Top 25 Summer Bank Fishing Tips (Never Get Skunked Again)

The best baits that will catch bass during the summer will be the ones that are extremely loud, fast and obnoxious, or will be subtle, small and inconspicuous.

Topwater Baits:

Frogs

Frogs – Fished over heavy cover or parallel to the bank. Frogs are one of the bass’ favorite tasty meals. 

Colors you need: You only really need to carry three colors of frogs. White, green, black.

Blueprint for success:  Work the frogs as close to the bank or structure as possible.  If you’re targeting any overhanging structure such as a dock over a tree, try to skip your frog lure into the deepest, darkest area that structure has to offer.  Often the biggest bass will be positioned in the very back.

Buzzbaits

Buzzbaits – Loud, big, obnoxious. Three words that summarize this bass bait perfectly.  There is really no natural prey the buzzbait mimics, but that doesn’t stop the huge bass from crushing these lures.

Colors you need:  White/shad colored for morning use. Black for when you’re fishing at night.

Blueprint for success:  Also work as close to the bank as possible, or around or over any hard structure. Best used during windy conditions. A helpful tip to remember… as you’re retrieving your buzzbait and it hits an object, give your rod tip a little pop upward to make it move just a tic bit faster. Often bass will instinctually crush this lure.

Poppers

Poppers – Are basically the opposite of a buzzbait. This bait excels when used during calm windless conditions.

Colors you need:  White/shad colored for morning use and when targeting points or the end of docks. Bluegill colors also work great when fished toward the backs of coves, around tullies, alongside grass mats or over submerged vegetation.

Blueprint for success: Poppers are fantastic little lures that can produce HUGE bass during the summer. In the early summer, bass will target bluegill beds. Those bluegill are very territorial and are constantly chasing each other away from their beds. The beds have a softball-sized crater and are bunched close together.

The best way to fish for bass around these beds is to fish a bluegill colored popper 10-15-feet away from the beds. Be sure to vary your cadence of popping and gurgling your lure. Opportunistic bass will quickly gobble up what they think is a small bluegill not paying attention.

Later in the summer you’ll have success with fishing a shad colored popper over points or around structure if you see bass chasing fish in open water.

Target your popper edges of around grass beds, over submerged vegetation patches, or along side over pieces of exposed structure.

Moving Baits:

Swim jigs

Swim jigs –  Providing bites all year long, swim jigs will give you the best action during the summer. Bass during the summer will slowly make their way back to the shallow areas.  But they won’t target just any shallow area.  It needs to meet three requirements before a bass will consider staging shallow, I call it the Swim Jig Triad: darkness or shade, a good spot to ambush prey, and bluegill or bream present in the area.

So whether you’re walking the bank or at home on Google Maps, look for places that meet those criteria.

Colors you need:  Bluegill or bream colored. Often a simple green pumpkin pepper jig paired with a black and blue flake craw trailer works like a charm.

Blueprint for success:   Fishing a weedless swim jig allows you to cover water very fast, efficiency, and will rarely snag up.  In the dog days of summer the water can be very clear, which is where the swim jig shines. It can be fished aggressively and still look non-threatening. If you can find a shallow area with Swim Jig Triad plus any wind blowing against the shore it is a recipe for absolute success.

Football/ Flipping Jigs

Football or Flipping Jigs – Football or flipping jigs can work exceptionally well especially in the late summer. Deep water bass will slowly make their way to the mouths of coves and start to stage there before fall.  But you can also add in other large structures extending out into the main lake.

I recommend the 1/2-ounce tungsten football jig made by Mythik Lures. Their tungsten jigs have some great features such as, they have custom skirt colors for any type of water, they are hand-tied so the skirt doesn’t fall off after a single season, and the jig head color is baked on for extra durability. Best of all these jigs can be flipped too, plus the football shape head resists getting hung up! These jigs are awesome and is perfect for both beginners and veteran anglers, and it’s conveniently available on Amazon. 

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Colors you need: green pumpkin, watermelon red, black and blue.

Blueprint for success:   Look for areas that offer shade, current and good ambush spot.  Docks, bridge pilings, vertical timber, wooden laydowns, floating vegetation mats and overhanging trees are good locations to target.

Other great options to flip your jig is along or around areas of chunk rock or construction concrete mound.

The closer you flip your jig to the structure the better.

Squarebill crankbaits

Squarebill crankbaits – Shallow running squarebill crankbaits are perfect for covering water when you’re trying to develop a pattern. Often the bass will either bite or slap at the lure giving away it’s hiding spot.  Take note how far off the bank the lure was attacked, what speed, and what was the surrounding structure.

