TAKEOFF
SCENARIOS
DIALING IN THE SUMMER CREEK BITE
hoW John coX and todd auten tRacK doWn shalloW Bass on ReseRvoiRs in auGust
I
t’s summer. the cicadas are dron-
ing, the dogs are lolling listless and
panting in the shade, and your air
conditioner is one more record-high
temperature day away from blowing its
innards all over the yard. When late-
summer heat settles over everything
like an oppressive blanket of sweat-
soaked misery, most bass anglers mop
their brows, apply a little more sun-
screen, and head for ledges and other
deep-water offshore patterns.
the dog days of late summer don’t
always mean having to plumb the
By Chad Love
depths for bass, however. shallow
creeks can offer a sizzling late-summer
bite on many reservoirs, providing you
find the right one.
two of the best at doing just that
are John cox and todd auten. cox, of
course, won the 2016 forrest Wood
cup by fishing in the back of a narrow
creek, and auten is one of the most
respected shallow-water anglers in the
game. and both of them say that if you
want to find yourself up the right
creek, you’ve got to burn some gas,
use your eyes and pay attention to the
key variables of current and water
temperature.
“there’s no easy way to do it other
than actually getting out there and
physically scouting the creeks,” says
cox. “it’s really hard to tell by a map or
satellite images. You may end up going
into 30 creeks, and only one of them
turns out to be a really good one.
that’s not to say that you won’t catch
fish in all of them, but some creeks are
going to be stacked, and there are
some creeks where you’re only going
to get a few bites.”
Todd Auten beats the summer heat by running up shallow creeks with current and cooler water.
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FLWFISHING.COM I AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017