On Saturday, Eddie’s Marine will host the second annual Kyle’s House/Sunshine Shelter Benefit Bass tournament.

You can launch from any landing on lakes Concordia and St. John. The weigh-in will be held at Neely’s Spokane Landing on Lake St. John. Contestants can fish either lake.

Contestants can start casting at 5:30 a.m. and stop casting at 3:00 p.m. You must be the weigh in line by 3:45 p.m.

The limit is five bass per boat and you can fish alone or as a team.

The fee is $100 per boat and that includes the big bass division. 60 percent of all fees collected will be rewarded to the anglers with the five largest bass and 40 percent will be donated to Kyle’s House and the Sunshine Shelter of Natchez.

Last year we donated a little over $800 and hope to double that this year. Based on 50 entries a total of eight places will be paid to the winners plus the big bass division.

The bass in lakes Concordia and St. John are well into a summer pattern.

This is the season when a host of lures will catch fish and really have to mix to up to boat a decent limit.

The early morning surface bite can be fast and furious but you have to be in the right place at the right time with the right lure. Once the sun gets up the surface activity normally slows down.

Some bass will push further back under the thickest cover available while other fish will suspend under the piers and boathouses built low to the water.

In July on these two lakes it’s all about shade, shallow water and thick cover. It’s rare deal to find big bass deep on either lake during the summer months.

Just target the thick cover and docks low to the water with surface lures, crank baits, soft plastics and light weight jigs with a plastic trailer.

This pattern will certainly test your casting accuracy.

Last year the winning weight came from Lake St. John but the majority of places were won on Lake Concordia.

We were blessed with a cool July day and the big bass really turned on.

I won it and the big bass division with a little over 19 pounds anchored by a huge 6.90 bass. John Bruch placed 2nd in 2009 with 18 pounds.

Heavy weights like this are unheard of during the summer months but with bass fishing you never know.

Entry forms are available at Eddie’s Marine and the Sports Center in Natchez. You can enter this event at Eddie’s Marine from now through Friday.

We will accept entry fees at Spokane landing on tournament morning. Your participation will be greatly appreciated.

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Democrat. He can be reached at fishingwitheddie@bellsouth.net.