Summer Time Bass Fishing on Douglas Lake

One of my favorite past times has always been Largemouth Bass fishing on Douglas Lake here in East Tennessee. On any given night from May till October you will find the boat launch completely full of trucks and trailers from the avid fisherman that come to this fine fishery. I have fished on Douglas Lake for 38 years. During this time I have gained a substantial amount of knowledge dealing with the Largemouth and Smallmouth that this lake is known for. During the hot months of summer I usually don't even launch the boat until about an hour before dark. When the surface temperatures are consistently above 80 degrees the Bass will school up well below the thermocline layer and will venture up to the shallows to feed after the sun goes down. Of course there are some factors to always consider when dealing with summer time bass.

CURRENT:   These groups of schooling bass will wait until the current picks up during water
                       generation times at Douglas Dam. Always check with TVA for generation times
                       and amount of turbines they will be running. When they are running 2 or more
                       for any length of time your bass fishing will be more productive because the
                       current around the main lake points will cause the bait fish to stir which will make
                       the Bass start to feed.

MOON:         The Moon Phase is a very important part of the Bass Puzzle during feeding
                       times. Bass like all living creatures on this planet we call earth, relate to the
                       gravitational pull of the moon on the earth. There are Major and Minor times
                       relating to this gravitational pull. These times when combined with these other
                       factors can make a good recipe for a successful Bass fishing Trip.

STRUCTURE:  Structure is defined as any change of contour in the stream or lake bottom.
                       Bass use and break or change in the area structure of the lake bottom for relief
                       from the lake currents as well as a staging point for their feeding schedules.
                       Bass like for their home to be close to deep water, close to usable currents, and be
                       close to large amounts of bait fish. So that is why I concentrate on the Main Lake
                       Points during the hot summer months that have a very defined structure difference.

COVER:       Allot of people confuse Structure and Cover as being one in the same. Cover is
                      items or areas that a Bass can use to hide and ambush prey and bait fish when feeding.
                      Bass like to hold near a defining change in Structure that has the ability to provide
                      ambush cover and includes all of the other recipes for success.  A good Topographical
                      Lake Map will help you locate and find these areas that are close to the main
                      current flow on any major reservoir. Keep in mind to always call TVA to get the
                      latest water levels for any Lake your going to be on so you can make the best
                      guess on areas to fish based on all of the items I have mentioned above.

LURES:            Here is where I will differ in my thinking from the rest of the thousands of loyal
                      Tournament Anglers that fish Douglas Lake in Competition. Tournament Anglers are
                      fishing for (5) five bites to catch five tournament fish. They will use big baits and
                      will concentrate on a specific area for along time for those five bites. As a fishing
                      guide and past Tournament Competitor I have mixed emotions about Baits and
                      Lure selections. As a Tournament Competitor I would throw mainly Large Jigs
                      in Watermelon Flake or Black and Blue or would spend the night throwing a
                      Big Black and Blue Spinner bait with a large Black Blade. I would only get about
                      10 bites per night but they were usually money fish for weigh in. As a Guide I
                      had to do the exact opposite because my clients wanted to catch numbers of Bass
                      and if they got into a few big ones they were extremely satisfied. Over the years
                      myself and my Associate Guide Donnie Ball of Pigeon Forge, perfected the perfect
                      bait for catching numbers of Bass on Douglas Lake. We use lighter lines, 8-10 lb test,
                      a 1/4 ounce Lead Head Jig with a 2/0 Hook,  put on a Baby Brush Hog in Green
                      Flake or Watermelon colors and install (1) one glass worm rattle behind the
                      hook curve. Cast to the main lake points or along the bank and make small sweeps
                      combined with several quick hand shakes to make the rattles sound and your gonna
                      either feel the bump of the bite , see the line twitch and jerk or they will just grab it and
                      run for deeper water. We consistently catch big numbers of Bass on this rig because
                      it looks so much like the Crayfish that abound around the rocky points on this lake.
                      From mid-June on until late August the Bass will start to ambush and feed on the
                      huge numbers of Bluegill that have started to grow from Fry that hatched in the spring.
                      These Bluegills will be about 2-3 inches long and will be right on the bank around
                      Rock Structure along the shore line. During these times we change up to a Electric
                      Red or Black/Blue colored Worm on the same Lead Head approach. The Paddle Tail
                      Worms move allot of water and these fish are gonna feed of the vibration of the lure
                      best acting like a swimming Bluegill. Remember that these Bluegills will be from
                      0-5 feet deep during bright Moon Phases so keep the bait swimming and don't waste
                      allot of time in fishing the bait to deep. During those darker Moon Phases we will fish
                      the same bait down to 35 feet  on the same Lead Head Rig.

On a recent trip to Douglas Lake (8/3/12) myself, my son Andrew Noland and Donnie Ball fished
the lower end of the lake near Douglas Dam. We had been marking some good schools of bait fish
near the Dam and decided to target these specific schools for Bass. We had allot of competition for
fishing spots until the 2 am weigh in from the Friday Night Tournament. From 2am until 6 am we had the lake to ourselves. We brought home our 3 Limits of good Tournament size Bass and they now
reside in the Freezer with the other 40 or so bags already frozen for the off season. We fished the
above mentioned baits and concentrated on the main lake points where the current flow was most
noticeable. I urge all of my fellow anglers to get out and have some Black Light Fun during the
summer months. Its too hot to fish of the daytime and the peacefulness at night makes it allot more enjoyable.

Everyone give thanks to the Lord and above all,,,,,,,GOOD FISHING !