Richardson does most of his damage on the main lake and around the mouth of major creeks. In the summer, he prefers to stay in the mid-lake area, from around North Bend upstream to the Island Creek area. He'd rather fish the fairly clear water on the main lake than fish stained water back in the creeks.

"I like to fish around the mouth of the big creeks, the mouth of the small creeks that dump into the main lake, and around big bays," he said. "One good thing about fishing the mouth of creeks, I believe, is that there will be a good topwater bite in the morning -- or all day if it's cloudy.

"I'll throw a topwater until about 10 o'clock every morning, either a Zara Spook or a white Zoom trick worm," Richardson said (336/803-0370). "I normally like to fish a topwater around steep, rocky points that I know have stumps or rocks -- some kind of cover. I like to throw across the point. I'll try to sit my boat at least 12 feet deep and throw up across the top in 3 to 10 feet of water. Those bass will come up a long way in the summer to get a topwater bait."

When that morning topwater bite fizzles out, however, Richardson follows Cable and Wright out to the offshore structure -- drops, humps, long points -- with a deep-diving crankbait.

"That summer bite will start at Buggs Island by mid-June, and from the middle of June all the way through July, that's the best time to fish at Buggs Island. That time of year is the best time to catch a big school of bass on one spot. You might catch 15 in 15 casts," he said. "You might find a school of little fish or a school of 3- or 4-pounders. Or you might wind up just catching one here and one there.

"When I move off the bank, I'm looking for high spots and long, tapering points that have some kind of cover: rocks, brush or stumps. You can catch more fish on rocks in the early part of the summer than anything else. I always sit deep and throw shallow and try to crank that bait off the ledge."

Richardson divides his cranking time between three main baits: a Zoom Z400, a Mann's 20-Plus and a Bill Norman DD-22. He prefers shad and chartreuse color variations. If he can't get a crankbait bite, he'll either Carolina rig or Texas rig the Zoom Ole Monster worm.

"There are times when it seems like they'll bite one bait better than the other," he said.

There is one thing that will send Richardson running from his normal spots -- an extremely windy day.

"If I get a good, windy day and if I don't feel like I can sit out and fish offshore, then I'll run up the lake to the Clarksville area," he said. "Even in July, you can catch a fish on a spinnerbait up there on deep, rocky bluff banks that have the wind blowing in on 'em, or pockets with logjams that have the wind on 'em.

"There are more steep, bluff-type banks up in that part of the lake, and fish will relate to them, even very shallow fish. You can fish those places with a spinnerbait, and you can even fish those kinds of places with a Rat-L-Trap and catch 'em."

This summer, if you're tempted to think that the bass just aren't biting, remember that they're out there somewhere, they have to eat, and they'll have reasons for feeding at some places and not others. You figure those reasons out, and the fishing can be as easy as pre-spawn angling in April.