Summertime Feeding Patterns

I know I’m getting older but it sure seems like it got hot earlier this summer than prior years. One day it was 76° at 5:00am with afternoon highs in the mid-80s. The next day it was 85° at 5:00am with highs in the mid-90s. Summertime fishing has always required early starts, nothing new there, but with this current heat wave I am certainly feeling it more at days end. Renee laughs when I fall asleep on the couch at 7:30 and sends me off to bed. Luckily, I sleep well and seldom wake during the night, so I am totally rested and ready to go each morning.

I want to discuss my thoughts on summertime feeding patterns. I will be speaking mainly of speckled trout but will include some thoughts on redfish since encounters with them are common in my daily search for trout. As always, there is no real science behind my thoughts, only my observations.

I get excited when it gets hot and the trout bite gets tough. I have some young anglers that book me in the worst trout months due to the difficulty involved in finding and catching quality fish. For the record, the main reason I don’t use bait is because I don’t need bait. And you don’t either; even though you might not know it yet.

I had a group wading behind me with bait a few days ago and we could overhear occasional chatter as they noticed my guys catching trout on lures. It is amazing how sound travels on the water. Truth was those guys were working too shallow and in an area where there was little submerged grass to attract and hold trout. What they needed was better polarized sunglasses so they could see there was no structure on the line they were working – not a bucket of bait.

I love the challenge of trying to catch fish that don’t really want to be caught. There is great satisfaction to be gained in knowing that you have what it takes to accomplish it. However, the first thing one must have to be successful during the heat of summer is believing you possess the skills to trick, for lack of a better word, fish into biting.

Instinctive strikes are earned when the lure you’re presenting is doing exactly what the fish expect a baitfish to do in their presence. That’s how I describe it to my clients. I know it sounds like I credit game fish for being super smart; but what they really are is incredibly aware of their surroundings and the habits of their prey.

Here's another thought. How depressing would it be if you believed you couldn’t catch them? I am the kind of guy that believes I am way better than I really am, but with that said, it keeps me focused and keeps me working hard at my craft. If you fish often with me you might find that my attitude rubs off, and soon you are feeling the same way. So, what all this means is that you have to believe you can catch them before you can actually get it done.

The second thing you need is the very best rod you can afford. You cannot catch fish that you cannot feel picking up the lure. There are some really good rods out there and I don’t want to step on any toes, so I will only mention rods I have experience with and know to be sensitive enough to feel the slightest of bites.

My first choice is my signature series Henri rods made by Steve Henriksen. Next would be Waterloo’s Slam Mag. I use both 6’-6” medium action and 6’-8” medium-light in both. Personally, I like a little more backbone in my soft plastic rods versus my Corky or Double D series. But that’s a wintertime story.

Third is a quality reel that operates smoothly on the crank and equally smooth on the drag. I use 13-Fishing reels in both C2 and TX2 series. I am very critical of reel performance and the minute I feel the first hint of grinding or roughness, they go in for service. Use whatever brand you like and have confidence in, but I heartily recommend you do the same regarding cleaning and servicing. I want you to understand that the smoother the reel is when retrieving a lure, the less your sense of feel will be distracted.

 Fourth is line selection. I’m a braid guy, but was likely one of the last converts. Braids continue to be improved each year to be smoother and cast farther. I like Seaguar’s Phantom Grey Smackdown and green Suffix 832. I use both 6X20-pound and 8X30-pound test. This might surprise some readers but I use a plain 20-pound monofilament leader rather than fluorocarbon. Why? I like a tight drag on my reel. Tight as in a 5-pound trout will take very little if any drag, nor will a 5- or 6-pound redfish. I know it sounds crazy or slightly stupid, but I want the fish to quickly realize that the fight will not be easy.

Think of it this way: Fish picks up the lure and that tiny tap telegraphing through a super-sensitive rod is her closing her mouth on it. Cranking down quickly with that smooth-running reel prevents detection on her part. A quick but stout hookset buries the hook, and she bolts against a heavy drag. “Whoops, not that way.”

