisdom, but he makes some solid points. When you think "cooler deep water," nobody is talking about fishing the bottom.

It's fun to rip those deep cranking baits into the mud. It feels like you're really doing something, but you're not. The fish aren't down there either.

They’re Not Sitting On The Bottom

There is a point in every body of water called the thermocline. It's the layer where the water chemistry changes, and below that line oxygen levels can drop dramatically.

Fish finders can show you that thermocline too. It's just a line across your screen at a consistent depth.

Those deep summer bass aren't sitting below it. They're hanging somewhere right above that line where the temperature and oxygen levels work for them.

That changes how you should be fishing this time of year.

Slow Is Still The Name Of The Game

While the temptation may be to start throwing hard baits and burning something past them hoping for that blowup trigger reaction, it ain't happening either.

Summer bass are sluggish. Slow is still the name of the game.

Instead, get in your bag and whip out those big baits. 10-inch worms on a 5/0 hook.

It sounds stupid, but you have to make the effort worth the meal, right? Present something a bass can't ignore.

This local pro also said he likes to work a drop-shot almost like a swimbait.

I laughed at it too, but the pictures of his trophies make it worth a try.

That slow, subtle presentation is exactly what lazy summer bass want.

Summer fishing is brutal, but it's more fun when you catch. Take some pro-tips and have at it. If they work for you, you're welcome. If they don't, you did it wrong.