Offshore Hotspots for Summertime Bass

While many anglers rate the springtime and its famed spawning cycle as their favorite time to target largemouth bass, yours truly has developed an affinity for the dawg days of summertime.

Because over the years, I've learned that the hotter it gets in summertime – in my home state of Texas, at least – the better the offshore angling can tend to be.

In fact, some of the biggest bass I've caught – and some of the best days for numbers of quality fish – have come when heat stroke seemed more likely than a red-hot fishing day.

But to catch those offshore fish that are grouped up on underwater structure like main lake points, submerged roadbeds and humps or ledges, an angler has to find those fish first.

“It’s a process of elimination," says Bassmaster Elite Series legend and Major League Fishing co-founder Gary Klein.

"You can't just go offshore and expect to get on them. Anglers need to develop a good relationship with their electronics and what those machines are showing them. Once you do that, you can eliminate water pretty quick or establish an area that has a lot of fish in it.”

When Klein establishes an offshore area that has a lot of fish in it, he’ll visually mark that area by throwing a marker buoy overboard.

“I do that so I know the cast I need to make,” said Klein, who has won eight BASS events and fished the Bassmaster Classic some 30 times.

“A lot of times, you have to make multiple casts to trigger fish (to strike). You might have to make 15 to 20 casts to a fish; you finally get a bite and then (you) get a bite on 15 straight casts.”

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Even if sweat is literally pouring off of your brow.

But even if it is, the truth of the matter is that the dawg days of mid to late summertime can absolutely produce some memorable fishing experiences.

Once you locate a group of fish, that is.