5 Best Fish to Target in Early Summer

There are five species of fish that can be found in relatively shallow water during the early part of summer that will eat almost anything you throw in front of them with all the enthusiasm of starving hyenas. These fish will almost always guarantee fast action and allow you to kick off your summer season with a bang.

Fresh off their spawning beds in early summer, smallmouth bass make some of the hardest-fighting fish in freshwater. These angry bronze maniacs can be found in three to eight feet of water around rocky points, long flats, and gravel shorelines, especially around drop-offs. In the shallows, smallies throw caution to the wind and feed aggressively throughout the entire day. This gives you plenty of chances for a small jaw scrap so long as you use the right baits at the right times.

Because smallmouths are aggressive, jerkbaits and crankbaits can be very effective, especially in the mornings. In the late afternoon when smallies spread out, try spinners or flashy spoons to cover more water and draw bass in from a distance.

In both the early morning and late evening, nothing will attract more summer bronzebacks than a good topwater bait. Try to use the smaller, more discreet topwater lures like the Heddon Torpedo and Rapala SubWalk rather than the big poppers you’d normally use for largemouth.

Early summer channel catfish are highly active and much more aggressive than they are during other parts of the year. In most places, the fish will be moving from pre-spawn to full-blown spawn mode. You can target these big hungry kitties in areas between two and 10 feet deep adjacent to 20-foot or deeper water. Look for spots at this depth range with structures, such as underwater humps, long shallow points, submerged logs, brush piles, and other timber.

You can catch early summer channel catfish throughout the entire day, but there’s no doubt that the fish are much more active at night. This is especially true during the post-sunset transition hour when small baitfish and panfish are adjusting to the light change, making them easy pickings for hungry channel cats. However, if you can’t pull off a good night fishing session, you can still have a lot of action on any extremely cloudy or overcast day or in shady areas.

There are a variety of effective baits for summer channel cats, including traditional dip baits, doughballs, and even chicken livers. However, I’ve personally caught a lot more pre-spawn channel cats on fresh-cut baits, such as chunks of sucker, shad, or even panfish (where legal). You can also have a lot of luck with live baits such as minnows and leeches, especially in murkier, slow-flowing rivers where channel cats often hunt by movement rather than scent.

Of all the trout species, none is more popular than the rainbow trout. The fish have been stocked in nearly all 50 states and can be caught almost anywhere from small streams to massive lakes. In the early summer, rainbows are fresh off their spawning runs, which makes them absolutely ravenous and willing to eat.

In rivers, target early summer rainbows around faster currents, riffles, or small rocks with a lot of oxygenated water. In lakes, ponds, and other still water, target the fish in the cooler water below the first thermocline, which is usually between seven and 10 feet below the surface.

For river trout, small inline spinners are a must. They imitate a variety of the small minnows, darters, and chubs the fish normally feed upon. For fly anglers, early summer is usually the start of the first significant hatches of the year. Classic patterns that imitate stoneflies, caddisflies, and large mayflies can be incredibly effective.

If you prefer bait, you can catch a lot of rainbows in the early summer by drifting small worms, maggots, and even live insects like hellgrammites along the bottom or beneath a bobber.

In lakes and other still water situations, cast and retrieve small lures like spoons and spinners, or troll with flashers and plugs behind a boat. If you’re fishing exclusively from shore, you can still catch a lot of trout by casting baits on lines weighted with split shot so that they’ll hover just above the bottom. On stocked lakes and ponds, dough baits and dip baits can be effective, but live baits like worms, minnows, and leeches will catch rainbows almost anywhere.

Pike are deep-water dwelling fish for most of the summer, but during the early part of the season you can find them in the shallows. During this postspawn period, trophy pike will gorge themselves on baitfish, panfish, frogs, and even turtles.

It’s a fantastic time to catch the big pike of your dreams, as you can usually find them anywhere from three to 10 feet of water. Look for any places at these depths with shallow flats that have weed beds or any long sandy bar, point, or beach with a lot of reflected light, as these are ideal pike hunting grounds.

The key to catching early summer pike consistently is to cover water. Use larger lures with a lot of flash and action that will draw a big pike’s attention from a distance. Large spinner baits, jerkbaits, and swimbaits are ideal for this sort of work, especially when you fish them with a lot of jerks and pauses in your retrieve to make the lure look injured and vulnerable.

Bait anglers can catch a lot of early summer pike by using large live baits hung under a bobber. Use large, three- to six-inch shiners, suckers, or even live panfish or perch. Hook them through the middle of their back so that they’ll be allowed to swim and struggle beneath the bobber.

If you can fish multiple rods, try and set out two to three baits at once and leave your reels on free spool so that the baits can take out line as they swim. Once your bobber disappears beneath the surface, give the pike a few seconds to run with the bait and turn it in its mouth before setting the hook.

Early summer walleye fishing can be incredible, especially on windy or overcast days or during the early evening. After the post-spawn feeding frenzy, they’ll hunt in large schools in eight to 20 feet of water. Moving en masse, the fish will cruise along weed lines, rock piles, long points offshore, and islands.

My favorite way to fish for early summer walleye is by trolling along the edges of the drop-offs and structure lines where fish tend to gather. I’ll keep my speed between 1.5 and 2.5 mph and tow bait harnesses tipped with nightcrawlers, minnows, and leeches behind the boat with large articulated jerk baits like the Jointed Rapala until I get a couple hookups. Once I’ve landed a few fish, I’ll note the depth the walleye were caught at and then continue to circle around and crisscross the area at the same speed and depth until I have my limit.

Jigging for walleye can also be incredibly effective during the early summer, especially if you mark fish with your electronics around large chunks of structure. Use small- to medium-sized jig heads, between ⅛ and ¼ ounce, in bright colors like yellow, white, and chartreuse, and bait them with whole worms, minnows, or leeches.

Once they’re rigged up, allow your jig to sink all the way to the bottom. Then, reel up the extra slack and lift the bait a few inches off the bottom before you begin to pump and flick the tip of the rod in a jigging motion. When walleye gather together in the early summer, they become extremely competitive, so it usually won’t take more than a few seconds to get a strike.

Part of what makes early summer fishing so fun is that it only lasts for a brief time. Like the approach of Christmas Day, you only have so long to celebrate before it’s suddenly gone. Whether it’s from a warm front or just a shift in the thermoclines, the fish can move into deeper water without warning and slow the fishing to a crawl. Take advantage of this short window and get out on the water while you can.