Scott McGlinchey

Summer is upon us and many of the fish are done with spawning. The crappie and largemouth bass are done with spawning. Bluegills will continue to spawn throughout the summer, but their big bang spring spawn is about over. The spawn for these three fish started two weeks early. I read a few posts where some bass fisherman said the largemouth were spawned out three weeks ago. Actually, many largemouth were waiting for the lake to get to full pool; when it got to full pool there was a big movement of bass into the shallows to spawn around the newly flooded cover. I have an article posted about the spawn posted on my Shelldivers Guide Service website and facebook page.

The largemouth bass are usually out on the first arrival ledges by May 15th. This year they are just getting there and are two weeks late. They aren't grouped up quite yet. I caught quite a few keepers on May 28th with 4 of them being large, but I had to hit a lot of early summer ledges to catch them.

My favorite ways of catching them during the summer are on ledges. During June and early July I can catch them super shallow flat areas that have emergent vegetation with a buzzbait. While I fish the ledges, I use a 10 inch plum worm, Carolina rig, wobble head, deep diving crankbaits, and even a single bladed one ounce spinnerbait. I fish water that is 8 feet down to 25 feet. You don't need livescope to catch these ledge fish, you just need to know the good holes and hit the right casting angles.

If you're in town fishing for fun or here preparing for a tournament I am sure I can help you in either department. If you just want to enjoy a day of catching quality bass, panfish, catfish or are wanting to learn how to effectively fish offshore I am as good as it gets! I had excellent results in my career as a baseball and wrestling coach and use the same skills to help my clients learn bass fishing. I have over thirty years of ledge fishing experience and have spent 4000 hours diving underwater on various bodies of water observing fish in their home. If you want to book a trip with me please try to call me as the communication over the phone is much more effective and consumes less time than emails. I do respond to all forms of communication as quick as I can.

Please check out and like/follow my Shelldivers Guide Service Facebook page. I will have additional underwater photos of fish and shellbeds posted.