Hanselman: Dragonflies for Late Summer Bass

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM TELLS us that when Texas is at its hottest, in the depths of summer when sweat runs down the back of our neck by seven a.m., it pays to go deep for bass.

That may mean plying offshore structure with a giant crankbait, a football jig or a Carolina rig. On lakes with verdant fields of grass, it often means punching “scrapes”—caverns under the thickest hydrilla where the giants gang up.

Legendary Amistad guide and Bassmaster Elite Series competitor Ray Hanselman loves to flip, and he excels at it. However, he admits that “sometimes it can get monotonous,” especially if the bite is not as hot as the weather. When that’s the case, he’ll attack the opposite end of the water column.

“There’s always some fish that go dirt shallow in hot weather,” he said. “I’ve seen it on Amistad, Choke and Rayburn, they’ll be up there in the middle of the day. Go as far back in a creek as you can go, even places where the water looks stagnant. There will often be bass back there. Bass will be any place there is food, and there are always some bluegills in places like that.”

Bluegills may be the main draw, but they’re not the only draw. One late summer pattern that Hanselman has seen repeat itself tme and again is a distinct topwater bite where bass are keyed in on big dragonflies.

He’s not sure whether there’s some evolutionary reason for this. “They may be burning more energy that what they can possibly eat.” Still, it’s fun to watch and even more fun to chase.

“It’s especially good if the water has just come up,” he explained. “I like to look for places where there’s not just grass, but also some bushes on the water.

When you find a place like that, just sit and watch. It’s like a cartoon when you see the fish go after the dragonflies. It’s like someone throwing fish in the air.” He’ll often see the fish lying in wait, and key spots are simple sticks in the water where a bass can wait to ambush something that lands.

Besides the visual aspect of this process, another thing that makes it fun is that topwaters are often the best tool to make these fish bite. Hanselman’s key lures for this pattern include a black Strike King Sexy Dawg and a small popper like the KVD Splash.

Because the dragonflies’ wings make a buzzing noise on the surface of the water, he also tries to replicate that using tools such as a prop bait or a buzzbait with a Rage Toad on the back.

His favorite rod for just about all of these techniques is the ultra-versatile, heavy-action Power Tackle LPC675: “It has the right amount of give for topwaters, and I can use it for a wide range of baits, everything from a small popping bait up to a buzzbait.”

The most important thing about this dragonfly pattern,” he said, “is that when you find fish that are keyed in on it, they’re generally pretty easy to catch: “If you see one blow up and get in the general area, you’ll usually catch him.”

He added that while it may not consistently produce the same quality as dropping a big jig or a heavy creature bait into a scrape, “you can catch big fish doing it if the lake has them.” He catches plenty of fish in the five- to six-pound and larger range every year this way, and he often has the areas all to himself.

That doesn’t mean it’s always easy, though. If it’s not happening, or the fish aren’t in that zone, you can’t force it to work.

It also seems to go away by late September, as groups of fronts roll through the Lone Star State and the once-abundant dragonflies disappear. While it’s in play, however, it can save your day or your tournament performance.

“It’s another tool you can put in your box,” he explained. “Especially when it’s cloudy or the bass are not grouped up offshore or under the grass, this is something extra you can look for.”

 

Email Pete Robbins at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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