Crack the Code of August Fishing with Greg Hackney!

I'm Greg Hackney, and, you know, let's talk about fishing in August. A lot of people don't like to fish in August. A lot of people fish at night in August. It can be a very challenging time, you know, especially if you live anywhere from the mid part of the country to the south. It's been hot. Let's just say it's been hot since at least the first of June. So June, July, and here it is August.

And, you know, what happens, one phenomenon that happens on a lot of lakes, and especially, like, in the part of the country where I live at, the water quality is not as good in August as it was earlier in the year because of the heat. And what that does to me personally, it plays a little more into my favor because it pushes those fish up.

So there's really two trains of thought in the month of August, and it's either fishing, I mean, extremely, extremely shallow or fishing extremely, extremely deep. And what happens a lot during that mid part of the country and farther south because of that water quality, a lot of the oxygen leaves the deeper water and the best quality water is realistically 4 feet or less. And what you have is...what's crazy and a lot of people don't look for it, you have a fish population that moves extremely shallow. And doesn't necessarily make them easy to catch but it makes them extremely shallow and it does make them pretty dependable on what they eat. So a lot of fish in August that are up there in that extremely shallow water, they're bluegill eaters, which is one of my favorite fish to fish for.

And really I got five baits here that are my favorite, you know, and they're all baits that I feel like, you know, do a good job of representing something that's up there in that shallow water. You know, the other thing about fish that are living that shallow in August, they're opportunists, and so they'll eat whatever. You know, it could be bugs falling around boat docks, it could be mice, it can be frogs, it can be birds. But number one on that list is bluegill.

And so when I'm picking my baits for that time of the year, especially when I'm fishing moving baits, I like something that I feel like resembles a bluegill. I'm not necessarily going to go over these in order. These are just my five top baits for getting bites in August when I consider one of the toughest time of the year to fish. But it's still a time of the year to catch quality fish. There's a lot of 3 to 5-pounders up there swimming around in that super shallow water. You know, hunting shade is very important. They'll be around boat docks, overhangs, trees, bluff banks, undercut banks, hidey-holes. Like, that's what I like to look for that time of the year.

A swim jig, which is one of my favorite baits, anytime I get a chance to use it, but it's really good that time of the year in August because there's vegetation, you know, by that time of the year, there's bank grass, water willow, you know, maybe some scum, just some stuff up around. And a swim jig does such a great impersonation of a bluegill. I can match the colors of a bluegill. I can match it with a Rage Craw on the back, has a great swimming action. That Rage Craw has a lot of float. This is a 3/8-ounce Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig, which comes pre-rigged with a perfect skirt.

And a lot of people don't know this about a perfect skirt. It floats the jig. So I can get by with a heavier weight, a 3/8 or 1/2, and still fish extremely shallow, and it holds that jig up. And so I can slow it down if I need to, or I can, you know, reel it fast basically because what you're doing with a swim jig that time of the year, you're waking it. You know, you want that super high speed, you're skipping it in those hidey-holes, underneath those boat docks, you're hunting shade, especially, like, after the morning goes away. But you can fish at a high rate of speed because...

Another thing in August, with any of these lures, you're covering the water. You know, you're looking for wolf packs. That happens that time of the year. You'll have four or five big bass swimming down the bank basically preying on bluegill that are up there shallow eating insects and doing other things. But definitely one of my favorite lures would be a swim jig with a Rage Craw, 3.8 or 1/2 ounce Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig matched with a matching Rage Craw. You know, something that's like...actually this color is bluegill, but green pumpkin, watermelon crawl, just something...you know, early in the morning, maybe you get one of those thunderstorms in the afternoon. You know, I might switch to a black and blue, but I typically like to say something natural then.

Probably if I had to pick a favorite out of these five favorite baits for that time of the year, it would be some type of frog, either a Popping Perch, a Hack Attack Pad Perch, or a KVD Sexy Frog. And really how I pick which lure, I have a tendency, if you're around a lot of big bass that are up there shallow that time of the year, maybe you live in the state of Texas or just, you know, one of these Carolina lakes that have big fish up there eating, I'll lean more towards the Popping Perch. You know, the cool thing about it is you can walk it or you can fish it at extremely high rate of speed. It disturbs a lot of water. And if I want...

You know, probably number two of the frog list would be the KVD Sexy Frog. It's a lot more subtle. It's still a big profile bait, but I typically that time of the year fish it more with a walking action. You know, just you're walking it around that cover. Not as fast. I'm giving that fish time to get to it, you know, fishing it over. But again, all these baits, including, you know, the swim jig I talked about earlier, is you're skipping into those hidey-holes. And, you know, you get one of these low cloudy days, you'll be able to get by with these baits all day long.

