During summer, smallmouth oftentimes suspend in the middle of a lake on no visible cover. In large impoundments, the wide expanse of water that goes unbroken in all directions can seem like a vast desert. To catch big smallmouth, fish offshore on underwater structure. Try fishing breaklines extending from 7- to 20-feet deep plunging into a main river channel. Locate a vertical drop where the smallmouth have easy access from extremely-deep water into shallow water.

An ideal depth break is near a spawning area. Fish a 1/4-ounce black-and-blue jig with an olive-green trailer, so the smallmouth easily can see the bait. Make extremely-short casts no more than 20 or 25 feet from the boat.

Using an underhanded pitching technique, as soon as the jig hits the water, feed the lure line to make the lure drop vertically. In the summer months, smallmouth will usually hold within 20 feet of a breakline. Generally they’ll be on top of the break feeding, or suspended just off the lip of the break in deep water. Drag the jig slowly, or make short hops to keep your jig in the fish’s strike zone longer.