WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 · LAKE RAY HUBBARD
Summer heat has them deep and tight. Early and late is where you catch them. Work the ledges and channel edges hard.
WATER 83°FAIR 81°FWIND 12 MPHSEASON SUMMERPOOL -1.8 FT
Water is sitting at 83 degrees and that's on the hot side of comfortable for largemouth. This time of year they pull deeper during the day to find cooler water and stay put on structure rather than roam. The lake is clear and the sun is bluebird bright, which means they'll stay hugged up on ledges and timber in 12 to 16 feet until the light eases. Your window is tight: burn early morning and again at dusk. Threadfin shad are the dominant forage, and the bass know it. The water is running a foot and a half low, which actually concentrates them better on the main structure. Pressure is steady, so no feeding surge to bank on, just straight-up summer pattern.
The day's game plan
EARLY MORNING · 6:52 AM to 8:30 AM
Bridge riprap and rocky banks in 6 to 12 feet. Channel edges and long points dropping into 14 to 16 feet. Look for timber on the edge of flats.
4-inch shad-pattern swimbaits in white or natural shad color on a 3/8 oz jighead. Work them slow along the bottom with slight pauses. Also throw 3/8 oz lipless cranks in shad or white, tight to cover, crank and pause.
Bass are shallow at first light feeding before the sun climbs. Shad are moving along structure edges. They'll chase a bait early but you have maybe 90 minutes before they drop back. Slow presentations work because water temp is high and they are not aggressive, they're looking for an easy meal before they retreat.
MORNING · 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Channel drops, humps, and deep ledges in 14 to 18 feet. Work the edge where structure meets the basin. Stay off shallow flats.
Drop a 1/2 oz football jig with a brown or green pumpkin craw trailer straight down. Work it on the bottom with subtle hops. Alternate with a 3/8 oz slab dropped and dragged bottom-to-bottom in shad pattern.
The sun is high and they have backed off shallow. This is when largemouth settle onto their daytime spots. They're not feeding hard but they will eat something that lands right on top of them. Football jigs and slabs mimic shad and crawfish that are sitting bottom. The retrieves are slow because in warm water their strike zone shrinks and they only look up a couple feet.
MIDDAY · 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Deep structure: channel bends in 18 to 22 feet, brush piles and timber in the deepest available depths, the edge of any hump that drops into the basin.
Keep a 1/2 oz football jig and craw trailer tight to timber and rock. Work it slow along the bottom. If you find a brush pile, pitch a 4-inch stick bait on a 1/4 oz shaky head into it and let it sit. Fish it ultra-slow.
This is the tough part of the day. Heat is peak and largemouth are shut down in the deepest, shadiest spots they can find. Bass are not feeding, they are surviving. The only bites come from lures that get in their face. Slow presentations and heavy cover are your only play. If you find a bass here, it's usually a good one because it has enough size to tolerate the heat without going to the absolute deepest water.
LATE AFTERNOON · 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Channel edges and ledges in 12 to 16 feet transitioning back toward shallower structure. Secondary points and long ridges.
Resume swimbaits: 4-inch shad-pattern on 3/8 oz, slow roll along structure. Also work small topwaters if the water surface starts to show any action, but don't count on it. Stick mostly to subsurface presentations.
Temperatures are still hot but the sun angle is dropping and a slight shift back toward shallow structure begins. Bass haven't fired up yet but they are starting to look up. Shad are moving back toward structure edges as the light changes. Keep the retrieve methodical, not fast.
EVENING · 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Shallow flats, timber lines, and riprap banks in 4 to 10 feet. Bridge crossings and any rocky shoreline.
Small spinnerbaits: 3/8 oz with a single Colorado blade in white or chartreuse, slow roll it. 4-inch swim jigs in shad or white. Small topwaters if you see surface disturbance. Work the retrieve steady and deliberate, not fast.
Light is easing and the water is cooling slightly off the surface. Bass begin their evening move from deep structure back into shallower feeding zones. Threadfin shad are moving shallow at last light. This window is second only to early morning. Bass will chase and they'll hit reaction baits. The bite accelerates the closer you get to dark.
DUSK · 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Shallow timber, riprap, and eroded banks in 3 to 8 feet. Any cover near the shoreline. Channel swing mouths on the inside bend.
4-inch dark-colored stick baits on 1/4 oz jigs, fished slow. Small dark topwaters or poppers. Work them with pauses. Also throw black or dark blue swimbaits in the 3-inch range.
This is the second-best bite of the day. Bass are fully transitioned shallow and feeding as light drops. In dark-colored baits they track better in low light. Erratic topwater retrieves work here because bass are already fired up and competitive feeding kicks in. This is where you pick apart timber and cover methodically.
NIGHT · 8:30 PM to 6:52 AM
Shallow timber and brush in creek arms, coves, and along the riprap. They stay there all night.
If you're fishing, throw larger dark baits: 5 to 6-inch black or junebug worms on 1/4 oz jigs, slow. Work heavy cover with a weedless presentation. Or skip dark crawfish baits under docks and overhangs.
