Anthony Campbell

JULY
Whiting
Alabama Beaches
You’re probably going to the beach with your family this month anyway, so why not pack a stout bass rod and do some surf fishing while you’re there. Fishing the from the sand of Alabama’s sugar white beaches can be as simply a walking behind your condo or hotel, or as specialized as hiking into the secluded beaches of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.

Shrimp -- live, dead or frozen -- are hard baits to beat. If you’re lucky, you’ll get on some redfish or speckled trout, but whiting are the staple. You probably will also catch plenty of catfish. It’s fun no matter what kind of fish you pull from the brine.

Other Hotspots: Lay Lake has become a summertime hybrid bass fishing paradise in recent years. Anglers have tremendous luck on live shad drifted below Logan Martin Dam.

Flounder fishing in Mobile Bay is usually well underway by this time of year. Live shrimp and mud minnows are the baits of choice and the Dog and East Fowl rivers are hotspots.

AUGUST
Rainbow Trout
Sipsey River
August is the time when the heat runs a lot of anglers off the water. You can beat the heat, at least somewhat, by visiting the Sipsey River to fish for rainbow trout this month. The state stocks rainbows here several times each year and you likely will have the place to yourself this month.

Wear hip boots so that you can wade to some of the best holes. You’ll need ‘em: The water’s cold!

Berkley Power Bait is a good choice for these fish. Check online for recent stockings of trout at the DCNR Web site, its address www. outdooralabama.com. Click on Fishing and Boating, Fish In Alabama, and, finally, Trout.

Other Hotspots: If you want to tangle with a prehistoric monster, then head south to the Mobile Delta for an encounter with an alligator gar. These fish reach 150 pounds and demand heavy gear.

You can have good success by fishing at night for largemouth bass on Wilson Lake. A black light is an invaluable aid and good baits are spinnerbaits and plastic worms.

SEPTEMBER
Largemouth Bass
Demopolis Lake
Demopolis Lake is one of those out-of-the-way destinations that can be worth the drive to get there. It consistently ranks among the top 10 reservoirs in the state for largemouths.

This riverine impoundment features creeks, cypress-lined backwaters, rock bluffs and weedy swamps. Good baits to try are crankbaits, jerkbaits and soft plastics. There’s lots of woody cover holding fish in the creeks.

Other Hotspots: You can still tie into catfish this time of year and Lake Eufaula is overlooked for this particular species, even though it has good numbers of cats. This is also the month to get in some late-season deep-sea adventures for snapper and triggerfish at Orange Beach.