Top summertime lures with Wendlandt

As the weather heats up across the country, it’s time to start getting geared up for summertime bass fishing. In this photo gallery, 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year Clark Wendlandt shows his five favorite baits for summertime bassin’.

Wendlandt’s five lures cover all depths. Everything from the surface down to 30-plus feet of water.

All of Wendlandt’s lures are thrown on Bass Pro Shops rods and Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Series Reels.

1. Carolina-rigged Strike King Game Hawg Creature Bait rigged on a 3/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus hook with a 3/4-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Weight. Wendlandt throws the Carolina Rig on a 7-foot, 6-inch Medium Heavy Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Carbon Lite 2.0 Casting Rod paired with a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Series Reel.

In the summertime, fish tend to set up on deep offshore structure. The Carolina rig is a great bait to drag around when the fish set up like this. The heavy tungsten weight allows Wendlandt to easily feel the structure.

2. Strike King 6XD Crankbait paired with 16-pound Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon Line. Wendlandt likes to throw the 6XD on a 7-foot, 3-inch Bass Pro Shops Crankin’ Stick and a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Series Reel.

A lot of times, fish get keyed in on shad in the summertime which makes the 6XD in a shad pattern a great choice. Fishing a crankbait at a fast pace through a school of fish can often trigger a big bite.

3. Strike King 10XD Crankbait paired with 18-pound Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon line. A much larger 7-foot, 10-inch Bass Pro Shops Crankin’ Stick is Wendlandt’s rod of choice when throwing the large crankbait.

The key to fishing the 10XD is making extremely long casts. This crankbait allows Wendlandt to reach fish in depths down to 25 feet plus.

4. 3/4-ounce Strike King Structure Jig paired with a Strike King Rage Craw Trailer. Wendlandt throws the jig on a 7-foot, 4-inch Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Series Casting Rod and a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Series Reel.

A jig is a big bite getter. Wendlandt believes that most often, the jig will get the biggest bite out of a school of fish. The head design of the Structure Jig allows the bait to come through most any type of cover with ease.

5. Strike King Sexy Dawg Hard Knock Topwater paired with Sunline SX1 Braided Line. Wendlant’s setup for the topwater is a 7-foot, 1-inch Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Series Casting Rod paired with a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Series Reel.

A topwater is Wendlant’s favorite way to catch bass in the summertime. Although you can get bites on a topwater late in the day, Wendlandt usually starts his mornings with a topwater bait.

Head over to basspro.com to get all of the products shown in the photo gallery.