For the Tomahawk Leader

NORTHERN WISCONSIN – As summer finally starts to heat up, so does the water temperature. Over this past weekend, we noticed darker stained lakes going above the 70-degree temperature range, and with warmer summer temps in the forecast, this should only keep rising.

These warmer waters have the largemouth bass on their spawning beds and ready to defend their turf by hitting almost anything you throw over the top of them. I used exclusively the same topwater spinner bait the entire day of fishing and was amazed at the hits I got – a total of seven largemouth over 17″ and many under and a countless numbers of hits and misses, along with a few northern pike that won’t pass up any free meal.

Bass can be very territorial in guarding their beds, but at the same time, they will readily hit topwater at any chance if the mood fits them. Warmer, more humid days tend to lead to even better action for area bass, so get out on the water, try something new if you haven’t fished with topwater baits recently and enjoy the day.

Good luck and stay safe.