In many parts of the country, August represents the Dog Days of Summer. Temperatures, above and below the water’s surface, are peaking. But the elevated temps don’t mean there aren’t fish to be caught. Panfish are on fire, bass are biting, and there’s a saltwater bounty to be had. Wherever you fish, there’s something to be caught. Here’s what we’re using to get bit in August.
THE NORTHEAST
Things are in full swing on the salty side of the Northeast. Though the striped bass have mostly left the mid-coast region in favor of cooler waters up north, anglers from the Cape up are catching stripers in the back bays and along the open oceanfront. I was recently in Maine, fishing Casco and Saco bays with Old Town Canoes & Kayaks, catching stripers in 4 to 20 feet of water on light tackle. If you want to get in on this action, hop in a kayak or other small vessel and target marsh areas and pinch points as the tide drops, intercepting bass as they ambush bait that is flushed out. Use a medium-heavy spinner spooled with 15- to 20-pound braid with a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and throw topwaters such as Rapala’s Saltwater Skitter Walk and rigged 9-inch Lunker City Slug-Gos. In deeper water, throw a 7-inch Z-Man DieZel Minnow rigged on a DieZel Eye jighead.
For more family-friendly action, target fluke (summer flounder) anywhere throughout their range. One of the most effective ways to catch these tasty bottom-dwellers involves a three-way rig consisting of a Spro bucktail sized to hold bottom in whatever depth and current conditions you’re fishing, with a Gamakatsu shiner hook in 3/0 or 4/0 on a dropper loop about 10 inches above. I like using Seaguar Inshore fluorocarbon leader material in 20- or 30-pound test to tie these up. Fresh local spearing is an ideal bait, but Berkley’s Gulp doesn’t require any refrigeration so it’s always ready to go. The swimming mullet and shrimp styles are my go-to. Drift over bottom contours with as steep a drop off as possible and get ready for dinner.
The rivers and creeks have hit their summer flows, and in many cases that means bass are concentrated in the deeper sections. Crawfish serve as the forage base in many of the rivers I fish, so I hit the deep pools with a crank like Rebel’s Crawfish. Great Lakes Finesse Juvy Craw rigged on one of their Mini Pro Tube jigheads is another can’t-miss bait.
Anglers looking for bass in deeper bodies of water such as the Finger Lakes should key in on weedline in about 20 feet of water. It’s hard to beat a Senko, like the new NY largemouth bass record holder used, but underspins such as the Great Lakes Finesse Sneaky are a valuable tool for targeting schooling bass. If you want lakers, head to the 50 to 80 foot depths and look for schools using your electronics. Use a blade bait like a Binsky or a swimbait such the Keitech FAT Swing Impact on a ½ ounce head.
At our local town pond, sunfish will spawning on the shallow flats an easy cast from shore. I’ll set my son up with a marabou jig on an ultralight rod, and point out the bowls. While he’s crushing ‘gills, I’ll be standing next to him tossing a Strike King KVD Hard Knock squarebill to target the bass looking to raid nests and gobble up sunnies. —Joe Albanese
MIDWEST
It may be hard to believe by those in other necks of the woods who have large populations of fish, but the fishing gets even tougher in the Midwest this month, and continues to be difficult through September. Fish are moving a lot now, transitioning between their summer deep water haunts and chasing shad throughout the shallows to feed up for the winter months. This makes zeroing in on a pattern much more difficult, but the shallow bite is much better than deep ones.
Big glide baits and topwater lures like buzzbaits and poppers can work better now but finding where fish are positioned is the key. Success seems to mean moving a lot and downsizing to Ned rigs, shaky heads and smaller jigs are the ticket. Spinnerbaits, fluke-style baits and squarebills come back out of the box too.