Bass hold shallow in cooler night water feeding on shad and crawfish in and around timber. The whole pattern reverses: deep during the hot day, shallow during the cool night. Night fishing beats the heat and can produce the biggest bites, but it requires confidence in heavy cover work and willingness to fish when it's dark.
Where to fish
- Bridge Riprap and Causeway Crossings — 6 to 14 feet · hard rocky banks, riprap, transition zones to open water
Riprap is prime early-morning and late-afternoon structure. Bass use it as an ambush point. Shad relate to the hard surface. Every major bridge on Ray Hubbard is worth hitting first light and last light. - Main Lake Channel Edges and Swings — 14 to 22 feet · channel walls, inside bends with deeper water, drop-offs transitioning to the basin
This is the summer holding ground. Bass move from shallow spawning and spring spots to the channel and its edges. The inside bends of channel swings hold the concentration because they offer shallower feeding zones and deep escape routes. - Long Points and Secondary Points — 8 to 18 feet (extends into deep) · hard bottom, gravel, sometimes timber on the slope
Points funnel bass movement between shallow and deep water. On Ray Hubbard the long main-lake points drop reliably into the channel. Fish them in morning and evening. During the day the deep edge of the point holds fish, early and late the shallower slope produces. - Timber and Brush Piles in Deep Water — 18 to 26 feet · standing timber, submerged brush piles, logs and laydowns on the bottom
Deep timber is the refuge during peak heat and bright sun. It provides shade and complexity. Pitch baits tight to the wood and work them slowly. This is your survival zone during midday when nothing else produces consistently.
What to throw
- 4-inch Shad-Pattern Swimbaits — 4 in · white, natural shad silver · 3/8 oz jighead (early morning, evening, dusk when bass are feeding)
slow swim along bottom and structure edges, pause occasionally, work 1 to 3 feet off bottom during early and late light - 1/2 oz Football Jig with Craw Trailer — jig 1/2 oz · brown, green pumpkin craw; jig head in brown or black · 1/2 oz (mid-morning through afternoon, anytime on ledges and humps)
cast and drag bottom-to-bottom on structure, short hops on the spot, let it sit during pauses - 3/8 oz Lipless Crankbaits — 2.5 to 3 in · shad, white, chartreuse · 3/8 oz (early morning, late afternoon, anytime you need a reaction bite)
cast shallow structure and count it down to depth, rip and pause, work it around timber and rocks - 1/4 oz Shaky Head with 4-inch Stick Bait — 4 in · green pumpkin, watermelon, natural light colors · 1/4 oz (midday, tight to timber and brush piles, any low-activity period)
pitch to cover, let it shake and settle, work it with subtle lifts, extremely slow retrieve - Small Spinnerbaits — n/a · white, chartreuse, with single Colorado blade · 3/8 oz (evening, dusk, any time bass move shallow)
slow roll along structure edges and shallow timber, steady retrieve with occasional pause, keep blade turning slow
How to work it
- Bottom-Dragging Presentation — morning through afternoon, anytime water is deep and structure is defined · ledges, channel drops, humps, rocky banks, timber
Cast jig or slab near structure, let it sink to bottom, drag it 1 to 2 feet with pauses, keep contact with the lake floor the whole time - Slow-Pitch Retrieve — early morning, evening, any time bass are not actively feeding but present · along structure edges, flats meeting dropoffs, any transition area
Cast swimbaits or jigs and retrieve on a count: one turn of the reel, pause for 2 to 3 seconds, one more turn, repeat. Exaggerate the pauses. - Tight-to-Cover Pitching — midday and throughout the day when bass are hunkered down in shade · deep timber, brush piles, submerged trees, laydowns
Shorten your cast to 20 to 30 feet, pitch (don't full cast) into timber, brush, and dense cover, work the bait vertically and in tight circles within the cover
Pro tips
- Invest in good electronics. Ray Hubbard is clear and its structure is defined. Finding shad schools on your graph will lead you to bass every time. Threadfin shad concentrate on humps and channel edges, and bass stack underneath or adjacent to them.
- Early morning is not just about light, it is about shad movement. These baitfish are most active feeding on structure at first light. If you are not on point at sunrise, you miss the bite window. Plan to launch before 6:45 AM and be crank-ready by 6:55 AM.
- Summer heat means downsizing. Smaller baits (3 to 4 inches) and lighter jigheads (1/4 to 3/8 oz) get bit more. In high water temperatures largemouth are less aggressive and they eat smaller profiles more readily than big baits.
If conditions change
If the wind picks up and turns the lake rough, fish the protected creek arms and inside bends. Wind-blown banks can extend the morning bite but rough water also pushes bass deeper seeking refuge. If clouds roll in or rain comes, the bright-sun pattern breaks and bass shallow up and feed longer into the day. Extend your midday window by 2 to 3 hours because the low light makes them more comfortable shallow. If it clears to bluebird after a front, the opposite happens: they go deeper and tighter immediately, the shallow bite dies, and you pivot hard to deep ledges and heavy cover. If the water clouds up from rain or run-off, switch to brighter colors like chartreuse and white to cut through the stain, and upsize your presentations slightly because visibility drops and bass hunt more by feel than sight.
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