Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Many Oklahoma bass anglers like to take the summer off, spending time under the air conditioner remembering the bruisers they landed during the spring spawn and fantasizing about big-bellied fall bass they'll catch when the water temperatures start to drop back into the fish's comfort range.

What a mistake these folks are making!

The fact of the matter is that Oklahoma's summertime bass can be among the easiest to catch all year. The key lies in knowing where to look and how to fish for them.

Read on for a run-down of some great summer hotspots for northeast Oklahoma bass this summer -- and for summers to come.

LAKE BIXHOMA
Lake Bixhoma, a Bixby water supply reservoir, was created way back in 1965 with the impoundment of Mountain Creek, just south of the Tulsa-Wagner county line. The small reservoir (only 110 acres of surface area) is about eight miles southeast of the town of Bixby and boasts three miles of shoreline, much of it composed of prime bass habitat.

A relative sleeper not widely known in many bass fishing circles, Bixhoma regularly ranks near the top of the list of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's electrofishing bass surveys of small lakes. And for good reason: Not only does the lake hold lots of bass, but it also produces some real whoppers, year after year.

"If you want to catch big bass in the Tulsa area, you've got to go there," said Lawrence Taylor, former editor of BASSIN' magazine and now public relations manager for PRADCO Outdoor Brands' hunting products. "That's where they're at. I tell you, there's a state record swimming in there, and summer is one of the best times to fish that lake."

Taylor, a Bixhoma regular, has caught more than his fair share of lunkers from the lake, including an 11-pound, 8-ounce whopper that's one of the biggest bass he's ever taken anywhere. He caught that monster on a Yumdinger -- a soft-plastic jerk-style bait. The magic color scheme that day was watermelon with red flake.

"I like to fish the Yumdinger in the weedbeds the first and last hour of daylight," Taylor offered. "That's when the fish are up in the weeds the best. I also like to flip the weeds with a jig-and-craw. If the bass aren't up in the weeds, I'll back off and fish a Texas-rigged 10-inch plastic worm a little deeper."

Taylor's other favorite pattern is flipping a jig-and-craw in the standing timber along the lake's creekbed. But he advises Bixhoma anglers during the summer months not to be too hasty to go home when the sun sets.

"Right after dark, use a Zara Spook until they lock the gate," he said. "Fish the Spook up the timber-lined creek -- and hold on tight!"

DRIPPING SPRINGS AND OKMULGEE CITY LAKE
These twin lakes west of the city of Okmulgee are darn good bass producers, even during the heat of the summer.

Summer bass at Dripping Springs and Okmulgee City Lake are best found in areas where a meandering creek channel winds its way through timbered flats. Typically, an area with about 4 to 8 feet of water on the flat and 10 to 12 feet in the creek channel will be best. Shad move into these areas, and bass will move from deep to shallow in pursuit of them, often dropping back into the creek channel during daytime when the sun is high and temperatures rise to uncomfortable levels.

My best Dripping Springs bass ever, a solid 8-pounder, came the last day of July in sweltering heat on one such 6-foot flat. That big fish engulfed a jig-and-pig combination.