July is right around the corner (‘MERICA!), it’s hot as all hell right now as most of the United States is about to get hit with a massive heat wave this week, and while those kind of temperatures can make bass fishing tough, there’s still ways to catch them.
Just about everywhere in the country, bass will be in their summer patterns and that can generally mean one thing… it’s time to fish deep offshore structure. Carolina rigs, football jigs, those bottom-contact dragging baits will play for deep bass. For schooling fish, minnow shaking, big hair jigs, deep crankbaits and flutter spoons can be the deal. And while a majority of fish seem to move deeper, there is also a good population of fish that stay shallow year around… and to me, those can be some of the most fun to catch. It also makes it easier to avoid pleasure boaters and jet skis…
So without further ado, here’s 5 bass baits for the month of July, that should play across a majority of the middle 75% of the country… if you’re way north, maybe go back a month and check out June’s list, and if you’re on the deep south, maybe check out last year’s August post.
1. Topwater
A topwater walking bait or a popper (especially during the mayfly hatch if you have that going on) is particularly effective in the summer months, as well as the shad and bluegill spawn. There’s nothing like the surprise of a big bass blowing up on a topwater walking bait, it’s arguably the best bite in bass fishing. And topwater can play out deep over schools, or can play shallow in the weeds.
Of course there a tons of different topwater presentations that can work depending on your situation and cover and it can be overwhelming to try and decide with one to use. Buzzbaits and ploppers can cover water quickly, poppers can be deadly during bluegill spawns, of course frogs in the vegetation. Here’s a few of my favorites, and as far as colors go, it’s tough to go wrong with bone, natural, and/or chrome colors (black in low light), and if you got some matted vegetation, lily pads, or my favorite, duckweed, a hollow body frog is tough to beat.
Evergreen SB Topwater Plug – $22.99
Colors: Bone, Full Metal, Natural Gill
Storm Arashi Cover Pop – $10.99
Colors: Green Gill, Ghost Pearl Shad
Toad Thumper Swamper Frog – $9.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Black, Bad Gill
Colors: Broken Bone, Night Aurora, True Gill
2. Drop Shot
A drop shot is one of the most versatile and one of the most effective techniques that you can honestly probably use every month of the year. I have one tied on pretty much year around, and it’s really become a confidence bait for me over the years. When I need a bite, pick up the drop shot. If you’re on the bank, it’s great. If you’re fishing around shallow flats or near docks, it’s great. If you’re fishing deep rock way offshore… still great.
If you’re not fishing around any grass or wood, you can nose hook your soft plastic on a drop shot hook, but if so, opt for a finesse Neko hook and you can tex-pose that hook point so it’ll come through that cover without hanging up.
Roboworm Straight Tail Worm – $3.97 – $4.99
Colors: Aaron’s Magic, Margarita Mutilator, Morning Dawn
NetBait STH BaitFuel Crush Worm – $3.97
Colors: Magic Chart, Naked Perch, Bang
Great Lakes Finesse Drop Worm – $6.99
Colors: Morning Dawn, Green Pumpkin Purple, Matte Black
3. Hair Jig
A big hair jig is a fun way to fish and one that is often under-utilized my most anglers. It’s definitely more common on ledge fisheries like the TVA lakes, but even up north where I live in Wisconsin, we have deep natural lakes where the bottom falls off a cliff in a hurry. When the bass start school up, a hair jig is a great way to pick off some of the bigger ones in the school.
Outkast Tackle Chicken Hair Jig – $15.99
And for a smaller profile…
Outkast Tackle Chicken Nugget – $14.99
4. Texas Rig/ Punching
For me, flipping and pitching around shallow cover is always gonna play, whether we’re talking about pre-spawn fish, bedding bass or even post-spawners. It’s just the way I love to fish and it will catch you fish year around. Fish will generally go deep in the summer months, especially down south, and you can catch some of them the same way you would flipping up shallow. Flipping deep weed edges is a great way to catch them in the summer, and as soon as the grass starts to top out or mat up, throw on a heavier weight (3/4 ounce – 2 ounce, use the lightest that will work) and punch right through there. Heavy rod, heavy lines, heavy weights… it’s a fun way to fish. I generally like a craw or creature, but if you know you’re around fish and aren’t getting bites, try a worm.
If you haven’t found a favorite yet, here’s a few I really have ha a lot of success with, especially the Bronco Bug… it just gets bit. But don’t sleep on flipping a tube either.
Rapala Crush City Bronco Bug – $6.99
Colors: Black & Blue Flake, Green Pumpkin Blue, Candy Bug
Rapala Crush City Cleanup Craw – $6.99
Colors: Tilapia Magic, Green Pumpkin Blue, Bama Craw
Big Bite Baits Craw Tube – $4.99
5. Football Jig
Dragging a jig is standard practice, but “stroking” a heavy jig is how you fire up a completely dormant, uncooperative school of bass sitting tightly on a ledge. I like a 1/2-ounce or 3/4-ounce football jig so you can feel it tight on the bottom paired with a high-action craw trailer. You’re gonna need a pretty stiff, heavy-action casting rod (somewhere in the 7’2″ to 7’6″ range) and heavy fluorocarbon line to drive that hook in deep water.
Keitech Tungsten Football Jig – $7.99
Colors: Brown Purple, Black Blue, Green Pumpkin Black
Colors: Goat, PB&J, Junebug
Honorable Mention: Minnow Shaking
This one comes with a bit of a caveat because you probably need a forward facing sonar setup to effectively fish a minnow offshore. You don’t need it, but you can be WAY more efficient and effective with it. In the summer months, bass will school up offshore, and prior to forward facing sonar, it took quite a bit of work to find them. Bit if you have FFS, you can catch buckets of bass shaking a minnow (or even jerking a Coike if you can find one).
Rapala Crush City Mooch Minnow – $6.49 – $7.99
Colors: Electric Shad, Albino Shad, Shad
For a bigger profile, you can try the Freeloader.
Rapala Crush City Freeloader – $6.49 – $8.99
Colors: Electric Shad, Albino Shad, Shad
*This post contains links through the Tackle Warehouse Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.
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