Docks and heavy cover are go-tos now and our selection includes moving a lot and covering prime locations using electronics to narrow down spots that are holding fish. Efficiency is an oxymoron and that means moving a lot but picking apart the best cover with one or two more casts versus just covering water. —Terry Brown
SOUTHEAST
August is considered to be a tough month for fishing throughout the southern United States. While this may be true in some areas, there’s still a number of productive patterns that transpire this time of year. As the majority of deep schools begin to disperse, I often opt for a variety of different bottom baits. These fish are often conditioned to fast moving reaction baits, therefore slow moving baits such as jigs, Texas rigs and Neko rigs seem to work best. A few of my favorite baits include a Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig, Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm, and a Zoom Ol’ Monster 10-inch worm.
Another productive pattern that goes on this time of year is grass fishing. As we reach the end of the summer, grass is often topped out across many lakes in the Southeast. This vegetation provides bass with a cool, protected area to both seek shelter and feed on unsuspecting prey. This is one of my favorite types of cover to fish this time of year, and I employ a variety of different baits. Jigs, topwaters and vibrating jigs are some of my most productive baits for targeting this type of cover. A few of my favorites include the Z-Man Evo Chatterbait, Strike King KVD Sexy Dawg and the Dirty Jigs Canterbury flipping and pitching jig. —Sam Hanggi
This month will be the hottest of the year here in Alabama, with water temps and daily highs rarely dipping below 90 degrees. For this reason, most bass will be deeper than 12 feet of water–so I must fish there some of the time. But, there will still be a remnant shallow bite too. And targeting these bass with a topwater is still a great way to catch good fish early, late and in the shade midday. For the last month, the bass have been on a Berkley Choppo really good where I live. This bait is great at drawing the attention of bass that are still staging close to the bank, but in a little deeper water. The Choppo has been really productive along deeper seawalls in the mornings and along bluffs and steeper banks later in the day.
When the bass just roll on the Choppo, I’ll start moving more towards walking and popping topwaters. I’ll have baits on the deck this month like the Team Ark Topwater Popper and the old school Heddon Zara Spook. It’s a little harder to cover water with these baits, but they typically connect better with bass that are swiping at the faster moving baits. And, since the bass are still setting up on very high percentage places—like windy seawalls on points and laydowns on bluffs—I can take my time and throw these slower topwaters in the right spots, giving myself a better chance to turn a bite into a hookup.
It’s no secret that crankbaits are great for summertime fishing as well. This is primarily because deep cranks are a solid choice for targeting bass that are staging offshore. But mid-depth cranks, shallow cranks and even squarebills all work well in the heat of the summer too; you’ve just got to know where to throw them. In either case—deep or shallow—current is a big thing to look for.
If you want to crank shallow wood with a squarebill, look for a creek with a little bit of moving water. Bass along deep ledges are much more active and willing to bite a crankbait when the water is moving. And shallow to medium diving crankbaits are great for grinding the bottom when they’re generating water directly beneath a dam. The Berkley Dime 4 and Dime 6 will be my go-to baits for fishing beneath dams. The Strike King 6XD is hard to beat in the deeper water, but I plan to see if the Dime 15 can give it a run for its money. And the Bill Lewis SB-57 has become my tried-and-true squarebill over the last few years.
I will also have a drop shot in my hand a good bit this month. Drop shots are still a mainstay in the offshore angler’s tackle box, but they aren’t used as much as they were it seems. I was reminded how effective they can be recently as I idled over a brush pile, marked it and then spun the boat around to try to fish it. I took a look at the waypoint on the map, took a look around for reference points on shore and made a pitch, hitting the brush in 18 feet of water and catching a small bass on that first cast. This is something I had gotten pretty good at 10 years ago, but this was the first time I had tried to do it in a while. —Shaye Baker
BEAT THE HEAT
August can be a tough month, but anglers that brave the heat can still catch a mess of fish. Adjust your tactics as needed, and try to fish during the cooler parts of the day. Consider going after dark if you can, or maybe switch target species to those that bite more willingly in the heat, such as panfish. Bring plenty of water, and get out there.
