John Flores: Try fishing later for summer marsh bass

Each summer as we get later and later into the month of July, there is a pattern in the marsh that I try and pay attention to. That pattern is falling afternoon tides.
While attending college back in the Eighties at the then University of South-western Louisiana, now UL-Lafayette, there was this term I learned in a Louisiana Geography class called “the Latent Heat of Summer.” Essentially, the way I took it was just because summer starts around the third week in June each year, the hottest days aren’t until you get deep into July and August.
However, that same term also applies to the daytime temperatures we experience. Usually, about 3-4 p.m., the temperatures are about as hot as they’re going to get and around 5 p.m. they start to drop. No, not precipitously, but lower just the same. Moreover, usually around that time I’m also getting off work, which works out well.
Here’s the thing. When you have an afternoon falling tide, combined with not so hot daytime temperatures, generally “I find” fish become more active. And, what I do is get my boat ready the day before and jet home from work the next day to make a quick trip to the marsh and fish until dark.
It typically gives anglers a couple hours to fish, with plenty of action, providing they have a few places picked out ahead of time.
I personally am not a tournament angler, nor someone who exclusively targets bass. I’m not looking to put bass on a scale, but rather on the table. What’s more, I like fishing marsh bass the latter part of summer and early fall, because when the conditions are right, they bite like no other time of year.
Marsh bass are a species of largemouth that live hard and die young. These coastal bass live in brackish water they share with saltwater species that quite often are much larger than they are. Therefore, seldom do marsh bass get very large because of both voracious predators chasing them and coastal tropical storm events that cause periodic fish kills.
Size-wise, the chunky keepers I’m after weigh 1½-2½ pounds. The thing is, there are plenty of them and at this time of year they school up in the coastal marsh that reminds me of little packs of wolves.
Here’s where that falling tide comes in and knowing where you’re going to fish. Where I fish below the Intracoastal Canal, I look for breaks along canal levees where water may be draining a pond on the back side. I also look for narrow bayous draining a pond.
Anywhere there is water falling out a drain you want to be set up on the deeper bayou or canal side and toss a bait into it.
Normally the water is clear at this time of the year. If not, find somewhere it is clear. One of the things I always see when I find the right spot is bait fish being chased. You’ll see the flashes just underneath the surface of the water a foot or so down. It’s actually exciting and I’ll usually drop an anchor right then and there.
My favorite bait when this occurs is a crankbait, if it’s deep enough, and there aren’t thick mats of grass. Usually, under these conditions, you get immediate strikes. On occasion I’ve caught two bass on the same crankbait. It can be a frenzy and a real “dog eat dog” environment.
Another bait I’ll use is a 6- or 7-inch plastic worm in watermelon, green pumpkin, or black firetail colors. Most brands like Berkley, Culprit, Strike King, and Zoom carry these colors. The trick is to tie them either Texas style or Carolina rigged. I prefer Carolina rigs because most drains are shallow, and the plastic worm will float above the bullet weight in the current looking more lifelike.
Bill Lake, owner/operator of Bayou Guide Service & Charters, fishes marsh bass in the ponds on his duck lease south of Gibson. He too, fishes later in the day when things cool down a bit.
Lake said, “After 5 and later I fish the shadows on the east side of the islands on my lease. As the sun is setting, the tall wax myrtle trees shade the east side, and the bass eat up plastic frogs and Humdinger spinnerbaits. Top water baits work pretty good too. Especially the later it gets.”
“There are plenty of bass under those floating islands,” Lake continued. “I think they come out early mornings and late afternoon to forage. During the heat of the day with bright sun they just stay under the vegetation and sleep.”
Don’t let the summer heat keep you out of the marsh. By picking the right tide and time of day, you could put a mess of bass on the table.