Now she burns toward you at warp spend. That smooth 7.5:1 reel catches up to her and she once again turns against the heavy drag and rolls to the surface against the tension. That run toward you has left her spent in the 85-plus degree water. Lower your rod tip to prevent her coming to the surface and shaking. Keep her tight and let the rod absorb the shock of her fight. The stretch in that mono leader will allow for heavier pressure on her. Keeping the rod tip low to the water will tire her quickly and prevent high-sticking, which is one of the most common causes of rod failure. Look at what you’re already learning!

Let’s move on to a summertime pattern I utilize often. Just this morning we had the absolute perfect setup. Moonrise Minor was predicted for 9:00am through 11:00am, which means our bite would occur well after the conclusion of any nighttime feeding. The morning began with very low tide and 86° water temperature. About the time the minor kicked in the water temperature along the shoreline had risen to 89°, but out along the drop-off we could sense a cooler layer on our lower legs. The wind was dead-calm with no tide movement, which usually means a tough bite situation. In waist-deep water I was able to identify guts running parallel to the shoreline with patches of scattered bottom grass.

The bite was slow to develop but I explained to the group that just one bite, not necessarily a hookup, would tell us everything we needed to know. Bites tell the exact location and depth where fish are staged, and also the bottom structure they are relating to. Once this is determined we can target these areas specifically with retrieval speed that allows the lure to get down to them.

I had good guys, so it didn’t take long to get set up on the where and how the trout wanted the lure presented. I like my groups to wade side by side when the shoreline and bottom terrain allows. As a guide, I must plan the day to include areas that allow ALL the anglers to be in equal water. Equal meaning water with equal opportunity for everyone in the group, which is not always as easy as one might think. Today we were able to get everyone situated where we could cast at slight angles to the guts and scattered grassbeds. Angled casts are huge when winds are calm and water movement limited.

The grass wasn’t thick, so it was easy to present the lures. I was allowing my lure to barely dust the edges and tops of the grass. Short-shank 2/0 jigheads help in this regard and the Texas Customs jigs in 1/16-ounce are my favorite. They are not weedless but the shape of the lead definitely catches less grass than other styles. Many times, when the bite is off, I will purposely bump the grass with the lure, which I believe creates a tiny vibration and draws a reaction strike when simply dusting the lure along clean bottom will not. You must change it up and pay careful attention to what you’re doing that gains a strike and what is not.

I made the comment numerous times today that the shallow grass closer to shore, where there was a fair amount of bait activity, would become a nighttime feeding area as soon as the sun was down and water temperatures began to drop slowly. If you are paying attention, you have already discovered that there are a lot of little things in this article that will help you catch more fish in the dog days of summer.

I mentioned earlier that I would also discuss summertime redfish patterns. I notice often that redfish will be super shallow during early morning and usually the last to exit a flat. That said, midday to afternoon encounters are common. In previous years I would sometimes take a group for trout in the morning and then a second group for redfish. More times than not I found the reds in greater numbers along the drop-off near large areas of grass flats.

After Hurricane Harvey I noticed reds, and sometimes trout, using the deep washouts that had been created by the dramatic currents generated during the storm. Many of those washouts are still in play today for me during summer. Redfish will stack in these washouts, and if you wade through them you will notice significantly cooler water temperatures. Last week on the final wade of the day we found decent numbers of reds using these washouts along the edges of a large grass flat.

I am throwing basically two types of lures right now. The MirrOlure Lil John and Lil John XL, the 5” MirrOlure Provoker, and 5” Bass Assassins are my preferred plastics. I am also using the Texas Customs Double D swimming-suspending baits. Preferred plastic colors are Watermelon-Red Glitter, Moulton, June Bug, Plum-White (or Chartreuse), Bone Diamond and Cajun Croaker. My Double D colors are Crown Royal, Plum Nasty, Bone Diamond and the New Grey Ghost.

It is important to take care of yourself when it’s as hot as it has been lately. Stay hydrated and snack on high-protein foods between wades. Cold fruit is another good source of hydration and quick energy. Don’t beat yourself up in the heat. Go early and get off the water when the temperatures soar. Summer will soon be over and the best time of the year to fish will follow, so make sure you are around to enjoy it.