Text and photos by Ilyas Schellekens

It was summertime in the South of Morocco, and for me, the first time I was fishing for bass in this hot weather. In Belgium and the Netherlands, we also have significant changes during the different seasons, so I didn’t know what to expect.

During my first reckoning session, I didn’t get any bites, so it was back to the drawing board and trying to figure out where the summer bass were hiding. In this article, I will explain how I exchange a blank reckoning session for a bag of eight fish weighing 42,5 lb and which factors were of importance.

Often, I use U.S. info, and I bring the tactics over to Morocco. After doing the necessary research, I was filled with new ideas and things to try out.

The first thing I looked for was shade, but in this human-made lake, there was hardly any cover. No weed beds, no overhanging trees, no docks or bridges, so finding obvious cover and shade near the banks of the Youssef Ibn Tachfine reservoir wasn’t an easy job.

How can you not like to fish in a place like this? I hope the water level will rise soon; it is getting too low.

I always try to explore as much as I can, leaving open the chance of discovering new things. The reservoir is vast, and I planned to head out to the front part closer to the dam.

There were a few islands in the front part of the reservoir.

I already caught fish here in the winter, and directly I got action and caught two bass. The first fish of the day and straight away a 5.20 lb / 21.6”, I was stoked! I have had worse starts of the day!

Try casting passed the point, not on the location. This way the bass can funnel the bait better, I picked that up from watching a video from Bill S. and start paying attention to it ever since.

Within 30 minutes, I caught a second bass, smaller but what a beauty.

Around the small island, the side that borders with the deeper water held fish, during this summer session.

The Gary Yamamoto spinnerbaits ¾, ⅜, ½ oz come with a Gamakatsu hook. I changed the Indiana blade for a gold willow blade and added a new skirt.

I tried the most interesting parts of the banks, but the whole midday and part of the afternoon, I didn’t get a bite. No action is also telling us something, which can lead us to the action!

The bass seemed to avoid the front part of the reservoir in summer. They preferred the water in the center where the water column is deeper and colder. Especially the spots with current present. All these positive factors created the perfect environment for the summer bass to hang around.

These were the crucial factors!

Current
Main lake
Rocks / structure
Deep drop-offs
Baitfish

A beautiful structure that held several quality bass, along the left side, there was a current created by the strong wind blowing over the mountain top.

Eventually, my efforts got rewarded when I saw this shady spot under an overhanging rock. It was here that I caught my third bass after a half-day of searching, luckily, I have a float plus system that helped me a lot in covering water! Without this propulsion system, I could never have tried so many spots using only fins.

A nice fat bass was lying ready for an ambush on this shady spot.

The bass took the bait shortly after hitting the surface, finally!

21.6 inches / 5.99 lb I only caught four fish that session but gathered a lot of new information, and with one toad, like this, makes for a successful session.

I was getting closer to a spot where the wind, waves, and current created oxygen. The amount of baitfish on the surface was amazing!

When I finally came along the promising area, it took only a few casts to get a strike, catching my fourth bass of the day!

A Texas rigged worm seduced this 4-pounder.

I Texas rig them with a 7-gram tungsten from Spro NL and use the WORM34 hook from Gamakatsu size 4/0. My leader is 1 m of 0.30 size fluorocarbon tied on with an Albright knot to my mainline 0.10 PE braid.

With this set-up, I had a great hook-set rate and had so much fun fighting the fish!

Perfectly hooked, and what a joy to catch it on spinning gear!

It was clear to me this was a good summer spot. The middle parts of the main lake just hold more fish. They are deeper and provide cooler water with more oxygen, appealing to both the baitfish and the predators.

Time to rethink my strategy, process the input, and make my next move.

I was satisfied with my results and got a lot of new info that finally gave me a clearer understanding. Already I had a plan for my next fishing trip: I would start again in the front near the dam, fish the small island and head straight to the center of the main lake. But first, I would try the opposite bank, which also had an excellent rocky point.

