Hey guys I had an amazing spring and early summer then very hit or miss and rarely found any sizable schools, but I ONLY focused on structure such as points, humps, islands, and deeper flat near deep water. Once summer hit I had one good trip a few hundred yards from structure in deeper water but still found them on structure nearby until July. My question is is that a pattern? Do hybrids for the most part pull off of structure and just simply hang out in deep water near shad in the hot summer and that�s maybe why I had such inconsistent luck? I�m starting to think I may have stayed too structure oriented in the dog days of summer. Reason I�m wondering that is a buddy sent me an incredible hybrid filled screen shot in deep water a month or so ago when water was still really warm that I never considered looking at because it isn�t classic structure.

Thanks!

Like most roaming fish, hybrids, stripers and and sand bass are swimming their butts off above the thermal cline foraging for food. Don't know the particulars on Fort Phantom, they may be up shallow. I would suggest talking to Black bass fishermen. A lot of stripers are being caught on PK via crankbaits shallow. Four feet and less. My .02

Some of my better hybrid fishing is along deeper edges of the same humps, ridges, etc that I normally fish. In spring & fall, I might find the fish near the top of structure in 12-18 feet. In hot summer weather, I'll fish 25-35' or deeper along the same places, typically near where there's a dropoff into deeper water.

Bait gets pushed up on these dropoffs by current (there's almost always some current flow - just have to pay attention), and the hybrids will often be suspended in nearby deeper water and come in for a snack.

If you want your best chances at catching, use live bait.

That�s about what I figured. I think I wasn�t scanning far enough from the contour changes to find a good school. Early summer I got a few hundred yards from the contour changes and found tons of them in 35 fow. I just didn�t give it much attention later on for whatever reason but I have a feeling that may be their mid summer hang out.

I almost always use live shad. I don�t think there is anything more fun or rewarding then catching them directly under the boat with shad!

Thanks for the tips! I bet next year I�ll do better in the dog days of summer.

On my home lake we target them in deep water above the thermocline during late summer when the water temps are absurd. What happens is the thermocline will be sitting right at the top of many of the most productive humps on the lake so the fish move and wander around. Equate the pattern similar to deadsticking where the fish will sit at one particular depth out in open water. The problem is that they don't sit still (relative term) like they will on a hump. They just wander around. If you don't have a splasher get one for this type of fishing. Ive seen them work really well on the deep water summer hybrids. Personally i really hate fishing for them this way but it can be productive, especially if the thermocline completely overtakes the humps and flats that we primarily fish. For me, I get tired of striped fish around July/August and focus the rest of my year primarily on crappie. Part of it has to do with catching them in deep water. it sucks.

I have a thumper I use.

Mid July is when I noticed their pattern changed and they rarely schooled on the structure but could find them sometimes. Phantoms points and humps I fish are in 20-22 fow primarily so prob a little on the shallow side for mid summer though Timmy said he usually still did pretty good crank bait trolling there but I rarely got into them downrigging in middle of summer. I do not believe lake ever developed a thermocline. Deepest part this summer was 35 feet or so and I could always see fish in these deep areas all summer with no evidence of thermocline seen on sonar like I see in other lakes I�ve been on. My game plan next year is around July start looking in deep water relatively close to structure and either set up on the schools or even drift shad through them. I drift slabbed in one area and did really well early summer and should have realized this was probably the pattern that was starting to kick up but I was too structure oriented to think differently which was my fault.

I forgot to mention. I�m sitting the boat in 35-55 FOW and in the middle of nowhere around the dam. I know that�s pretty general but if you look around hard enough (any lake) you�ll find that majic depth. Once you do you�ll find that the fish suspend at that depth throughout the lake regardless of the amount of water underneath them. We commonly see them at 35 foot sitting in any given range of deeper water.