Shallow and Deep Fishing for Hot Water Bass

If you’re reading this right now because you’re wondering what hot water bass is, then you’ve come to the right place. It means is fishing for bass during the summer when the water temperatures heat up.

Each avid bass angler has a tried and tested strategy to hunt down hot water bass. We’ve put together our own tips and suggestions to help you land those fish when the sun is glaring outside.

Now, let’s take a look at what you can do when you’re going shallow and deep fishing for hot water bass.

What You Need to Know When Fishing For Hot Water Bass 

1. Deep She Goes 

Too much of a good thing never ends well, and too much sunlight is no different. Summer can cause water temperatures to rise into the upper 80s, posing a problem for anglers. Once the heat turns up, you can expect bass and other gamefish to find a place to escape the warming waters. 

It’s only natural that when fish get hot, they’ll find a cooler place to dwell in, and one of their first instincts is to go deep. You’d be amazed at how much of a difference in temperature a few feet in the water can bring. It can quickly become 5 to 10 degrees cooler once you hit just 10 feet below the surface. 

So naturally, anglers should focus on ledges, ditches, and brush piles to search for bass. You’ll also want to use those deep-diving crankbaits and football jigs that are sitting in your tackle. Anglers should also come prepared to tie a Carolina rig (or more) as well. 

If your luck isn't panning out, you can try going to offshore edges that can go as deep as 20 feet below. However, you'll need to keep an eye out for spots with a combination of depth and structure that bass like to take cover in. You may have to use electronic depth finders to locate summertime bass, but once you find them, you can expect in schools that'll keep your rod tip busy. 

While going deep is a natural instinct for bass and anglers during the summer, sometimes, going shallow is just as productive and often highly underrated.

2. Hot Shallow Water Bass

Contrary to what most anglers might think, some bass stay in shallow water despite the rising water temperatures. You can usually find them schooling underneath cover as they struggle to keep cool. Sometimes you might even find them in water as shallow as one foot deep! One thing you can count on in highly shallow water is that fish can be as sluggish as winter bass – the heat causes their metabolism to decrease to conserve energy. 

If you’re going for the shallow game, you’ll want to look for a cover. Areas ripe with vegetation have everything bass need to thrive, such as food, shelter, and protection. In lakes, you might find them underneath docks and lily pads, but flooded bushes, laydowns, and stumps are excellent places to start. Largemouth bass, in particular, like to bury themselves deep in the weeds, especially isolated patches on the outer edges of the water. This means you’ll have to flip over the water plants or rip through the vegetation to get at them.

If you’re going through weedy areas, you’ll want weedless lures, which means you'll need some frogs and Texas-rigged plastic worms packed in your tackle. Make sure you have varying weights and sizes because you'll need to adjust depending on how thick the weeds are. A 5/16-ounce is best for weed edges, while a 1 1/2-ounce will bore right through tough matted grass. 

You can also rip through the thick grass with crankbaits and spinnerbaits, which can trigger sudden strikes from even the tightest lipped hot water bass out there. Shallow running squarebill crankbaits are a good lure of choice, especially if you’re casting into heavy wood. However, buzzbaits in shallow waters that float just on the surface are irresistible to hot water bass. 

If you’re hunting for bass in rivers, you’ll want to concentrate your efforts where there are breaks in the current. This means laydowns, rocks, and man-made structures that disrupt the flow of the water. Headwaters are also a great alternative, but you’ll want to find the very edge of the river until your boat can’t get through anymore. This is another great spot to find shallow hot water bass stuck in a river system. 

3. Other Strategies

If you're all out of luck and can't find any deep or shallow hot water bass, don't worry; we've got a few other strategies you can try out.

Firstly, since bass are escaping the rising temperatures, you may find that they're more aggressively feeding at night. The good news is that you can use the same shallow water lures such as worms, toads, spinners, and crankbaits when visibility is lower.

If you don't want to go fishing at night, you'll need to focus on shaded parts of the water. Bass, just like people, seek refuge from the heat of the sun underneath the cover. Docks, laydowns, bridge pilings, and overhanging vegetation are smart places to start. Skirting along the edges of the surface with spinnerbaits or buzzbaits can entice those hiding bass out into the open, but expect it to be more of a reaction strike than a feeding one.

4. Turn up the Heat

When the temperatures rise, anglers come out in droves to cast their lines in the water. With beautiful weather, the experience just gets better. While going offshore or in deeper waters can get you away from the summertime crowds, you'll still need to use some electronics to help you find the fish. 

On the other hand, fishing in the shallows is an underrated practice during the summer and well worth trying. While it may take some scouting, using search baits can help you cover large areas of water quicker. Knowing the areas that bass are known to congregate in can save you a lot of precious time, so you can focus more on reeling in those fish.