After a long day of casting, it was now time to head back to my starting point and load my gear in the car.

The Float-Master Ultra-Light has three air chambers, so I just deflate the one in the tip and shove it in the trunk. This summer holiday was the first time we drove our own car. This way, we could bring more luggage, and the battery for my Float Plus system wasn’t a problem on the ferry. I left my sonar at home as kind of an experiment to see if I could do without it, making my set-up more compact.

A fanatic Dutch angler invented the Float Plus system, and it was the first time I used it in Morocco.

I am charging the lithium battery and remote control of the Float Plus system for the next trip.

Fins out of the water and full throttle back to my starting point, the Float Plus System is a rather expensive item at 1394,85 US dollars.

Float Plus ready means it is custom-designed to slide the engine underneath the float tube.

The whole Float Plus system is waterproof, and the lithium battery easily lasts an entire fishing day. The only negative thing is the price, and I wouldn’t advise it in fisheries with lots of water plants. The weight of the whole system is only 12,78 lb.

Four days later, I headed out straight to the island, but found no bites, so I stuck to my plan and continued my route.

Always secure your float tube to a rock or a tree trunk! This way, you are sure it will not float off without you!

On this point, I got action, throwing parallel with the bank and doing a slow roll, hitting some structure on the bottom, straight through the strike zone and boom, got my first fish!

Happy, I was with this bass from 4.85 lb; I never caught a bass on this spot.

It is always a nice feeling after catching that first fish of the day.

Along that bank, there were several nice-looking spots like a bend with some sticks and a long rock formation, but that one fish was it.

I crossed the reservoir and headed for the most promising spot near the main lake where I ended my session the other day. It didn’t take long before something nibbled on my Texas rig. I waited a moment and set the hook with a sweeping move. All the indications here were present, and getting immediate action also pointed in the direction of a summer hotspot!

Tequila Sunrise Worm + WORM34 perfect in the corner!

Black-blue glitters/blue tail and Tequila sunrise colors rock in the summertime!

The WORM34 from Gamakatsu size 4/0 is my favorite worm hook.

I pegged the tungsten bullet sinker because I am fishing over rocks, and this way, the bait doesn’t get hung up so easily. Pegging the bait is useful when making long casts and when the bait is sliding off the hook.

The third fish slide in my net, just under five pounds, 4,84 lb.

The fourth fish was a little bit lighter, 4,73 lb., but had a very distinctive scar on its back fin, missing some spikes. They both were caught on a spinnerbait.

I am a fan of trailer hooks and always use a Gamakatsu trailer hook size 2/0. They come in four sizes from 1 to 2/0. Super sharp and most important, they stay sticky sharp longer!

The sixth bass was 4.98 lb and wrecked my Gary Yamamoto spinnerbait, but I must say the bait lasted very long and was worth every cent! Caution, don’t keep bending back the arms of spinnerbaits because it will break!

This largemouth had some scars, there is a large population of cormorants, and I am sure they are responsible for some of the wounds.

Always take enough water in your float tube, so you stay hydrated!

In Belgium, I had ordered online some Picasso spinner baits ⅜, ½, ¾ oz and it was time to try one, I added an extra skirt, again exchanged the Indiana blade for a willow blade and put on a trailer hook.

But to my big disappointment out of the next five hook-ups, I only landed two, but they were the biggest that I landed. Three got away with an acrobatic backflip, but were smaller sizes! Thank God!!!

Picasso spinnerbaits come with a mechanism that makes changing blades and jig heads very easy.

The seventh fish was a 6-pounder, double hooked with the trailer hook; it was almost impossible to escape.

Released, I love watching them swim away!

The eighth largemouth was the cherry on the cake! 6.18 lb caught again with the ½ oz Picasso spinnerbait. What a beauty!

The Perfect Combination

It was a mixture of these factors that made this bank a hotspot. The presence of lots of baitfish was important! This spot was near the center of the main lake where the original river flowed.