JULY
White Bass
Kansas
Fishing Milford Reservoir not only enables anglers to catch nice white bass throughout its waters, but also lets them catch a large number of white bass at the same time. Local angler Randy Meerian fishes Milford regularly for white bass.

"The first time we fished Milford, we chased gulls around all day and only caught a few fish," he said in describing a common practice for some white-bass anglers, whereby gulls lead to baitfish and baitfish lead to white bass. "Then we got smart and started fishing our contour breaks."

When Meerian fishes the lake, he hides himself in one of the reservoir's many fingers, often targeting Farnam and Curtis creeks. Like many white-bass anglers, Meerian vertically jigs a number of lures including shad-colored slab spoons, Kastmasters, and doll flies, and is able to catch his share of fish in the 10- to 16-inch range.

"We really found consistency when we learned the lake and started paying attention to our depthfinders," he said. "When we find contours, we find fish."

AUGUST
Northern Pike
Nebraska
At Box Butte, the pike fishing is hot -- the hotter the better.

"Late July and August are our best months fishing Box Butte," said Nebraska conservation officer Sean McKeehan, a frequent angler at Box Butte.

When the lake level is drawn down for irrigation, McKeehan and a group of friends take advantage of the shrinking food sources in the lake. "We fish the edges of the grass, running No. 5 Mepps spinners and spinnerbaits parallel to the grassy edges."

Plus, they'll fish the pockets that surround the lake, looking for any sort of ambushing spot that northerns love to frequent. Normally, McKeehan catches fish in the 24- to 28-inch range on these edges, while larger pike, it's long been understood, have been taken on big diving crankbaits on contour changes in the middle of the lake.

"In a variety of spots, we've caught several big pike figure-eighting near the surface after seeing fish chase our lures."

At 1,600 acres, anglers can find fish all along the grassy south shoreline of the lake. And when you're one of the few boats on the water, in the middle of near-100-degree-days in August, you might see McKeehan out there fishing 3 to 8 feet of water with black bucktailed Mepps or chartreuse spinnerbaits.

Plus, as an added attraction for those fishing the middle for big pike, a large channel catfish has on more than one occasion latched onto a lure. A few years back, McKeehan was out after pike when he caught a near-state-record 40-pound channel catfish!

SEPTEMBER
Bluegills
South Dakota
Start your fall fishing by chasing deepwater bluegills at Enemy Swim. Pinpoint fish in 10 to 15 feet of water along vegetation with jigs and night crawlers. Fish these areas rapidly until you find fish, not spending too much time in any one spot.

Talk to locals about recognized hotspots. When you see flashing bass and pike, assume they're chasing bluegills and target those locations. Don't fish the same type of water if that water doesn't produce the first time; search for something different. Also, try fly-fishing for bluegills with popping bugs in shallower water.