I'm not new to fishing and not new to bassin but I am new to being serious about it and having a boat year round. I had a pretty good spring but now as we head into summer what type of patterns do you guys use on Texas lakes? If you had to pick one tactic what would it be?

Every summer I remember an old Larry Nixon show where he was worm fishing. His comment was that if you're not touching the bottom in the summer time, you're missing most of the fish.

It also always stuck with me when he said to cast through any spider webs you saw close to the water. His reasoning was that if there was a spider web there, no lure had been there recently.

I wish fishing shows could be as informative as they used to be!

Drop shots on deep docks and timber. Black buzz baits first thing in the morning. That's the best I have to offer.

Summer's my favorite time of year to fish... They're most predictable in the hot months IMO. Early and late they'll move up to feed: topwaters, frogs and squarebills... Then when it gets hot and bright they'll cling to cover out a little deeper: jig time! Sometimes they'll just hang out on the deep end of a point. Always have a 1 oz c rig tied on this time of year...

I plan on throwing the frog a lot more this year.

tie on a spook, and catch fish anywhere that's what i do. i love summer.

1 oz wow! How much leader are you using when dragging the bottom? Jigging is something I really want to get into and harness this summer.

I am also in the market for a fish finder I feel like this will be a necesary tool for the summer time. When you locate points are you using memory, map before hand or a gps on your ff. I know what fish finder I want to buy I just dont know if I should go with or without a chartplotter?

1oz definately on your CRig. Clear water long leader, say 2-3 feet.

I had very little confidence in the c rig until Ninja pretty much convinced me that I needed to go with the 1 oz... The key with the rig is to always maintain bottom contact and have long casts that cover water. The 1 oz weight is what makes that possible. You'd be amazed at what you can find with a c rig: it's a presentation that gives you tons of info about an area. I locate the points using all those methods you mention. Personally I would save up a little more until you have enough for the chart plotter. In the meantime you can always use the smartphone Navionics app... It will definitely help you locate stuff more easily, but having it all self-contained within the unit is worth the wait IMO...

K Bake, you will have to find the 'presentation' that works for you, whether it is a C-rig, drop shot, jig, TX rig, etc. But the structure you need to learn to fish is the main lake point. God didn't make them all equal, so you will have to hit your home lake and learn which one's hold more fish and how to get them to bite. If you don't have a "home lake", pick one that is close by, because you will have to spend time on the water to learn where/when/what/how.

This goes for you, River Monsters!

I totally agree! I was just trying to find a few presentations to get started with so I could find the one that works for me. I pulled the trigger today on a elite 4 hdi so those points should be a bit easier to find now. I wasn't trying to steal anyone's magic summer bait or take the easy way out I just wanted to be pointed in a direction.

you will enjoy the 4 hdi...my numbers are much better after breaking down and getting a depth finder on my yak.

you will love the lowrance unit. easy to use and very accurate.

my favorite bass pattern, spinner baits for bass. love to cast them into the junglr and run them into every tree stump or peice of cover i can find. you can run them slow or fast from top to bottom.

favorite pattern for everything else, road runner! that little bugger kills them around here.

If I had to narrow it down to 2 baits to fish in the Summer it would be a Zara spook type bait early and late or when I see some chasing going on, and a good ol 10" worm. You can either Texas rig the worm or c- rig it. I use a little of all the other techniques/ baits but the bulk of my decent sized summer fish come on those 2 year in and year out.

My thoughts exactly. The big bass have to eat a lot in the summer to maintain their size.

Crig is very forgiving from a kayak--don't have to make the perfect cast and it's OK if you're drifting a little. +1 on using a 1oz weight if fishing more than 12ft deep.

I like to use a lighter crig/split shot/mojo rig early and late over shallower grass.

Heavy drop shot in the thickest deep grass or other cover can find might get you a big one.

Craws, ring fry's, creatures, big worms

Be sure to wear good sunprotection hat/buff/sunscreen and stay hydrated.