When summer water temps reach into the high 70s to low 80s or more, it's time to pick up a crankbait and get busy.

During the heat of summer, many bass migrate offshore to slightly deeper haunts, using secondary points, shoals, humps, ridges, and channel ledges as their primary residence. They'll wait for current to push bait to them, and oftentimes they'll vacate those areas for open water, only to return two or three hours later in search of their next meal.

As that's happening, there's also a portion of bass in any system that never leave the shallows. These resident fish will seek out thick overhead cover or large patches of vegetation to set up in or underneath, to escape the heat and provide good ambush spots.

For hard-cover areas, we're talking about boat docks, both fixed and floating, pontoon boats, downed trees, and the like. All of these areas offer quality overhead cover that can drop the water temperatures by as much as 4 to 6 degrees.

Locating Bass During Summer Bass Fishing

Let's break that down into vegetation and hard-bottom areas, starting with shallow or near-shore water.

For this review, one must remember that cover and structure are two totally different things.

Cover is anything that grows in the water or manmade items placed in the water—docks, cribs, fish habitat, and the like.

Structure is the fixed bottom composition of the water body. Again, we're talking humps, shoals, points, ridges, and channel ledges. All of these features are permanent in nature and therefore known as structure.

Conversely, cover features can change from year to year or be entirely removed from the water body.

Understanding the difference between cover and structure is important when deciding where to look for bass and which type of crankbait presentation to use.

Best Rod and Reel Setup for Summer Crankbait Fishing

When targeting those cover-oriented bass, it's usually best to use Medium Heavy (MH) to Heavy (H) power, moderate-action rods from 6'10" to 7'6" in length.

The routine setup is a standard 6.3:1 to 7.2:1 reel spooled with 15- to 20-lb. line, either braid or mono. And when fishing in brackish water with barnacles or when zebra mussels are present, it could require 25-lb. test line or more.

When casting to structure-oriented fish or searching open-water shallow flats, an MH-power, moderate-action rod, 7' to 7'6", paired with a 5.4:1 to 7.5:1 reel spooled with 10- to 15-lb. test usually works well.

Some anglers prefer to use spinning gear, and that's works too, but most often crankbait fishing is done with casting gear.

The key is to match your rod, reel, and line to the cover, structure, and size of crankbait you plan to fish.

Why Is a Moderate-Action Rod Good for Crankbait Fishing?

Crankbaits create significant water resistance, so a moderate-action rod helps absorb excess vibration and makes repeated casts more comfortable and efficient when covering water quickly. The extra flex also helps load the rod gradually when a bass strikes a treble-hooked crankbait, keeping steady pressure on the fish and reducing the chance of it throwing the lure.

How to Fish Crankbaits Around Vegetation and Heavy Cover

Casting crankbaits for cover-oriented fish is a lot of fun, but it requires the right lure based on location.

When casting across the top of submerged weeds, a lipless crankbait, the Bill Lewis Rattle Trap, is hard to beat. Another great choice is a squarebill crankbait in the 1.5 or 2.5 sizes.

Each of these lures seems to perform best when allowed to briefly contact and hang in the tops of the vegetation and then get ripped out into open water, continuing the retrieve.

As you feel the treble hooks grab the weeds, wait just a second, then rip the lure free and continue the retrieve. Oftentimes, when a bass sees the lure pop out of the vegetation, it imitates a fleeing baitfish, resulting in violent strikes.

If you feel the lure is hanging up more than swimming above the vegetation, then double-check:

1. Is your retrieve speed too slow?
2. Does your lure dive too deep?

Retrieve speed is easy enough to solve. As for the lure diving too deep, you have a couple of options.

Stay with the same rod, reel, and line combo and simply downsize your lure for one that won't dive as deep, or you can upsize your line. A larger-diameter line creates more water displacement, thereby forcing the lure to swim higher in the water column.

How to Fish Crankbaits Around Docks and Hard Cover

Casting in and around hard-cover areas, docks, seawalls, pontoon boats, and the like requires accurate casting and a stiffer-power rod to horse those fish out and away from the cover once hooked.

