Summer Bass Fishing on Lay Lake

Daytime Fishing Tips
By mid summer most anglers that frequent this weedy impoundment have either resorted to night fishing (due to the extreme daytime temperatures) or fishing during the hot, daylight hours. Some anglers still brave the heat, looking for that school of bunched up summertime bass. Many anglers are forced to fish during the day, especially if they fish weekend bass tournaments on Lay Lake.

Although its getting hotter every week, there are still catchable bass to be had lake wide, every day of the summer season. Getting on the water early, (around 5 a.m.) will show some relief from the heat, and early to-rise anglers always encounter bass that have been feeding in the shallows all night. Dawn is topwater time and if you throw a topwater lure the first hour or two of the morning, you will get bit.

Concentrating your efforts in the right place is the ticket to getting quality topwater bites. Weeds are every where you go on Lay Lake, so naturally weedless lures are high on the list of anglers favorite targets. When it comes to fooling the age old largemouth bass of Lay Lake (now 90 years since impoundment), choosing the correct lure and presenting it in the right manner is what gets the bites. They have seen a lot of fake offerings over the years.

If you simply listen, its obvious one of the bass's favorite meals are always nearby. Frogs. Their incessant croaking is telling you, throw a fake frog or mouse (rat) offering. These little creatures run the banks of Lay Lake and often small mice and frogs invade the weeds, sometimes for the last time, especially when ol' bigmouth is around.

There are many types of frog and rat imitations on the market today, to many lures to mention. But like many anglers that fish Lay Lake, my favorite's are the Scum Frog and Bassin' Rat. The weedless qualities, hooking capabilities and just plain appeal, make these very lures very irresistible to a bass lurking nearby. Colors of white, chartreuse, lime, brown, black, green are always good. What line and equipment you use and how you fish these lures is what aids you in your goal...catching big bass! So be prepared.

Stought rods with lots of backbone, aid anglers in horsing big bass out of the weeds. I use a 7 foot flipping rod. Not only to jerk these big bass out of the thick weeds, but a long stought rod, is also good for getting a good hookset. Long rods also aid an angler in casting these lures far back in scummy, weedy places other anglers fail to reach.

A high speed, wide spooled ABU Garcia 6500 reel, coupled with 20 pound test Trilene Big Game line, completes this recipe for success. Some anglers use braided line for tackling these monster bass, often needed when big bass are buried up in the weeds. Sharpen all hooks, check your reels drag, have a good, long handled net always ready and always retie your line after catching a bass or hanging up your lure.

There are also many topwater lures, some with dangling treble hooks, that are not all that weedless, but they can be deadly for covering water fast. Popping type lures, walking lures like Zara Spooks or Sammie's, buzzbaits, and prop baits, can all be fished along weed edges, around weedy points and all around small patches of weeds, for topwater success this summer on Lay Lake.

Nighttime Fishing Tips
Unknown to many anglers, the same lures you fish during the day will fool the bass of Lay Lake at night. Not only topwaters, spinnerbaits and loads of lures fished on bottom, but other lures as well.

Many anglers can be conformable throwing crankbaits, rattletraps and both floating and suspending jerkbaits during the daylight hours. But ask any of these anglers (attempting to covering water fast and get the anxious bass bites with these and other lures) and few will say they fish these lures at night. Most anglers are happy just worming during the nocturnal hours.

But versatile anglers often discover a lure or method that others fail to discover, simply because they experiment. If a bass eats a baitfish during the day, it will just as easy attack that baitfish during the night...just like your lures. Still, many anglers just say, "Well, those lures hang up to much at night," so they avoid the frustration, by just worming.

Hang-ups are inevitable, whether you fish during the day or night, so that's no excuse. Fishing open water flats like along main lake drop-offs and creek channel edges is where you hang up less with treble hook lures and you can cast these lures with hitting over hanging trees, bushes, or weeds in these places.

Fishing lighted piers is always good at night on Lay Lake and most anglers fish worms, lizards, tube baits, jig combos and spinnerbaits. Throwing crankbaits and jerkbaits around well lit piers, boathouses and marina release sites, simulates the baitfish that are attracted to these lights.

Rip-rap rocks around well lighted causeways, bridges and the dam area are also places many anglers fail to even fish at night. Shallow to mid running crankbaits, floating and suspending jerkbaits and 1/4 to 1/2 ounce rattletraps, will always fool a few bass in all of these places on Lay Lake. So give it a try (during tournament practice), what have you got to lose? You don't know unless you throw.

Need help on Lay Lake? Or any Lake in Alabama? Always call on Reeds Guide Service first! Alabama's most well know freshwater guide service, with over 40 years experience fishing all of Alabama's Lakes for largemouth bass, spotted bass, smallmouth bass and striped bass. Many boats and qualified professional guides available year round for multiple parties and corporate trips.

This report provided by:
Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Producer / Host "Fishing Alabama" With Reed Montgomery Radio Show
"6 Years on the Radio  / Jan 2005"
Birmingham, Alabama
Call Reeds Guide Service...First! (205) 787-5133
"Over 40 Years Fishing Alabama for Bass and Stripers"
E-mail: ALABASSGYD@aol.com
Website: www.FISHINGALABAMA.com

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