Catching Bass in Late Summer with Mark Rose: Bet on the Boathouse in August and September
John E. Phillips 08.22.12
Editor’s note: Mark Rose of Marion, Arkansas, who has won more than $1.5 million, is a professional bass fisherman, a member of War Eagle Boats’ and Strike King’s Pro Staffs and the winner of six FLW tournaments.
Boathouses provide plenty of shade and cover for bass. Most bass fishermen fish the outside corners of the boathouses and flip to all the pilings that support them. Remember, at this time of the year in August and September, shade is a major key for finding bass. When you’re looking at a boathouse, you say to yourself, “There’s a lot of shade in there.” The next question you should ask is, “Where is the most shade that is the hardest to fish, and where most bass fishermen won’t ever try to fish?”
You’ll see that the most shade is often at the very back of the boathouse, especially if the boathouse is low to the water. Most bass fishermen don’t want to lie on their stomachs on the casting decks of their War Eagle boats, take spinning rods with shaky-head worms or KVD Plastic Frogs and try to skip those baits as far back under the boathouse as they can. Those dark, hard-to-reach places far back under the boathouses are where the most bluegill and other baitfish will be holding, and also where the most bass will be holding. Remember, you usually will find the most bass in the most shade under a boat dock, and the most shade always will be where the boat dock comes closest to touching the water. That’s why the skipping-lure tactic is so deadly for hot weather fishing.
When I’m casting a KVD Plastic Frog on a cloudy day and fishing really dark shade, I use a black frog. If I’m fishing on a bright sunny day, and there’s not much shade in the boathouse, I’ll fish a white frog. Remember most bass fishermen will be pitching and flipping soft-plastic lures in and around that boathouse, and very rarely will you see an angler fishing a frog in a boathouse. So, I present the bass with a lure they rarely see in boathouses and present the bait on top of the water, which is quite different from the underwater presentations when anglers cast soft-plastic lures.
I fish the frog with 50-pound test braided line because there are many types of structures around which the bass can get. Once a bass takes the frog, I want the power in the line to either get the bass away from the structure or pull it out of the boathouse, before the bass can get into the structure. If I have to resort to fishing the shaky head worm, I’ll cast on 8-pound test fluorocarbon line, knowing if the bass gets around the pilings or underwater structure I’ll have to use my War Eagle boat to go get him.
To learn more about how to fish for bass with Mark Rose, click the titles for these two new bass books by John E. Phillips, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro” and “Catch the Most and Biggest Bass in Any Lake,” or go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, and type in the names of the books to buy them. Too, you can download a Kindle app for free and buy the books from Amazon to read on your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
To learn more about top-quality War Eagle boats, click here.
Click here to learn about “duck hunting” for bass in hot weather from John Phillips and Mark Rose.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
