As July arrives, we should expect coastal water temperatures to have risen to nearly eighty-five degrees during daylight hours, and this may just keep the trout action going strong this month. Historically, we generally begin seeing an upswing in trout catches as the water gets warmer, and we often see that the redfish action usually slacks-off a bit once the summertime heat sets in. This will be a time when you will wish to be out on the water extremely early in the morning each day. Not only will this allow you to take advantage of the very active period when night is turning to day, but it will also mean that you’ll be fishing during the coolest part of the day.

During these summertime conditions, naturally, we aren’t wearing chest waders, but it doesn’t mean we’re wading in short pants, either. With water temperatures climbing, and in the event we receive little precipitation this month, high-salinity levels in the surrounding warm bay waters will tend to attract the seasonal jellyfish that can make for a very uncomfortable day of wade-fishing if you’re wearing shorts. Do yourself a favor by wearing long pants when possible whenever wade-fishing in July – you’ll thank yourself in the end!

July is a time when we should be able to expect “trout-green” water clarity along leeward shorelines, and we can expect that these areas should be holding some good trout. As wind conditions allow, other areas we can expect to look to for success this month will be the shell pads located out in the middle of San Antonio Bay, or some of the subterranean shell areas like The First Chain of Islands, the east and west sides of Steamboat Island, Panther Reef, and The Second Chain of Islands that are located down closer to Mesquite Bay.

In clean, clear water and sky conditions, look for bright colors to work well when throwing artificial baits this month. If water and cloud conditions become less favorable, anglers can still enjoy success by presenting some of the same artificial baits in much darker colors. Begin each morning by tossing top water baits until the sun rises high enough in the sky to begin warming the shallows. Once this daily warming process begins, switch to some of the more common plastic baits, and follow the baitfish out to deeper water to enjoy the coolness that only the depths can offer this time each day when things begin getting really hot. Good luck to you this month, and keep grindin’!