One group of bass fishermen prefers the run-and-gun approach. These are the die-hard crankbait fishermen that work hard and move frequently. They motor from place to place, giving each spot plenty of casts and ample opportunity to produce. However, if they don't get the bites they're looking for, they move to another potential spot. It is important to know that areas that have produced before will be revisited on a regular basis. There are a couple of favored places that a buddy of mine has extreme confidence in at this time of the year. He'll fish them hard and if the fish are not there or just not active, he'll move. Typically, he'll return and check these proven hotspots every couple of hours. That gives the fish time to move into the area, or to simply be willing to bite.

On most days, he'll find quality fish in the 3-pound class loaded on one or more of these places. When that occurs, it's all worth the effort.

Another scenario that Lake Wateree anglers use is to have a rather large area where the fish typically show up and just "camp" out on it for hours at a time. Some of the humps and ledges are rather sizeable and give the largemouths a large area to target. In these cases, it's sometimes best to continually work around the large area. Generally, one of two things will occur. Sometimes the fish will be located in a confined area and several will be caught quickly. Then the action slows until you get back on other feeding fish.

Another scenario, and one that I've personally encountered several times, is to fish a general area and stick with that place for a while. In this situation, you may pick up a fish on a regular basis, but not experience the red-hot action described earlier. If you can count on a good bite every 20 to 30 minutes, then over the course of a few hours, you can have an extraordinary day. It's not always that productive, but at this time of the year, on the right structures, that kind of steady action is not that unusual either.

In either case, you can use deep-diving crankbaits as one weapon and the preferred tactic of many Lake Wateree regulars. However, the Carolina worm rig is another excellent choice for hot-weather fishing. This versatile rig will enable fishermen to fish the depths targeted by the deep crankbaits but also fish the adjacent shallower and deeper water areas without having to re-rig. In addition, regardless of which lure you prefer, when the action slows on that lure, you can often pick up another fish or two with the other. Employing both rigs at the appropriate time seems to be the most widely used method.