Colors you need:  White/shad colored for morning use and when targeting points or the end of docks. Bluegill colors also work great when fished toward the backs of coves, or around vegetation.

Blueprint for success:  If the body of water you’re fishing has exposed structure such as boulders, flooded brush, or points then reach for a squarebill crankbait.  They work even better if it’s windy out.

These loud, fat wobbling lure work great when targeting the farthest corner of a dock. Many times the dock owner will intentionally sink brush piles in front of their dock. By trying to cast  way out in front of the dock it will give you the chance to target these bass.

If you’re walking the bank and you see some isolated cover such as a boulder, a stump or something else often a bass will be hiding in any shadow its making.

When fishing any isolated piece of cover, make sure you cast past the cover and work your bait over it, being sure to bump, grind, or bank your crankbait into it.

Soft Plastic Baits

Soft plastic swimbaits

Soft plastic swimbaits – During the summer, most bass will prey upon shad. And if they’re not eating shad, chances are they are gulping down small bluegill or crappie. Therefore, it goes without saying you need to know what prey items the bass are feeding on in the lake and try to match the hatch as close as possible.

Colors you need:  Shad patterns – ghost shad, pro-blue shad, salt-and-pepper shad. Bluegill colors-watermelon seed, pumpkin seed, baby bass.

Blueprint for success:  Locate any current, runoffs, or any windblown points and fish that. Often shad will congregate around these locations try to feed on any microscopic organisms.

Often around the points you may see schooling bass attacking shad near the surface. The morning is normally the best time of day where you’ll see this.

Make as long as a cast you can, and swim the bait through the school.  If you get no bites, as you swim your bait through the school stop reeling and let your swimbait “die”.  The sudden falling swimbait will be often attacked by a bass thinking it was an injured shad.

Drop shot rig

Drop shot rig – Fishing a drop shot from the bank during the summer can be one of the most effective ways to catch fish. Its versatility is unmatched because you are only limited by way bait you thread on the hook.

The drop shot rig is best known for catching finicky bass. And the drop shot worm is the bait that makes it happen.

Your typical drop shot worm will be 4-to-6-inches in length, thin, and very flexible.

Any twitch of the rod tip, or subtle movement of current will quickly bring the worm to life.

Colors you need:  green pumpkin, watermelon, morning dawn, margarita.

Blueprint for success: In the morning, if a bass misses your topwater lure, quickly follow up by throwing a dropshot worm right behind it.  Chances are that aggressive bass that swiped at your topwater lure will came back and eat that worm.   

But here’s a tip – make sure your drop shot worm color is similar to the color of your topwater bait.

After the morning bite has slowed, be sure to pitch and flip your drop shot worm around pieces of structure that create large shadows.

Rotate different bait if you’re not getting any bites. 

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Texas rigged worms or Senko

Texas rigged worms or Senko – Since the introduction of some of the newest hotshot finesse fishing techniques many anglers forget about the Texas rigged soft plastic worm.  However, this tried and true technique can boat you a ton of bass.

Another reason the Texas rigged worm outperforms most during the late summer is because a lot of the fish have gotten used to seeing large crankbaits. So if they see a Texas rigged worm, it’s something different.

A Texas rig is also great during the summertime because it doesn’t get hung up in the weeds.

The larger the bait, the bigger the bass… normally.

In the summertime a bass’ metabolism is going bonkers. So don’t be shy about throwing a large bait. Many anglers are hesitant to throw such a large bait and so bass are used to seeing big baits like that.

The best sizes for soft plastic worms would be a 7-to-10-inch curly tail worm or 7-inch Senko.

These baits are not subtle, but you will eventually catch a bunch of really good fish on them.

Colors you need:  green pumpkin, watermelon red, black and blue

Blueprint for success: Large curly tail worms and large Senkos work amazing during early morning, late evening or at night.

Since you’re using a large bait, don’t sit on any one spot for a long period of time. Usually there will be only a couple of big fish on a good spot, so make sure you move around. You can always come back to that spot later.

What’s The Best Weight For A Texas Rig For Summer Bank Fishing

Lead is good, tungsten is better. In a pinch a lead bullet weight will work, however if you have the option to use a tungsten weight. Its nearly 40% more dense than lead and it beats out lead’s ability to transmit vibration, bottom contour changes, and detect subtle bites.

That being said, you shouldn’t need anything heavier than 1/4-ounce.  A good rule of thumb is use the lightest weight possible all while maintaining contact with the bottom fo the lake.

If you use too heavy of a weight, you’ll likely get hung up a lot.