Also, don't forget to tune your crankbaits.

To achieve this, cast out around 20 to 25 yards, begin the retrieve, and observe the lure. If you see the lure constantly flaring out to the right or left side, use a pair of needle-nose pliers to bend the line tie until the lure swims straight.

This flared swimming action can also be put into a crankbait to make it swim farther under a boat dock than it normally would on a straight retrieve.

That little adjustment can help you get a crankbait into places where bass are holding tight to shade and cover.

How to Fish Deep Crankbaits for Offshore Summer Bass

When targeting offshore fish, usually long-distance casting is key to the presentation.

The longer the cast, the greater depth the crankbait will achieve, keeping it in the strike zone for longer.

Casting in depths of 12 feet, I prefer to use a crankbait designed to reach 15 feet or more. Ideally, I want the lure to ricochet or deflect off the bottom, causing a change in direction.

Most hard-bottom strikes occur as the lure recovers from the deflection and begins its normal retrieve.

It doesn't matter what depth you're casting to, as long as the crankbait makes periodic contact with the bottom.

Now, having said that, please remember there are certain situations when deep cranking in open water can be very effective, too.

The open-water cranking scenario is most effective when bass are feeding on schools of shad or herring. This is when a stop-N-go retrieve can really generate strikes.

Best Crankbait Colors for Summer Bass Fishing

It's very helpful to know what the predominant forage fish is for the water body you're fishing in.

You can do this by checking with your local bait store, or your state's Department of Natural Resources. A Google search can get you the answer as well.

Short of obtaining that forage information, in order to cast the best-colored lure for your particular waters, you can always start with a silver-and-black-back color pattern.

A minnow-imitating color is hard to beat, and I usually carry four basic colors:

• Silver and black
• Perch
• White
• Chartreuse blue back

These four colors give me a good starting point for matching the forage and water conditions I may encounter during summer bass fishing.

How to Rig a Crankbait for Bass Fishing

For convenience, some anglers like to use a snap tied to their line. This allows for a quicker lure change than retying.

I've found that certain lures perform best when the line is tied directly to the line tie, or split ring, of the lure.

The manufacturers design and extensively test these lures before they go to market, and any time a lure comes with a split ring inserted in the line tie, they intend you to tie directly to the split ring for best results.

To check if a snap impedes the action, cast one around without it, then tie on a snap and see what happens.

Best Time for Summer Bass Crankbait Fishing

Right now, August and September are great months to cast a crankbait on your favorite water for summertime bass.

Summer bass can occupy everything from shallow vegetation and shaded hard cover to offshore structure and open-water bait schools. That is what makes crankbait fishing so effective during this time of year.

Pay attention to where the bass are positioned, match your crankbait to the depth and cover, and adjust your rod, reel, line, and retrieve as the conditions change.

Good luck out there and enjoy.

How Do I Choose a Summer Crankbait Based on Depth and Cover?

Start by looking at where the bass are holding. In shallow grass, a lipless crankbait is a strong option. Around docks, seawalls, and other shallow hard cover, a squarebill crankbait can work well. When bass move offshore and hold around deeper structure, switch to a deep-diving crankbait that can reach the bottom and stay in the strike zone. Matching the running depth of the lure to the location of the bass is one of the most important parts of summer crankbait fishing.

About the Author

Captain Burnie Haney is owner/operator of New York Fishing Adventures, Army veteran and retired Sergeant Major with a 38-year military career. A tournament bass angler since 1992, he has won five Angler of the Year titles, set the NYTBF five-fish weight record, and qualified for two National Championships. Burnie holds two International Game Fish Association (IGFA) New York State line class records (walleye and smallmouth bass) and the IGFA All Tackle Length World Record for Chain Pickerel. He is a lifetime member of B.A.S.S. and member of the New York State Outdoor Writers' Association. Haney was inducted into the New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame in 2017. Today, Burnie focuses on multi-species seasonal fishing adventures.