In August and September, the bass will often be on a reliable feeding schedule from about 6:00 PM until dark. When you locate schooling bass during this time, you can normally expect to find them feeding at the same time and the same place every day in late summer. They will start this pattern sometime in July and end sometime in October, but August and September are the best months for the consistent schooling action. Schooling bass are a lot of fun, but most of the fish will be small. So that's a pattern that I pursue less and less every year so I can devote more time for bigger fish.
I recommend fishing at night in the summer - not only because it is more comfortable, but because we will catch much better quality fish. The downside of the late summer pattern is that the water is so hot that the big fish don't feed as often - and the fish aren't as big as they were in cooler months. I catch most of my fish in the same areas as I did in June and July. Most of the spots aren't as productive. So I catch most of my fish in a few select spots. I catch most of my fish at night on jigs and Texas rigged craws and worms.
I can usually get some nice fish on any given night in late summer. However, I've had a handful of tough nights and because of my honesty, I don't get a lot of trips this time of the year. If you call me up and ask me when to go, August will be near the bottom of my list.
By September, the bass are usually on a great early morning shallow bite. Some mornings, I can get 20 fish to bite a topwater lure in the first half hour. It's like a light switch! One minute you can't get a bite - the next minute you get bit as soon as the bait hits the water. 30 minutes later, it's back to slow again. The last time I fished a tournament (when they allowed guides) in September, we had a limit in 4 minutes. That's some serious action!