Just when striper fishing starts to slow, fishing for their freshwater counterpart - the largemouth bass - heats up in Massachusetts. From mid-July through August largemouth fishing can be very good. One of the reasons largemouth activity increases during this time frame is the abundance of dragonflies. For some reason, largemouth love to eat dragonflies. I equate it to the love (or hatred) that stripers have for eels. You will often see dragonflies buzzing around areas loaded with lily pads and largies will shoot through the cover to slurp the dragonflies down. Quite a site to see.
Despite the warm temps, bass will get active during this time. Fishing a topwater frog or salad spoon across the lily pads is a sure way to draw strikes. My preferred method of pulling large bass, however, is to focus on the edges of lily pads and fish a weighted presentation. My favorite bait is actually the 3in chigger craw by Berkley. I feel that this bait mimics a dragonfly that has somehow managed to get trapped in the water and is slowly sinking presenting an easy meal for a largemouth. This tactic has produced numerous five pound and larger bass for me this summer.
When striper fishing gets slow, or moves to a strictly nocturnal affair, go down to your local pond and try some largemouth fishing. If you see dragonflies buzzing around, you're in a good spot. I would target these areas with weedless frogs or texas-rigged chigger craws, creatures, and rubber worms.
Don't forget a good pair of polarized shades either. Sometimes you'll spot a big largie cruising the shallows that will readily take a soft plastic pitched their way.
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