The Late Night Show, with Smallmouth Bass
By Andrew Ragas
During the dog days of summer on many north country lakes, big smallmouth bass become creatures of the night. When nighttime calls, and most anglers are asleep, the fish go nocturnal and feed.
It's the middle of summer. The daytime surface temperatures on my favorite natural lakes and flowages is hot. Water temperature is at its seasonal peak, sometimes warmer than bath water. Due to these conditions, daytime angling for the coolwater smallmouth bass is a struggle and often a kick in the butt. When dealt with the adversity of the dog days of summer, the best strategy I've learned is to sleep or work all day if needed, then launch the boat late and fish later.
The dog days of summer triggers a late night feeding binge. Deep dwelling gamefish species retreat from their mid-lake open water locations and cool water sanctuaries, encroaching shoreline areas and littoral zones in search for prey. On the many natural lakes and flowages I fish, smallmouth bass undertake this short-distance movement to feast on the abundance of rusty crayfish and unsuspecting preyfish and insect hatches. During a nocturnal period when most anglers think smallmouth bass go dormant, l