I understand summer mid day bass fishing can be difficult.   My point is, it's not impossible and certainly no reason to stay home.  This is where tournament fishing helps.  There are always fish to be caught and someone always finds a way to catch them.  In 50 years of fishing tournaments, I can't remember a single one where no bass were caught and I have fished tournaments where anglers were struck by lighting, passed out from the heat and one where my rod guides iced up.  That said, if you are fishing in a small pond without any cover or bottom structure, things are going to be tough.  Unless the fish die off, they will bite if you get close enough with the right presentation.  That is the good news.  The problem is many anglers don't adjust to the conditions.   They want the fish to bite the way they have always caught them.  You have to think like a fish to catch fish.  I think it was Tom Mann Sr. who wrote a book with a similar title.  It's worth reading.  

25 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

The problem is many anglers don't adjust to the conditions. They want the fish to bite the way they have always caught them.  You have to think like a fish to catch fish. I think it was Tom Mann Sr. who wrote a book with a similar title.  It's worth reading.  

 

Thanks @Captain Phil, you hit the nail on the head!

 

I've got a pretty good memory, and love to think about patterns, conditions, where I caught fish, how I caught fish...and tend to get stuck in past ways. 

 

Coming here, reading posts, learning...I've really changed my fishing techniques and methods.

 

Last weekend I was fishing a local lake...got their plenty early, hit all my spots, caught some fish.  As it approached mid day, sun high in the sky...i started to make my way back to the dock. Decided to hit a few more spots...broke out the jig-n-pig, and pitched under some docks...and boated four really nice bass (16"-19").

 

They are out there...just got to find them, and adjust to the conditions.

 

 

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

This guy was a California Big Bass Fisherman and his best period was 10-2.

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/profile/5051-fish-chris/

Overhead sun is good for sight fishing bed bass. Low light conditions has been better for me to catch big pre spawn bass.

Zero giant bass for me between 10A-2P summers.

Tom

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

I understand summer mid day bass fishing can be difficult.   My point is, it's not impossible and certainly no reason to stay home.  This is where tournament fishing helps.  There are always fish to be caught and someone always finds a way to catch them.  In 50 years of fishing tournaments, I can't remember a single one where no bass were caught and I have fished tournaments where anglers were struck by lighting, passed out from the heat and one where my rod guides iced up.  That said, if you are fishing in a small pond without any cover or bottom structure, things are going to be tough.  Unless the fish die off, they will bite if you get close enough with the right presentation.  That is the good news.  The problem is many anglers don't adjust to the conditions.   They want the fish to bite the way they have always caught them.  You have to think like a fish to catch fish.  I think it was Tom Mann Sr. who wrote a book with a similar title.  It's worth reading.  

Off topic....Tom Mann wasn’t related to, Tom Mann Jr.

Think Like a Fish is a good read on the history of Tom Mann and his lure and Hummingbird sonar companies.

Tom

 

If only the bass knew which rules they were supposed to follow and which ones to break 

3 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

I understand summer mid day bass fishing can be difficult.   My point is, it's not impossible and certainly no reason to stay home.  This is where tournament fishing helps.  There are always fish to be caught and someone always finds a way to catch them.  In 50 years of fishing tournaments, I can't remember a single one where no bass were caught and I have fished tournaments where anglers were struck by lighting, passed out from the heat and one where my rod guides iced up.  That said, if you are fishing in a small pond without any cover or bottom structure, things are going to be tough.  Unless the fish die off, they will bite if you get close enough with the right presentation.  That is the good news.  The problem is many anglers don't adjust to the conditions.   They want the fish to bite the way they have always caught them.  You have to think like a fish to catch fish.  I think it was Tom Mann Sr. who wrote a book with a similar title.  It's worth reading.  

I agree with what you said and I don’t believe I or the OP are suggesting not fishing.  The only point I was trying to make is the OP is bank fishing which can multiply the challenges due to water access difficulties.  I’m not sure but I assume the tournament anglers you discuss likely have access to the entire lake where the OP may only have access to 100 yards.  My suggestion was simply to try to refocus the conversation back to the OP’s question.

Edit:  Also if you re-read his post, it doesn’t look like he is just fishing the same old areas as he specifically states that he has walked the bank looking for shady areas.

 

Edit 2:  His PB is 8-9 pounds, so he is doing something right.  Sharing anecdotal stories to point out a point he wasn’t making (quitting fishing mid day) is not addressing his question.  Read the last sentence and then read the following 2 pages of posts.  Most don’t address his question and many also use conclusions that he SPECIFICALLY contradicted in his post.

 

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

 

I’ll start:

OP…your shade idea was good thinking.  What other types of cover/structure is available in the areas you do have access to?  What depths are you able to reach?  Are any of the accessible areas near deeper water?

On 6/21/2022 at 6:33 PM, Gregorym38 said:

Went fishing at a local lake. Did pretty good in the morning, but then once noon hits the bite dies down and doesnt pick back up.

I asked a few questions on a prior post.  Hopefully the community can provide some more thoughts.  One other point to consider since there is little info to go on.  If the water you have access to is for example, a do nothing flat with little cover/structure, you might be better off seeing if you can find another accessible area of the lake.  Bass will often pull up on the shallow flats to feed in the early morning hours but as the sun gets high and the water continues to warm, they will often pull back to deeper water if there is little available cover.  Not to say there aren’t some bass still there but many may be out of reach. 

A lot of times I found the bite dies off after 10 or 11, not that I’m one to make it out that early often - and often won’t pick up until 6-9.

 

After 11, I would suggest targeting deeper water and cover as bass move away from the shallows.