[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ow that the bass’ spawning season is over, and the days are getting longer and warmer, the fish are in the final stages of transitioning to their summer haunts where they will remain until the water starts to cool in October.
In the river systems this means that some can still be caught in the slack-water areas and the transition zones, but the majority of the fish and especially the bigger ones will be found on cover close to moderate, and even heavy, current as the month progresses. These fish can be caught on a variety of baits from topwater to weighted plastics, but to answer the question, bigger is not always better, even when targeting big fish in June on tidal fisheries. This is the case because of the presence of all of the newly hatched fry, not only from freshwater fishes such as bass and bream, but also from shad and herring hatchlings. Small buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits from 1/8- to 1/4-ounce, small topwaters, four-inch worms and stickbaits all produce well this month. Don’t be surprised if you hang into a red drum this month as well while targeting bass in your favorite tidal creek.
On our local lakes, Lake Waccamaw and Greenfield Lake, I tend to lean towards bigger baits as the month progresses, favoring 3/8- to 1/2-ounce buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, four- to six-inch walking baits and six- to eight-inch straight and ribbontail worms. The bass at Sutton are beginning to show up on the deeper ledges and medium crank baits that dive to 10 feet, as well as weighted worms to 10 inches long really start coming into play this month. But, the bass’ affinity for suspending over the deeper channels on some days calls for large walking/popping plugs and soft stick/jerkbaits.
Although bass fishing is my main focus, I still love to watch a little red cork go streaking out of sight when a mad bluegill takes a cricket off his bed, and June is one of the best months to have it happen. The full moon, followed by the new moon periods, seem to be best, and all species including bluegill, shellcracker and redbreast are usually eager to bite especially when you find their preferred bedding areas. This is the perfect time to schedule a short trip in the evening to introduce a kid to the thrill of catching their first fish. All of the waters in the area contain at least a few panfish to be caught, and some produce excellent catches of larger than average specimens. So whether it’s bass, bream or chain pickerel you’re after this month, go out with the expectation of catching a lot of fish, but have fun trying even if you don’t.