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When planning your summer bass outing, keep these points in mind:

Weather windows

Summer means thunderstorms, and while you’ll often see a fierce bite just before the storm as the falling barometer and rush of cooler air makes everyone kind of goofy, don’t let one of these big thunderheads sneak up on you or it’ll be a rough ride to the ramp. We all love a good rally, but no fish is worth your life.

Hydration

Pretty straightforward stuff — drink lots of water. A busy bite can lead to one procrastination after another, so get in the habit of carrying a bottle of water to the front or back deck so there’s no excuse. And if you notice that you’ve stopped perspiring on a hot day, stop immediately, find some shade and hydrate. Sweat stops when the body’s dehydrated, and all kinds of bad outcomes are just around the corner.

Sun protection

Wide-brim hats, liberal doses of sunscreen, polarized glasses. Most anglers know to reach for these items on their way out the door. But you’ll also benefit from neck and face protection like BUFF’s multi-functional headwear. In collapsed form, these lightweight, UV-blocking items keep the sun off your neck, but pulled up to your desired level, you can cover your ears and face, or even lock your hat into place with full head/neck protection.

Limited opportunities

One thing worth noting about the shallow summer bass game is that it’s a lot easier to fish out an area than it is when fish are deeper. The very fact that shallow fish are typically more spooky feeds this point. Beyond that, be aware that the idea of beating on a spot too much has a short shelf life.

“I used to win a lot one-day events fishing shallow for bass in the summertime, but it’s hard to win four-day event because it’s hard to do that four days in a row,” said bass pro Jason Christie. “But for the weekend angler; absolutely — there are fish that live up there shallow, even when the water’s 90 degrees.”