With the summer temps consistently pushing or going over the 90 degree mark the last couple weeks, it is safe to say summer is here! I couldn't be more pumped up about this, not just because I love the warm temperatures and longer days, but the big bass get biting good out deep.

I've been relying on several key presentations to target deep water bass that are keying in on deep weed edges and rock piles. Carolina-rigs, drop shots and football head jigs can be seen on the deck of my boat at all times. If I can really get the school of fish going, tossing a crankbait is a fun way to load the boat quickly.

On Wednesday, June 27th, my partner John Cline and I had the Denny's Wednesday Evening tournament. Our first stop was loaded and we had a great evening on the water, catching a lot of quality sized bass. I was using a finesse worm on a Trokar Drop Shot hook, which kept my big bass of the evening buttoned up all the way to the boat.

I feel the two other key pieces of my equipment was my Wright & McGill Micro Guide Honeycomb Drop Shot rod, this rod is super sensitive, but yet has a strong backbone to get the big ones in. I spooled my reel with 10 lb. Seaguar TATSU Fluorocarbon line, to give me maximum sensitive and ease of casting.

Our four fish limit weighed in at 14 lb. 13 oz. putting us in 2nd place and our biggest bass settled in on the scales at 4 lb. 14.5 oz. This second place finish felt great! Despite it just being an evening tournament, the competition was stiff and this was my first checked cashed on Lake Minnetonka.

One of the keys I feel to being successful when fishing off shore structure and deep water, is relying on your electronics. With larger screens, you can have your GPS on one side and your depth on the other when running your trolling motor and an bigger screen comes in handy when side imaging new fishing areas. See more tips and how I rig my Humminbird Electronics on my boat in this video.

Hopefully the knowledge and time on the water will continue to pay off this summer as we still have four Denny's Wednesday events left.

On the horizon for me is a FLW BFL tournament down on pools 4 and 5 of the Mississippi River on Saturday the 14th and then a Big Bass Bonanza event on that Sunday on Lake Minnewaska. Hopefully I'll have a blog for you following that weekend with some goods recaps!

With the rash of on the water accidents and drowning occurring in MN, I encourage everyone to wear your life jacket at all times. I know wearing a big, bulky life jacket gets hot, that is why I wear an Onyx Inflatable Life Jacket. I stay cool, comfortable and able to fish, but still I'm 100% safe.

Everyone have fun and be safe on the water this holiday week!