Dog Days Heat Up The Best Nights For Bass Fishing

When a Michigan summer is at its hottest point, fishing for bass at night can be some of the most fun and productive of the season.

Most Michigan lakes have numerous recreational watercrafts tearing up the water, making fishing more difficult and less enjoyable. There's no one around at night to disturb the water and the fishing.

Michigan Bass Fishing

Michigan's inland lakes and Great Lakes are full of largemouth bass. They are a lot of fun to catch and easy to find for most anglers. Largemouth bass are a great target for beginners who want to fish for something bigger than a bluegill.

You can catch largemouth bass at just about any time during the summer. Certainly, fishing in the morning and evenings is the best, but they will usually bite all day. During the summer, Michigan’s inland lakes are filled with speed boats, pontoon boats, and jet skis, all stirring up the water and creating waves. This can make fishing a bit frustrating, especially when you're moving slowly around weed beds and drop-offs to catch bass.

Read More: Michigan Record Catfish Caught by Bowfisherman

When the dog days of summer kick in, many bass move to deeper water, making them harder to find, or they don't bite as well. There is another way to catch big bass during the hottest days of the summer at night.

Nighttime Bass Fishing Heats Up In The Dog Days

They say the big ones come out at night, and I believe that to be true when it comes to largemouth bass. It has been in the 90s or close to it for weeks. When I picked up my son on Friday, I said, ‘I have a new lake I want to try. Want to bass fish it at night?" Of course, he said yes.

Even though I had never fished this lake in a boat, I knew it was going to be a great night of fishing with storms coming in the next few days. We fished from about an hour before dark until 1 a.m. Every fish we caught was a legal-size fish, but we caught several large bass.

We used two types of "Jitter Bugs" to catch the bass. The standard black one shown in the picture above, and a jointed jitter bug that is split near the back to give the lure a little more action. Cast toward lily pads and along the edges of weed lines, but if you can find an area where the weeds are a few feet underwater or sandy areas (beaches), you will slam the fish. Throw your line out, reel it in slowly, so you hear the blurb, blurb, the lure makes, and listen for the splash and set the hook.

You can also use a lure called a "Hula Popper" and fish with it in the same areas mentioned above. When you cast this lure out, pop it so you hear the 'pop' sound. Let it sit and reel in your slack for the next pop, and like the jitter bug, listen for the splash and set the hook.

I can't thank my Dad enough for showing me how to do this when I was a little kid. He and I had some great times night fishing for bass, and now my son and I share these same experiences.

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Night fishing for bass is a great way to enjoy the dog days of summer and avoid the recreational water crafts, and catch some of the biggest bass ever in your life.

👇BELOW: Michigan's 58 Fishing Records: Species, Weight, Length, and Date👇