Fishing Tip of the Week, Lake Guntersville 8/6/06

With August and the heat here, the water in the 90’s we are all fishing for a few bites a day, if you average a bite an hour consider it a good day. There are of course some common summer time patterns that will produce a bite, like flipping the heavy grass, and a top water bite with a spook or Pop-r and the likes. This week however I will try to give you some different presentations or patterns to try, these tips will require patience and thought, but if you find the fish with these patterns it could lead to some real good days.
The bigger fish will be hanging in the thermo cline suspending like cows in a pasture looking down at the grass and deciding whether to eat that grass below there or wait. You see even fish slow down like we do in the heat, they look for cool spots, or spots with oxygen and getting them to eat is certainly a task, the bait has to be very close, very slow and it should take little effort for them to bite. So my tips this week will be ways to fish slow, small and effortless.
First of all lets down size everything in our tackle box, fishing a small worm 4 to 6 inches like a finesse worm in 10 to 15 feet of water. Letting this bait drop slowly down to the bottom, but being very aware of the depth you get your first bite; a slow moving bait will drop about a foot a second, knowing this will give you the depth of the suspending fish and give you the depth at which they are sitting.
Second lets use something different lets go to a heavy senko, and let it work down to the suspending fish then twitch it drop it and repeat this until you get a bite. You see the senko is just ideal, the bass have a hard time not striking the unusual drop and when it works itself to the thermo cline it’s a dangerous bait. Because you are fishing this in open water rig the hook so it is exposed, this will give you an advantage on a slow bite as it generally takes very little hook set power to hold a fish when it is exposed. This will be different, most people won’t be using this bait and when you find the fish it could be some good times, the down side is its slow and probably hot and will take patience to make it work.
Lastly don’t give in on the rat bite, everyday we are getting more browning of the grass, it is getting ickier and ickier and that my friend means rat fishing will get better and better. Look for the grass that leaves a trail when you retrieve your rat that trail means openings underneath and probably good fishing. The advantage to a rat bite is it is a bait that attracts bites in the sun and heat, and as I have stated before the bait is already starting to move back into the shallows because they spawn in late summer early fall and the bass will follow the bait fish.
Well I hope these tips give you some new ideas and maybe a few fish you hadn’t caught before.
I have just about completed my teaching techniques lessons for the season I have successfully completed lessons with nearly 30 different people and have enjoyed this tremendously. For those of you who have been asking I now have my shirts and hats in with my logo on them and I am selling them for $15.00 each.
Come fish with me I have most this upcoming week open, I look forward to your call.


Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
256 759 2270
Mike