Like real estate, the three most important words in bass fishing are location, location, and location. I learned that lesson again at Stages Six and Seven of the MLF Bass Pro Tour held on Table Rock Lake.

How I learned this was pretty simple, I caught plenty of fish, except mine were all smaller than the anglers who performed well. I thought I had the right bites and enough of them, but I didn’t figure it out until it was too late as the SCORETRACKER® showed me I kept falling further back.

So, to prove this point, I fished Table Rock again a few days after Stage Seven ended. I fished areas I didn’t fish before and caught larger fish doing the same things I did previously.

It’s pretty amazing after all of these years as a professional angler how humbling this sport is, and how you have to always keep learning to be successful. I didn’t know I was in the wrong locations until a week after the event was over.

Now, I’m sitting in 31st in the season points race, one spot outside of the REDCREST Championship qualification. I’ll need a good event on Lake Winnebago to make it. I’ve been inside the REDCREST qualification points all season until this last event. I plan on fishing my strengths at Winnebago.

I’ll probably fish shallower water in the 8- to 10-feet-deep range. It’s an unknown body of water to me, so if I’m going to excel and make it to the championship, I’m going to excel playing my game and try to rely on my strength to catch enough fish.

Some Summertime Best-Bet Baits

Since we’re moving into the summer months, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite lures to use now.

Most bass will move deeper unless they live in very shallow bodies of water. So, focus on fishing 10 to 30 feet deep in general.

I like throwing a Norman DD22 crankbait, a 10-inch Yum Ribbontail Worm, and a 10-inch Yum Magnum Finesse Worm.

For the worms, I love the plum color, especially early in the summer. The Yum products have a scent built into them, so when you break the skin to rig or when it scrapes against cover, etc., the scent comes off it. You never need to apply scent.

One thing you need to try is that Magnum Finesse Worm fished on a shaky head. It’s really just a larger ball-head jig. I fish it on casting gear and use 15-pound fluorocarbon. It really works well for catching bigger bass.