After a bass gets done spawning, it takes a little break and then continues eating. June will see the fish in varying stages of recovery. There are still going to be some big headed, snake looking females bashing on crankbaits, topwater, and trouts but a lot of the bass will also be getting pretty fat again as the month progresses. And the fatter the bass get, the harder they get to catch.

Tip #2 - Timing:

Success in the summer time can have a lot to do with your timing. Now is the time to focus early and late in the day. Try the late evening bite in the summer. With the abundance of bluegill, shad, and other baitfish that most likes to develop in shallow water in the early summer, bass can wait until that perfect window when they can feed at will and target those tasty baitfish silhouettes that never saw the bass coming.

Tip #3 - Lures:

It's time for Rio Ricos, Zara Spooks, Speed Traps, Fat Free Shad, frogs, drop shot and 5" swimbaits. Midday try looking deep or look shallow in heavy cover. Bass don't like the bright sunshine. Catchable bass are likely to be shading their eyes using either cover or depth.

California Winter Bass Fishing Tips

In the winter when California lakes are muddy, cold and unstable, a bass may have to feed for longer to get the food it wants. Normally the peak feeding time for California bass in the winter is mid day and late afternoon. In the late afternoon, the water is going to be the warmest, and a bass that is cold and grumpy is going to come alive during this time, knowing that night and morning will be cold and miserable. A longer feeding time coinciding with an afternoon feeding period, can make catching big California bass in the winter a very good possibility.

Cover to target for bass is wood, rock, points, cuts, etc. Baits to fish are a fairly simple selection as well. If it's muddy, try fishing a jig. Big black bulky jig. Try pitching it around any cover, especially cover that can shade a bass' eyes in the afternoon sun.  If your throwing a trout bait and it's muddy, try throwing a wood bait. Either a Slammer or a Generic Trout and fish it slowly, hoping that a bass will sense it going by. Usually trout baits are a visual bait for the bass, but they can be a sensory bait if they make enough noise and you fish them slowly enough.