Top 5 Baits for July Bass Fishing

Hey guys, Michael Neal here with BassResource. You know, July can really be that time of year where it's either feast or famine. The water temperatures are getting hot, the fish are kinda changing, they've been out deep, they're starting to transition a little bit shallower, you've got bream beds going on, you've got offshore stuff still happening. I'm gonna show you five baits that really work best for me. Number one is gonna be a Swim Jig. And this is just a super versatile bait. This is the Big Bite Deflection Jig. I've just got a little piece of a Fighting Frog on here as a trailer. I like to mimic bluegill that time of year. I think a lot of the fish have transitioned from shad to more bluegill type places, whether you're fishing in grass, skipping this under boat docks, skipping it under trees on the bank, just fishing laydowns, it's just something that you can cover a lot of water with and really mimic what they're looking at and it's very weedless so you don't have to worry about getting hung up a whole lot. 

Now, I just mentioned bream beds and things like that on the bank. This E Pop, this is a SPRO E Pop, is a great bait for fishing slower presentations in small areas. So if you know where a bream bed is, a lot of times these feathered hooks really make a difference with those bream beds. The bream are gonna come up, look at this bait, try and nip on the feathers and things, and then that's going to in turn get the bass's attention that are sitting there feeding on them to come look at it as well.

Shade pockets is another really big thing that time of year and I like a popper-style bait instead of a buzzbait or a walking bait or anything like that because it is meant to be fished slower. And when you've got the shade pockets, the bream beds, you're targeting isolated places with this. You can walk it, you can spit it, but you can really set it there in place for 10, 15 seconds sometimes and then as soon as you twitch it again, that bass has been sitting there looking at it and he is gonna come get it. Of course it comes with Gamakatsu hooks straight outta the pack, super sharp. The SPRO E Pop is my go-to top water for July just because you can keep it in those small places. It's heavy enough, you can make accurate casts under laydowns, maybe under dock cables, things like that, but also just a great bait in general to where you can fish it real slow in place. 

There's still a little bit of offshore bite going on and that's how I really love to fish, that's how I grew up fishing was TVA-style offshore ledges. And you know, a crankbait is a great way to get those schools fired up. This is a SPRO Outsider DD and this bait will run anywhere from 15 to about 20 feet. That's kind of the depth, the sweet spot for it. But you can also upgrade your line a little bit to, you know, up to 16-pound line, something like that, and fish this around brush piles.

And when you're in the July mode, they kinda get off of the schools and more into those single, isolated places. And that's where I'm gonna throw this, is around big stomps, you know, a big patch of rock, one big brush pile out off a deep point or something like that. And it comes through cover really well with that big bill. That's the thing about the bigger baits with the brush piles and things like that and the cover, you go that bigger line so you can get through it, but it has more of a deflection place to come through those cover places versus like a 10-foot runner where you may be throwing it. So brush piles, you know, 8 to 15 foot, something like that, the SPRO Outsider Crankbait, something you can bounce off of it, get a reaction bite. That's a great go-to.

A Carolina Rig is another one. You know, whether it's deep points, channel swings or even just steep banks, rocky banks where they might be feeding on crawfish, things like that, that's when I like a Carolina Rig. It doesn't matter how hard the wind's blowing, you can throw a Carolina Rig. I've got a 1-ounce weight on here, that's kind of my go-to. A lot of people don't really think about the weight size a whole lot with a Carolina Rig, but with a heavy weight you can get away with it because it's sliding freely. So if a fish picks this up, the weight's gonna stay in place and he's just gonna be taking your line so he's not toting this heavy weight off. And a lot of times in the summertime, you know, you can get those big stiff south winds and that's a big deal to be able to maintain contact with the bottom, that heavy Carolina Rig will do that. I like a leader of, you know, 4 feet, something like that, as long as you're comfortable with. You know, some people used to talk about 6 and 8-foot leaders. Don't really think that's necessary, but if that's what you like, you know, that's great too.

The Gamakatsu Hybrid Worm Hook is my go-to for a Carolina Rig and this is just a Big Bite Fighting Frog. It's just a crawfish imitator. Natural colors seem to do the best for me. This is tilapia or Vegas flash and just something that looks like either bluegill, crawfish, things like that. Just fish it really slowly along the bottom. And the fish that time of year get really lethargic. They don't really want to chase a whole lot, so you either have to get a reaction or something that's fished really slow in front of 'em. Carolina Rig, very versatile, anywhere from largemouth up to up north fishing smallmouth on rock piles, things like that.

Last but not least is a drop shot. And you know, it's a bait that's becoming even more increasingly popular, not only with forward facing but just getting bites in general. And it's just a bait that in the summertime, in the dog days like July, you can get bites on it. It doesn't matter if it's spotted bass, largemouth, smallmouth, anywhere in between, deep Rocky Lakes, you know, Champlains, Up North, smallmouth fisheries to down South End Florida. Just in big grass beds, just change your weight based on where you're fishing, what kind of cover you're fishing around. And, like, this is a 3/8s, that's kind of my go-to for fishing out 15-plus feet in the summertime. But if you're pitching grass lines, things like that, I'll even go down to an eighth, just something where you can fish it very slowly through that grass and get a lot of bites. I like the Texas Rig. My drop shot, I don't like an exposed hook very often, especially if I'm around any kind of cover.

This is Gamakatsu G-Finesse Light Wire Worm with the Tin Keeper and the 1/0, that's kind of my go-to. Even if I'm fishing other shapes on it, I'll thread it on there and still use this same hook. I think that longer shank really helps you keep those fish pinned and get 'em in the boat. And for the bait, this is a Scentsation Skinny Stick from Big Bite, just kind of one of my go-tos. I like either a really bright color like this that is, you know, like a pinkish purple hue. This one's pink on one side, purple on the other, or just something really natural, like a smoke, like a bait, fishy type color. But, you know, July is one of those times where you're not gonna get a whole ton of bites, but if you'll really pay attention to where you get a bite, the fish are very patternable. They're doing kind of the same thing, they're either on cover, they're on structure, or they're on bream beds, they're around some sort of source where they don't have to move a whole lot. They have to eat, but they don't wanna move a whole lot in that warm weather. So make sure you check out these top five baits and check out BassResource for more tips.