Summer 2026
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there, because they will all be holding on that one piece of cover to stay cool, and that cover provides the bass with an ambush spot to eat a minnow, bluegill or crawfish as they move by.
On river systems, constantly monitor current direction and flow changes. It may be going in the opposite direction, or suddenly there may be current, when there previously hadn’t been any.
SEARCH BAITS FOR COVERING WATER FAST
When I’m in search mode in shallow water for bass, two lures that I rely on to target isolated cover are a ChatterBait and a topwater bait, like the Buckeye Lures Buzzerk buzzbait.
VIBRATING JIG: A ChatterBait excels in shallow water because it can deflect off hard cover while still ripping cleanly through vegetation. If I’m fishing super shallow water, I’ll use the Baby Jack, which packs the performance of the Jack Hammer into a scaled down version, which in the 1/4-ounce size with a Zako Slim is ideal for skinny water. My confidence bait is a 3/8-ounce Jack Hammer paired with a Yamamoto Zako trailer.
BUZZBAIT: A buzzbait is one of the best tools for triggering reaction strikes from shallow cruising bass. It can be cast up onto the bank, and as soon as I engage my Trika TI100 reel the bait will be on top of water and ready for a bass to hit it. Anytime you are fishing up shallow and see a shade line, be sure to cast your buzzbait where that shade is, as many times the bass will just hang in that cooler water, waiting for an easy meal.
FLIPPIN’: Once you have pinpointed where the bass are located, an excellent technique to help improve your catch is to slow down your presentation and flip a bait to the
targets. Each angler has their favorite bait to flip, such as a Texas-rigged soft plastic or a jig. I like to flip a Yamamoto Baits Yamabug or Flappin’ Hog rigged on a Lazer TroKar TK133 Pro V Flippin’ hook, with a tungsten weight.
Weight selection depends entirely on depth and stealth requirements. For super shallow situations, I’ll use a 1/4 or 5/16-ounce weight, where if I’m fishing water that is two to three feet, I’ll use a 3/8- or 7/16-ounce tungsten weight.
SENKO: No shallow-water discussion is complete without a wacky-rigged Senko. This finesse soft plastic can be skipped up under trees, or boat docks, or fan cast along a shallow water flat. I’ll use a number 2 TroKar Pro V Finesse Hook and cast my Senko around the shallows.
With this approach, you want to keep presence limited, so using a small diameter line gives your bait a natural action in the water and you can cast that Senko far. I’ll spool up a Trika TI4000 Spinning Reel with 18 lb Seaguar JDM
PEX8 micro braided line and use a 12 lb Gold
Label leader.
WHY SUMMER SKINNY WATER STILL PRODUCES
When you are working on picking apart the visible cover by flipping, it is very critical to pay attention to where your bites are coming from and when. Are they coming up where the laydown meets the shore, or are they coming at the tip of the laydown in the deeper water? Is the bite occurring on the initial fall or are the bass biting after you work the bait a few times. All these variables are key and picking up on them will allow you to quickly break down the water in front of you.
With summer bass positioned shallow and feeding aggressively, anglers willing to fish skinny water can experience outstanding action while most boats remain offshore. •