I’m lucky enough to live on a lake and I get to fish out of my backyard. Through most of the winter and all spring the fishing has been great.

 

But once the water temp hit the upper 80’s and above, the shad and the bass disappeared. There are still lots of bluegill, but the bass don’t seem interested.

 

I caught a few earlier in the summer skipping under my dock, but that’s about it. But that doesn’t stop me from taking a few casts when I take my dog out in the morning and evening.

 

Lately I’ve been throwing flukes. I’ve used them as trailers before, but never as a primary bait. I’ve experimented with throwing them weighted and weightless, think hooks and beefy hooks, and positioning them on different parts of the hook. The water is crystal clear now, so I can see how the bait reacts with different retrieves.

 

The result? I wish I had been throwing these more.

 

Anyway, while I was out there tonight I saw a splash in an area along the sea wall and an old concrete dock foundation. In the spring the bass pin a lot of bait there. I flipped the fluke out there, started my retrieve, and thought I snagged the bait on the concrete.

 

I was wrong - it was a four pounder. I was going to get my camera, but when I unbuttoned it the bass was hot to the touch. I figured the hot water stressed out the fish enough, so I let my dog sniff it and released it back in the lake.

 

I’d like to think the recent rains cooled off the water a bit and I’ll be seeing more bass in my backyard, but zi doubt it. The water is deep enough, but there’s not a lot of structure out there. I may have to create some brush piles.

 

Anyway, back on the yak tomorrow. You can bet I’ll throw a fluke.

Flukes are amazing 

Excellent. Some form of soft body JBs are in my top 3 producers.