Summer 2025
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CURRENT IS A FACTOR (TIDAL CURRENT OR WIND DRIVEN)
Current affects the 10-percent feeding locations on lakes. Unless the lake is part of a river system, the current is driven by the wind. Utilize wind directions to guide where feeding bass are located.
Plankton are free-floating and are at the mercy of the wind. If the summer winds are blowing from the west to the east all week, most of the surface plankton will be concentrated on the east shoreline. Small fish feed on plankton, and big fish feed on small fish. Guess where 90-percent of the feeding fish will be located? In the 10-percent of the cover and structure along the east shoreline.
THERMOCLINE MATTERS
Late in the summer, water in a lake will stratify, and the deeper water can be lacking in oxygen levels. When a lake does stratify, there will be a narrow band where the water temperature quickly drops 6 to 8-degrees within a couple of feet of depth. All the nutrients in the water column suspend above the thermocline, and bottom dwelling bacteria decomposes everything below the thermocline, consuming all the oxygen in the process.
Eliminate fishing below the thermocline, which can be seen on good electronics like my Lowrance Pro units. The wind churns up the surface water above the thermocline, which oxygenates it, and along with the plankton concentration also helps keep feeding bass on the windward shoreline until the end of summer. When cold nights begin in the Fall the surface water gets cold and heavy until it sinks below the thermocline, virtually turning over the water in a lake. Once turnover occurs, bass can be found in deep water previously lacking oxygen during the summer months.
WATER COLOR ADJUSTMENTS
To further focus your fishing effort, observe the water clarity and amount of sunshine when fishing. If it is foggy, cloudy, or the water is stained, feeding fish will likely be cruising shallow flats where they can cover a lot of water without having to change depths.
However, if the water is clear, and the sun is bright, feeding bass will more likely be in thick cover, under weed mats, and under docks and laydowns that provide shade where bass can hide and ambush prey swimming past where they are hidden.
Now that you are armed with the 90-10 fishing rule and understand the factors that locate bass, you won’t be wasting time fishing where bass are not located. Ciao! •
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