| 8/3/2009 | | | | retrieve motion, and don’t be afraid to let it rest |
| With August quickly approaching, we are certainly in | | | | on the bottom for 3-4 seconds at a time. In stained |
| the dog days of summer. It’s easy to head | | | | water, stick to chartreuse or white. Make sure to |
| out to the lake and cast out hundreds of times pulling | | | | lookout for long points, or changes from rocky |
| nothing out but weeds or 4 oz fish. Now is the time | | | | shoreline to sand. Finally, look for drop offs of 7-8 |
| to think…DEEP. Due to the increasing water temp, | | | | feet or more. These drop-offs will generally hold |
| it is important to press out to 25-30 feet deep. It is | | | | bass throughout the late summer pattern. |
| here where you will find the lunker you are looking | | | | Finally, Smallmouth Bass love rocks and boulders. |
| for. | | | | Take the time to know your lake floor. Look for |
| Currently, Smallmouth Bass in Northern Idaho Lakes | | | | easy access routes to cover or deeper water. |
| such as Lake Coeur d’Alene (particularly Cougar | | | | Most of all, vary your retrieve pattern until you find |
| Bay and the Chain Lakes area), Hayden, Cocolalla, | | | | the one that gets the aggressive bites. Remember, |
| Preist, and Pond Oreille are hitting Twin Tail Grubs on | | | | a slow day on the lake is better than a good day at |
| a football jig bounced on the bottom. Colors such | | | | work. So take your time, have fun, and land that |
| as cinnamon with black fleck, or smoke with black | | | | lunker Smallmouth. |
| fleck are garnering bites. Work a bounce and slow | | | | |