Man it’s like the bite dried up here. I may fool one or two. But fishing dropped big time lol. No matter what bait I throw or how. It is getting hot in the Midwest though. 

Go early, go late, go at night. I don't even follow my own advice with the last one.

Things I focus on in summer:

-Low light topwater (night/dawn/dusk).  

-Deep weedlines

-Shallow heavy cover, especially overhead -- docks, pads, slop 

-Cool-water inlets

The TN river is full of fish so never have trouble finding them. Catching them can be tricky tho 😂 

It’s gotta be something here or me lol. I can’t blame the fish. My usual tactics aren’t working. Shade lines. Deep grass or slop. Overhanging trees. Ya know the usual. I’m gonna try a different pond in the chain of them near my house. I need to try an extra early trip to though. I’ve been going from about 8am-10am 

8am is banker hours 😂 just teasing. Try to find some moving water or creeks with cover if you can. 

I, in Texas, fishing a Central Texas clear and deep reservoir, cannot possibly hope to assist you in catching your fish in the Midwest. But, I can offer comfort that, yes, I, too, struggled fishing some stuff that has produced recently. Or struggled to fish it at all. There were three boats fishing my best night spot, and many other boats scattered on stuff I like to check. I just plan on checking out different regions of the lake next trip out. All we can do is adapt. 

I think basically sometimes fish learn you - sometimes fish move - sometimes bait moves - but this is why I don't have too much confidence in any one thing for too long - I'm usually trying to solve the puzzle based on the conditions not what they been doing.

 

That being said, the winter was severely long and the spring was severely delayed, which basically means that probably the post-spawn funk was pretty delayed and it might just be happening right about now!

 

Whether it's the bait or the bass that are in the funk - hard to say - but they move when it hits!

I was in a slump here a while back but broke through the skunk with sheer will and determination. You can too. So inspirational. 

I enjoy 'fishing', whether or not I catch fish...

6 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

I enjoy 'fishing', whether or not I catch fish...

Exactly right - I spent 8 hours on the shore yesterday. I caught a yearling bass about 9" long, a couple small bluegills, lost two decent bass - one broke the leader, the other shook the hook - and lost 3 lures.

 

I still enjoyed myself...being outside, seeing nature around me, sitting back and relaxing without worrying about anything....it was a good day.

On 7/1/2025 at 11:04 AM, Joedodge said:

Man it’s like the bite dried up here. I may fool one or two. But fishing dropped big time lol. No matter what bait I throw or how. It is getting hot in the Midwest though. 

 

I don't know about you but the small lake I fish the most changed drastically from Friday to last night.

 

Water clarity went way down and weeds all over the surface.

 

I think everyone else has already mentioned a lot of the high % stuff like shade, cover, current, night and/or early morning.  
 

The only one I didn’t see was bluegill beds.  If you can find those there’s usually a few bass hanging around the periphery.

 

Works for me in Ohio.   

I think you should hit the water much earlier.  I fish 5:00 to 1:00or2:00 and most of my action is right when I get out.   the fish are in the shallows feeding, and I can feel it in my bones when it changes and they move off deep.    there is nothing like a zero dark thirty topwater bite.  so dark your distance vision is all janky and you are hoping you dont hit the trees with your favorite topwater bait, because you cant judge the distance accurately.  

We had a major heat wave move through and the smaller lakes I fish heated up temperature wise and the fish turned off.

July and August I set the alarm for 3:30 am.

Here in Virginia like some other states it's been H.O.T.!!!!...and humid!!! So it's either early morning..which I'm not an early morning person, or late late afternoon. No night fishing for me...don't do snakes. Lately the bait that's working for me is a black/blue buzzbait. A year ago I could catch bass on a wacky rig pretty much year round. Now I can't even buy a smell with a wacky rig. I think the fish have gotten smart LOL!!!

Thank you everyone for the commments! Sucks when this time of year comes around lol. But the challenge is fun!! I may try a real early trip this weekend. 

13 minutes ago, VTFan said:

Here in Virginia like some other states it's been H.O.T.!!!!...and humid!!! So it's either early morning..which I'm not an early morning person, or late late afternoon. No night fishing for me...don't do snakes. Lately the bait that's working for me is a black/blue buzzbait. A year ago I could catch bass on a wacky rig pretty much year round. Now I can't even buy a smell with a wacky rig. I think the fish have gotten smart LOL!!!

They have gotten smart! Especially if it’s smaller pressured waters. I’ve had killer success this year on a berkley choppo. I bet next year I won’t be able to buy a bite on one lol

On 7/1/2025 at 1:50 PM, Joedodge said:

Shade lines. Deep grass or slop. Overhanging trees.

 

That's where I'd be casting. July is tough.

 

1 hour ago, Joedodge said:

I may try a real early trip this weekend. 

 

That's the ticket, but then again, what do I know; I'm on injured reserve.

I cant go at night because I have nightblindness and can't see crap at night so when I am out during the day I target docks and deep submerged points. Docks usually ends up being the quantity option and submerged points, the quality option.

31 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

That's where I'd be casting. July is tough.

 

 

That's the ticket, but then again, what do I know; I'm on injured reserve.

Oh stop that! You know plenty! Just coaching for now lol 

I agree with others here.  Hot July weather is the primary reason.

 

Target periods with low light (sunrise, sunset, at night).  And when the sun begins to rise, look for areas that have shade - thicker weeds, deeper water, under docks, etc.

 

Or you can go when it's cloudy or raining.  Just prior to when low pressure arrives in the summer is when I often have my best fishing of the season.  Rain is your friend and keeps most everyone else off the water.

6 minutes ago, gim said:

I agree with others here.  Hot July weather is the primary reason.

 

Target periods with low light (sunrise, sunset, at night).  And when the sun begins to rise, look for areas that have shade - thicker weeds, deeper water, under docks, etc.

 

Or you can go when it's cloudy or raining.  Just prior to when low pressure arrives in the summer is when I often have my best fishing of the season.  Rain is your friend and keeps most everyone else off the water.

I agree with that. The dropping pressure is key. And I love fishing in the rain lol. Always seem to do well 

Rain > sun

Bass  

 Fishing has been good.  Focus fishing effort with soft plastics in a green/black/red coloration.  Minnows and spinner baits also work well.  The topwater bite is good in the early mornings and late evenings around lily pads.  Focus fishing in the early mornings and late evenings.  Fishing will be slow during the heat of the day.

8 minutes ago, GreenTrout said:

Bass  

 Fishing has been good.  Focus fishing effort with soft plastics in a green/black/red coloration.  Minnows and spinner baits also work well.  The topwater bite is good in the early mornings and late evenings around lily pads.  Focus fishing in the early mornings and late evenings.  Fishing will be slow during the heat of the day.

lol thank you for the blanket public service announcement most of the population sees. It’s appreciated. That’s the name of the game. I’m fine with it. Was making conversation. Didn’t need a copy paste announcement