In my neck of the woods, bass fishing gets really tough this time of year. The bass spawn, shad spawn and most of the big mayfly hatches are done and are quickly replaced with 90-degree water temperatures and incredibly lethargic bass. It almost seems like a light switch some years; it can be crazy action one day and once the switch is flipped, it’s all over and the proverbial dog days are upon us.
That’s definitely what happened this year. We enjoyed a pretty good spring bite but a few weeks ago, everything just seemed to shut down. So it’s hard enough catching bass in these conditions; I think I’ve made my point on that.
But do you know what’s even tougher?
Catching these sluggish summer bass behind somebody.
Being a co-angler is tough, man. I did it for a few years in the tournament scene when I was younger before I could afford my own boat. And lately due to a few boat problems, I’ve been forced to the back deck of some friends’ boats a few times. It has given me an entirely renewed respect for those who crush it as a co-angler. It takes a special mindset, that’s for darn sure.
As I was rigging some tackle in my shop the other evening, I started talking to my wife about my old co-angler days. I was lucky enough to win the state points title from the back of the boat and I did it by being creative with my bait selection and presentation.
I’ll run through the setups that’ll help you increase your success from the back deck.