If not, these will be more morning in August, you know, because when you get up at daylight at my house in August, you know, sweat's already pouring down your leg before it ever gets light because the humidity is high that time of the year. It always seems like when the humidity is high, that's when, to me, topwater fishing is so good because, you know, you get those fish to blow up.

Another bait that just...again, because I'm covering a lot of water and I'm... And again, in that time of the year, I'm targeting, you know, quality fish. And I like to throw a swim jig, a Popping Perch, or some type of frog. You know, that's targeting quality. I love a buzzbait that time of the year. And probably, you know, if you're on a lake that has a lot of that bank grass and, you know, more scattered cover where you're just covering water, you can cover so much water with it. Because again, like my mind, mentally, that time of the year, I'm prepared, like a big day of seven or eight bites when I'm fishing that shallow, but they're quality. You know, they're the bites that you need that time of the year to do well in a tournament or just, you know, have a fun day fishing. You can still catch a 6 or 7-pounder. I like to stick with lures that I feel will produce that.

The other thing you think about in August when it's so hot is that fish will bite a big bait that time of the year, even more so than now when it's cooler because their metabolism is so fast. You know, that surface temperature is mid-80s, it could be even mid-90s, depending on where you are. And that fish has to eat to survive. And so they like a big offering that time of the year because they're eating for survival because of their metabolism. It's hard for them to put on body weight when the water gets that hot. So I like to throw something... You can make them commit to a big bait that time of the year. To me, once the weather gets hot, it's a lot easier to get them to commit to oversized lures. So that's really that time of the year when I like, you know, stuff that makes a lot of commotion, you know.

But with that being said, there'll be times during the day, you know, that time of the year when those fish kind of go dormant. You know, they're still up there around that shade, boat docks. And basically, you're still fishing where you can see the bottom. And as it gets later in the day, I'll make that switch. And probably two of my favorite baits, flipping baits is a Denny Brauer Flip-N-Tube and an Ocho. And both of them typically because again, we're fishing relatively shallow. I'll rig both of these. Texas Rig. I'm not wacky worm and I'm power fishing.

Typically weight size that time of the year can vary anywhere from 1/4 ounce to 3/8, but typically not any bigger than that because I'm fishing extremely shallow. Again, Texas Rig, my 7'6" pitching rod, a four-rod hook. That's a 5/16. Honestly, when you're fishing extremely shallow and you don't know what size weight to use, I like to start with a 5/16. You know, especially that time of the year, these fish react, you know, but it's that deal you're fishing so shallow. I don't want a weight so big that gets to the bottom too quick. Not that they won't bite it, but I want to give that bait enough hang time because both of these lures don't have any drag. You know, they don't have any drag. What that means is they're straight, they don't have any action. I think that's very important that time of the year when you're flipping that stuff is having a bait that doesn't have a lot of action.

This is a 4/0 G-Power hook, straight shank. I rig both of them basically the same. I kind of expose the hook on the tube, but it fits perfect. Then I can make quick adjustments because I got the same hook, same setup for both, 20-pound Gamma Fluorocarbon. I rig both baits the exact same. The cool thing about having that Ocho rigged up like that for me, it's like having a Magnum Shakey Head but I'm throwing it on 20-pound Fluoro.

I'm basically finesse fishing, but the power version of it, which suits me. Again, because these fish will get that bait most of the time on the initial drop, I don't think that line size impedes the action of that bait because basically, again, it's like a Magnum Shakey Head. That Ocho, it's super soft, it doesn't have a lot of action. I just experiment with both.

A lot of times, again, between the tube and the Ocho, it's personal preference. It could be watercolor. It could be something I saw. I'm always paying attention to what's up there, like which one looks natural. But again, during that period of time in August, that period during the day when I feel like I'm not going to catch them on the other baits, really power fishing, but I never basically quit power fishing. I just do a more subtle version of it later in the day. I'm still pitching to those same places.

I'll tell you another thing you can do that time of the year is be looking for those bluegill beds. It's a great time of the year just to go around and mark bluegill beds. A lot of times you'll visually see bass on them, but a lot of times you'll just see the beds. After I've marked a bunch of them, I'll come back and pitch these baits. Again, early in the morning, I might throw the buzzbait over them, swim the jig, throw the frog, and as the day progresses, I'll go back and fish them with either the Flip-N-Tube or the Ocho. You know, honestly, that's what works for me. I try to keep it pretty simple in August. I feel like fishing's tough because of the conditions, and by keeping it simple, it just helps me catch more fish. But I hope it works for you too.