So we kicked off with finding fish during the early part of the summer (June)…on Lake George all of the female smallies are off the beds when I arrive the first week of June. You can still find some males protecting nests. And then after that you’re in post spawn mode. Usually you can find fish shallow up until the water temp is consistently in the upper 60’s.

How abrupt is the transition from shallow to off shore?

It seems to happen overnight! Literally, the last couple of years I’ve noted that you go from catching fish shallow to the shallows being like a ghost town. And when that happens - you have to adjust or you’re not going to get bit.

Where do they go?

Great question! The first place I look is off shore structure that is nearest to the shore (does that make sense?). A lot of time I look for humps that are closest to shore. I also have done really well on points, including points off of islands.

How do you catch them?

I have done really well throwing jerkbaits like the Rapala Shadow Rap Deep. The key to throwing a jerkbait is to work the bait down and then to give the bait a series of twitches on a slack line. The pause is a critical part of the technique, with most of your hits coming when the bait is paused. I like to use natural colors most of the time, but last year, we did really well on molten copper, moss back shiner, and ghost shiner.

At this time of the year, you will find a lot of smallmouth bass suspended. Other really good options include Rapala DT 10 (all the way to DT20’s) and Rapala jigging raps. Again, I’m going to match the hatch as much as possible. We see huge schools of perch in the same areas, so a lot of time we are throwing some sort of perch imitation.

What’s next?

If our weather continues to stay warm (and water temps continue to climb), the next stage is what I call the summer pattern. This is my favorite fishing of the summer. As this pattern sets up, the fish concentrate in certain areas and we catch a ton of them!

If you want to experience this in a hands on way, consider booking a trip with us! Email me at freshwatertherapy@gmail.com for more information!