Entry 312-3
How to Catch Bass in Extremely-Hot Weather with James Niggemeyer
Editor’s Note: James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, one of the newest Strike King pros and a professional guide on Texas’ famous Lake Fork, has earned over $300,000 in tournament winnings in his short 2-year professional bass-fishing career. After recently qualifying for a second Bassmaster Classic to take place in 2010, Niggemeyer is one of the up-and-coming Strike King pros who’s proven he not only can fish with the big boys, but he also can compete against some of the nation’s best bass fishermen in one of the biggest bass-fishing championships – the Bassmaster Classic. Since Niggemeyer guides on Lake Fork, he has a tremendous depth of knowledge about how to catch bass in extremely-hot weather. This week, Niggemeyer will tell us how to find and catch bass in extreme heat.
Part 3: Put Some Sexy Spoon in Your Fishing
Question: James, what’s another technique you use at this time of year on Lake Fork?
Niggemeyer: The 5-1/2-inch Sexy Spoon from Strike King imitates a large-profile baitfish. Some lakes have 4- or 5-inch-long crappie, shad or white bass. Using my depth finder, I search for areas where I spot larger baitfish than you normally see on the lake at this time of year. When I spot bait bigger than an average shad and feel confident that bait’s not white bass, I’ll pull out the Sexy Spoon and start casting. Many times I’ve found big schools of large bluegills holding out in deep water. Anytime I find an area with bait too big to be shad, but too small to be bass, I’ll pull out the Sexy Spoon because it gives a large profile. Too, when it starts to fall, it looks like a wounded baitfish.
I prefer to cast the Sexy Spoon out and let it fall on a tight line all the way to the bottom. Then I work the bait back to the boat like I’ll hop a worm, except I make the hops for the Sexy Spoon much bigger. I lift the spoon with my rod tip and then drop it. This is a simple way to fish, and the bass seem to like it. When you drop the spoon, it wiggles, squirms and imitates an injured baitfish. So, the more you let the bait fall, come up from the bottom and then fall again, the more bass you’ll attract. 
Humps, ledges and points, the same places where we’ve found the bass before, are effective places to use the Sexy Spoon. This technique produces big bass at Lake Fork.
Question: Will you primarily fish the spoon in open water?
Niggemeyer: Yes, but because there’s a lot of standing timber on Lake Fork, you’ll get hung-up if you fish the Sexy Spoon. I’d rather get hung-up and catch bass than not catch bass. I’ll fish with the same rod and reel I’ve used when fishing the worm, but I’ll increase my line to 20-pound test.
Question: How do you cast out the Sexy Spoon and then work it back to the boat?
Niggemeyer: As soon as the Sexy Spoon hits the water, I engage my reel and let the bait fall. 
Generally you’ll get the bass bite on the initial fall. If you’re not in contact with the lure as it falls, sometimes you’ll miss that initial bite. When the bait hits the bottom, I hop it up off the bottom. Sometimes I like to jerk it up in short hops, and other times I’ll make big hops up to 5 or 6 feet off the bottom. So, vary your retrieve to see which way the bass want to take the bait on the day you’re fishing. Sometimes the smallest change you can make when you’re fishing the Sexy Spoon will entice the bass to bite.
Next: Fishing the Grass
Contents:
- Part 1: Fish Zones, Structure and Crankbaits
- Part 2: Bet on the Big Worm
- Part 3: Put Some Sexy Spoon in Your Fishing
- Part 4: Fishing the Grass
- Part 5: Bring 'Em to the Top
