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All Species Action on Light Tackle! Hot Summer Fishing
Posted by Walt Matan, Chief Lure Designer, Custom Jigs & Spins and B-Fish-N Tackle on Jun 24th 2025
When the going gets tough…use lighter tackle...get small and you might just catch bigger fish!
Many times, my big plans end up much smaller. Time and time again, I’ve scaled down tackle and presentation and caught more and even bigger fish! You’d be surprised at how larger predators like walleye, bass, pike and muskie will really go gaga for the small stuff. But, you should be smart and not only scale down your lures but scale down your presentation to make it all work together.
Catching Summer Walleye
I fish a lot of jigs in the river all year long. Sometimes though, those picky walleyes just won’t swallow a quarter ounce jig-n-minnow all the way…tail biters. I’m usually casting a ¼ ounce BFishN Tackle Draggin’ Jig up shallower and working it back slowly, popping it and letting it slide back with the current.
My pole of choice is a St. Croix Eyecon Snap Jig rod, which works perfectly with 10 pound Hi-Vis Yellow Power Pro line and a 10-pound Fluorocarbon leader. I’ve caught thousands of walleye and other species like bass, catfish and pike this way.
Some days though, those fish are there, but like I said, tail biters. Could be after a cold front. Could be a bright hot sunny day. In any case, I’ll switch from my Snapjig walleye rod to a much lighter St. Croix 7 ft. medium light series Panfish rod loaded with 5-pound Hi-Vis Yellow power Pro and a 6-pound fluorocarbon leader with a lighter, smaller 1/8th or even a 1/16h ounce Draggin’ Jig and minnow. The sensitivity of this rod is unsurpassed, and you will feel every nuance of the bottom and have one heck of a fight from any sized fish you happen to catch. They will bite and they won’t feel any resistance until it’s hook setting time!
Largemouth Bass and Pike on Your Hook
I was out fishing last year with Justin Kohn a central Wisconsin guide, and we were targeting largemouth bass on pike on a shallow weedy lake. It was during a cold front and the fish were definitely picky. Early in the day, Justin felt that a smaller presentation would be key to getting smallmouth, largemouth and pike to bite.
The problem was that the lake was large and weedy and as I said, it was a cold font. We still had to cover a lot of water to find the active fish, but we needed to remain weedless. Justin put a smaller 2.45” AuthentX Pulse-R swimbaits on BFishN Draggin’ Jigs and made long distance casts to cover water.
The ¼ ounce Draggin’ Jig was the perfect choice when cast on 10-pound braid with a fluorocarbon leader and a long spinning rod like a St. Croix 7’ Medium Fast Avid rod. It has the backbone and sensitivity specific to the task.
The Draggin’ Jig has a wedge head and fiber weed guard that makes it cut through the toughest weeds which in our case was milfoil that had overtaken the lake, even in the early season. Later in the Summer this lake would be virtually unfishable unless you used popping topwater frogs.
I on the other hand didn’t listen to him and was using my trusty Chatterbait with a BfishN Tackle Ribb-Finn. It was too much for the fish to handle early on as the water had dropped almost ten degrees overnight. Justin wailed on the fish and beat me like a baby, while I struggled until the water warmed up in the afternoon.
Draggin’ Jigs come in three sizes ¼, 1/8 and 1/16th ounces, but with the same 1/0 ultra-sharp custom hook that allows you to use the same sized plastic with all weights. When you are fishing tight to cover flipping the 1/16th ounce right in the thick trees or weeds will get you some bass, walleye and even catfish.
In the Summertime, I like to slide on a half crawler nose first up to the head of the jig. The wire keeper will hold the crawler tight and as you work it through cover, give a natural presentation. I’ll also rig a minnow hook through the mouth out the gill and back around to mid body. This is my go-to presentation on rivers and flowages where a lot of timber is present. It will get you all species, including giant crappie!
What about panfish?
Most folks use bobbers and hooks that are way too large for bluegill, crappie and perch. These fish have smaller mouths than bass, walleye and pike, so you have to downsize if you want to catch ‘em.
I’ll use Custom Jigs & Spins tungsten ice jigs all year long. I like to use a selection of jigs with number 8 hooks. Jigs like Custom Jigs & Spins Chekais, Glazbas, and Wolfinkees are my top choices.
These jigs can be tipped with redworms, waxworms or small minnows and pitched up to shore and reeled back slowly. They can also be bounced on bottom or held slightly above bottom for active fish. Casting a Rocket Bobber teamed up with a size 8 Glazba and redworm is a go-to presentation for giant bluegill. When using small tungsten ice jigs, I’ve got my St. Croix Panfish rod with 5-pound Power Pro line ready-to-go for the ultimate in sensitivity.
Keep this information in your hip pocket, because when the fishing gets tough, the smart angler scales things down and uses the finesse approach!
