The Bass College

What are the best baits for summer bass fishing like when the water is 85-90 degress. I have heard top water in the morning then jig boat docks.

This is almost to general for me to answer as it depends on so many things and the area of the country, pressure, water type, etc but here is my answer for the East Coast, there are more in the articles section also on this topic by myself and a few other writers, 

MY ANSWER<<click

Here is something else that may help.

BAIT SELECTOR CHART <

I'm with Steve, it's a very general answer that also depends on the part of the country that you live. I think nationwide, postspawn topwater is hot. However, after that it really depends on what kind of water you are fishing. I have a few lakes around here that are very standard bass fishing principles. Then I also have a few lakes that just throw all those original principles out the window. Provide some more details if the videos Steve provided aren't exactly what you are looking for and hopefully some of us that have fished those areas/conditions will be able to provide what we've seen.

85 to 90 , I've never fished in Water that warm. lol  

in new jersey , and other places where deep water is available they usally go deep on channels,shellbeds ect... and my favorites are  crankbaits , carolina rig, and 10in. worms

This is something that Kurt and I talked to Tom about and others for many years since the late 90's as a matter of fact. It is true. Hopefully Tom will employ a tactic like this to win the Everstart? Try it it works in all the rivers but especially the Bay and Potomac.

Digging Up Dirt For Late Summer Bass With Dustin Wilks

Dustin Wilks likes to “dig up dirt,” but don't confuse him with a gossip columnist. Wilks is a Bassmaster Elite Series pro. He makes his living fishing, and “digging up dirt” is his most productive pattern for those sweat-mopping, Gatorade-guzzling months of deep summer. He explains, “In July and August, most anglers are dragging worms or crankbaits along deep ledges and points. But I'll typically fish where my trolling motor is stirring up mud, back in a shallow creek where the water temperature may be in the low 90s. This is off the radar for a lot of fishermen, and this is why I like it. In the hottest part of the year you can find bass so shallow, their backs almost stick out of the water, and they're not too hard to catch if you know the right baits and techniques.”

Location:

“By the middle of summer that good, deep water bite is usually slowing down,” Wilks says. “Now I may begin a new fishing day by hitting some ledges or humps just to see if they're biting deep. But after a couple of hours, if I haven't found any fish, I'll head back into a creek and start targeting shallow bass.” This is when Wilks goes against the grain. He says this time of year, many anglers fish shallow first and then head to deep water as the morning progresses. However, he has learned that the shallow bite usually gets better toward mid-day. “When the sun hits the water, phytoplankton start growing and they give off oxygen as a byproduct ” explains Wilks, a fisheries science major in college.

“The oxygen content increases as the sun climbs higher, and this makes the fish progressively more active. My favorite time to fish shallow water in the summer is in the hottest, brightest part of the day.” And when Wilks says “shallow,” he means it. “I'm talking about depths of 3 feet or less. I've caught a lot of fish in midsummer in water only a few inches deep. Again, I'm talking about places that most people wouldn't consider fishing this time of year.”

To run this pattern, Wilks picks a creek, idles into it and begins “picking it to pieces.” “I'm looking mainly for any cover that the fish might orient to,” he continues. “This is usually vegetation or wood. It could be weeds growing along shore or on a shallow flat. It could be willows or buck bushes. You just have to check all the options to see what's the best cover for that given day.” Wilks accomplishes this by staying for a lengthy period in his chosen embayment and covering the water thoroughly. He runs the banks. He test-fishes flats, the mouth of the creek, and any depth breaks, no matter how shallow or subtle. He will check any and all cover objects and possible locations where bass might be holding, trying to establish a pattern for the remainder of the day. He says, “I really get excited if I can find a small creek with a defined channel and a few good stumps along it. There's a good chance those stumps will have a bass or two hanging next to them.” Wilks says he finds most of his cover targets visually. (He depends on Costa sunglasses with dark grey lenses to see stumps and other objects beneath the surface.) Occasionally, however, he uses his depthfinder to locate subtle bottom contour changes, and he also finds underwater objects “the old fashioned way” - running into them with his electric motor as he trolls along. “If I catch my motor on a stump or log, I'll ease away from it. Then I'll come back later and fish it.”

Lure Selection & Presentation:

Now, finding the right spots is only half the equation. Lure selection and presentation is the other half. Wilks depends on a range of lures and fishing methods to match different situations he encounters. “One of my favorite baits around shallow cover objects is a 10- to 12-inch plastic worm,” he notes. “When bass are hanging out in water that's really warm, their metabolism is high, and they like a big meal. If the fish are feeding, this is usually the bait I'll be throwing.” His favorite worm colors are red shad or black in dirty water and green with orange flakes in stained water. One other ace-in-the-hole presentation for Wilks is punching a Culprit Incredi-Craw through thick, matted weeds. “This is how I catch some of my biggest bass this time of year,” he says. “I look for mats with at least a couple of feet of water beneath them. In the heat of the day, the fish just sit under there, and the only way to catch them is to punch a bait through to get a reaction bite. To do this, I rig the Incredi-Craw Texas-style with a 1-ounce tungsten bullet weight, and I fish it on an 8-foot rod and 65-pound-test braided line.

Digging Up Dirt For Late Summer Bass July/August 2012 Bassmaster (Wade L. Bourne pg. 66 - 68)

Going against the grain for late-summer bass

22.Aug.2012 by Dan Morehead

Hot summer, fish deep – that’s the standard game plan for most bass fishermen, but every once in a while somebody proves that it doesn’t always work that way. Jacob Wheeler won the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier by fishing in 2 feet of water or so.

In any lake, there’s always a large population of bass that live super-shallow all year. From now until the middle of September, you probably can catch a good stringer of bass on ledges, but sooner or later they’re going to burn you. Always check the shallow fish, no matter how hot and sunny it is. It might not be the best pattern, it might not be happening because the baitfish aren’t shallow – but then again, it might be the main event.

Fish the transitional water between the ledges and the big bays or coves. Hit the points and shoreline with topwater lures like Zara Spooks and Lucky Strike Gunfish. If you get around bluegill beds – which you’re liable to find during any of the warm months – fish topwater lures that mimic bream. If the wind gets up, hit the banks and points on the windy side with swimbaits or spinnerbaits. There doesn’t have to be any cover; just watch for baitfish “popcorning” on the surface as bass come up under them. Then put your trolling motor down and start covering water.

WHO KEEPS SAYING THIS ON VIDEO THAT YOU ALL KNOW?? LOL 

Fish shallow! It works! 

I have to agree with the article. something people forget is that plastic worms have caught more bass than all other lures combined. sometimes its not as much fun to drag a soft plastic along the bottom as it is to throw a fast moving bait but I think we will all agree that feeling a nice bass tugging on your line is well worth the trade off.