June is prime time of year for reeling in hungry bass

Of all the periods of the year, the presummer period is when bass spend the most time actively feeding.

In Southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and northwest Kentucky that period occurs in June. Water temperatures are from the mid 70's to low 80's, optimal for bass metabolism, growth and therefore feeding. As any bass angler will tell you, feeding bass are the easiest to catch.

The big challenge during June is deciding where to spend your fishing day. Bass are highly mobile now and can be shallow or deep, depending on many variables, such as time of day, weather, water clarity, water level, cover and structure available and location of prey. As a general rule, the majority of bass in an impoundment will be moving toward the main lake in search of schools of shad as their primary summertime prey. Rather than attempting to cover every pattern available for this period I will describe what is most productive for me most often during the presummer period. I will examine other options in future articles.

I use a map to locate large to medium sized spawning coves and creeks. I focus my efforts where these coves and creeks intersect the main body of the lake. I look for long points and ledges at the mouth (bay ledges). I want longer, flat structures with between 6 and 12 feet of water on top. The best ledges will be at the intersection of the main lake channel and the creek channel.

After you have found a structure like this, you need to locate any cover on it. Most of the time these structures will have brush planted on them by other fishermen. Likely spots are where the point or ledge has a quick drop into the deep water. Bass use these areas to ambush schools of shad as they pass over the point. These areas can hold large concentrations of bass until warmer water moves them out near the thermocline during the summer. I will fish up to 12 of these areas during a typical 10-hour day on the water. This increases your chances of hitting a spot when the fish are feeding.

Now for my approach. I'll begin the day by positioning my boat over the main lake or creek channel, I like my bow pointed into the wind if at all possible. In the morning, when the light is low, I fish topwater baits like a Pop-R, Zara Spook, or a Lunker Lure Buzz Bait. For top waters I like a 6-foot-9 light action Falcon Cara rod paired with a Shimano Curado reel with 6.2-1 reel speed and spooled with 10-monofilament P-line. I simply cast them on top of the structure and work them back to the boat.

As the sun comes up, I switch to a Bandit 400 series crankbait. As the sun gets higher, I go to either a Bomber Fat Free Shad or a Bill Norman DD22. I like white shad colors for these deep diving crankbaits. Cast the lure on top of the ledge or point and crank it back to the deep water. With these baits, you want to make contact with bottom and the cover.

For these deep divers, I use a 7-foot medium or medium heavy Falcon Cara rod, paired with a Shimano Curado reel with a 5:1 reel speed. The lower gear ratio makes working big deep divers less tiring. I use 10-pound P-line for these baits.

If the crankbait bites slow or stop, I switch to a Carolina Rigged soft plastic, usually a green pumpkin Southern Pro Tube. I use a 7-foot Falcon Carolina Lizard Dragger as my rod and a high speed 6.2:1 Shimano Curado reel. I use braided line for the main line and 12-pound mono for the leader.

If I want or need a big fish I'll use a Jewel 7/16 Eakins jig in either black blue or green pumpkin. I pair it with an Eakins Craw. I'll fish this jig on a Falcon Cara 6-foot-10 Medium Heavy rod. I use a Shimano Castaic reel spooled with 15-pound low stretch fluorocarbon P-line for my jigs.

There are many ways to catch bass in the summer. But you can bet that if you see me on the water in June, I'll be set up on a bay ledge at the mouth of a creek.

David Bortner is a tournament angler who competes in the Wal-Mart BFL and Missouri BASS Federation events.