Overview
Does it get much better than mid-summer in New England? Fishing, camping, beach days, local ice cream spots with lines down the sidewalk, it’s the stuff that dreams (and many Hallmark movies) are made of. An interesting mental note I’ve continuously compiled throughout my years working summers at Black Hall Outfitters, and now managing it year-round, is that many anglers seem to have this opinion that the fishing slows down or isn’t that great during the middle of the summer. And this couldn’t be further from the truth. Some adjustments in tactics, a willingness to get up earlier or stay out later, and paying close attention to the spots you’re fishing can turn July into one of your hottest months, both in terms of temperature and in fishing. I’m especially fond of July because, as weird as it might sound, it’s basically July and then August before we start seeing yellowing leaves and those nighttime low temps take their slow and steady march down into fall lows in the 40’s. Which means great fishing, since the fall is a blast, but we endure a pretty darn cold and long winter to not enjoy July and all that it offers! So, let’s talk about fishing during the heat of the summer and see if I can change a few minds about it being a slower fishing month.
Freshwater
You’ve got a couple of proven options for targeting largemouth and smallmouth bass during deep summer. The first is tried and true – fish the early or late hours of the day when the sun angle is low or not yet risen/set. As many know this is the time of day when bass move in to shallower water, typically under cover of vegetation, docks, rocks, or wood, and are most likely to feed. Unsurprisingly, this is mainly a matter of when their primary food source is most active. Bugs, frogs, and baitfish are going to be most active when the water is a bit cooler and when the sun isn’t shining directly down on them. It’s both a comfort thing, since cooler water is usually better oxygenated, and a safety thing, since they won’t feel as spooked as they do when the sun is beating down.
I’ve always preferred the early morning hours rather than staying out late. Maybe it’s to keep the rhythm of actually going to bed at a normal time the night before, or because I always felt that water is at its most cool and comfortable once it’s had the full night’s break from shining sun. It could also be my affinity for sunrises and all of the promise they hold. But regardless of whether you prefer a late-night mission or going dawn patrol, there are a few baits that can help you out if you pursue bass during the early morning or late evening hours.
My favorite, and a favorite of most anglers, is to throw topwater. Growing up fishing the Vermont section of the Connecticut River, we had a lot of riprap and general rocky structure. In those areas, my preferred topwater is a spook, popper, or Whopper Plopper type bait. I like that they can cover water well, since often those riprap train sections are quite long. If the bite seems hesitant or slow to arise, I’d consider a pop-pop-pause cadence with a popper.
If you’re fishing vegetation or wood, I always love a hollow-body frog. Almost every major brand makes one, but one key tip is to always keep your rod tip high when working them across veggies. Once you master the ability to work a weedless frog through heavy cover, you’ll never shy away from casting into even the thickest stuff.
If you don’t want to go early or late, and prefer July days for fishing, I’d consider using your charts to identify deep water points or humps. In the high sun hours, bass are going to usually move off to these types of structure where it’s cooler. To fish a deep hump, you can drag a long Carolina-rigged 8 or 10-inch worm around them, hop a jig along them, or use a crankbait that appropriately targets the depth of the structure. Patience and using correct casting angles to cover as much structure as possible is key.
To the angler who picks times and bait appropriately, the July freshwater bite can be epic. So do some research, study some charts, and give it a shot during one of the most beautiful months of the year.
Saltwater
There is a LOT going on in July in the saltwater. And, if your target is striped bass, many of the aforementioned tips about time of day and depth ring true in both salt and freshwater. Often, when searching for big striped bass, your best friend is low light. That can be low light in that it is sunset or sunrise, or it can be low light in that it’s a cloudy and rainy day with some wind. Those are the ingredients you generally want to pursue when picking which time of day to fish for big stripers.
Baits in the mid-summer can run the gamut of size and style. If you’re trying to get any sort of striped bass, then 5–7-inch plugs and topwaters are great options. There are very few striped bass out there that won’t eat a Daiwa SP Minnow or a standard paddletail if it’s brought to their attention. But if you want to try and get some summer giants, you’ll need to upsize your baits appropriately. To me, this usually means using live eels, live bunker, big plugs, or, my most favorite, big soft plastics like the Gravity Tackle 13.5” GT Eel, which is responsible for hooking the vast majority of striped bass over 45” that I’ve caught.
Live bait gives you an advantage because, while it can be expensive or tough to hook (the dreaded “eel donut” haunts many of us), once you get live bait in the water it does all the work for you. Drifting live eels on a 5/0 or 6/0 circle hook or live bunker on a 9/0 or 10/0 circle hook is a locked and loaded way to pick out some of the larger striped bass that might be around. Often aside from structure, you’ll also want there to be some current movement too.
If you want to throw lures during the summer, choose something which appropriately targets the depth of water you’re fishing. Depending on their mood, stripers can be a bit less aggressive during the heat of summer, so using something that gets right in their face and makes the decision for them is important. Tubes and metal-lip divers are popular for trolling, while topwater spooks and big soft plastics are extremely effective for casting, along with the previously-noted live bait options.
If striped bass aren’t your thing, July offers some excellent bottom fishing for seabass, porgies (scup to you northern New Englanders), and fluke. There’s also a summer tautog season in most states which can be really fun if you want to flip a few rocks and gather crabs for bait. Generally, but mid-summer many of the hot reefs are pretty picked over, so I always encourage anglers that come into the shop to use their navigational charts and try to target some lesser- known areas to see if there might be a solid amount of life on them that has been left alone by the initial summer rush crowd. Squid, clams, spearing, and slow pitch jigs are usually preferable for seabass and porgy, while fluke chaser usually love a bucktail rig or a big fluke spoon tied up in a 3-way setup. Pick your baits and be willing to change, as these ground fish and get picky at times in terms of the style and color of bait they want.
Closing
In closing, July is epic. You can catch 6-7 different saltwater species in most waters, the weather can be incredible, and your whole repertoire of baits is available to fish. Choose your times, be willing to adjust your baits, and if you’re on the fence about fishing one day, do what I do and ask yourself, “What would me in January think about skipping a fishing trip in July?” That usually gets me out there.