JULY
Flathead Catfish/Conecuh River
From Andalusia to the Florida border, the Conecuh River provides a flathead fishery supporting cats weighing more than 40 pounds. It also holds plenty of delicious 5-pounders.

At night, flatheads leave their ambush points in debris-filled holes to feed on sunfish, bullheads and just about anything else that swims. The first hours after dark and the last hour before light are best, so it's not necessary to fish through the night.

Arrive before sunset to catch a dozen bream or bullheads before setting up on a sandbar to fish the opposite bend in the river. Fish the live bait on a slip-sinker rig with a 5/0 hook.

For current fishing conditions on the Conecuh, visit Stokes Sporting Goods in Andalusia, or call (334) 222-1225.

Other Hotspots
Also this month, chum will attract king mackerel eager to attack cut bait drifted behind the boat on a slack line in the Gulf of Mexico.

During summer on Demopolis, flipping the thick grassmats early with a jig-and-pig produces the best big largemouth bite of the day.

AUGUST
Channel Catfish/Gainesville Lake
As temperatures peak in August, catfishing sizzles on Gainesville Lake. The Tombigbee River feeding it is very fertile, and Gainesville receives light fishing pressure. This combination provides an excellent opportunity to catch high numbers of channel cats.

To avoid the heat, arrive at your fishing spot an hour before sunset to set out limblines, set-poles or jugs. With your gear set, it's time to anchor at a creek mouth and cast out a few lines. On a good night, your setlines will start dancing before you can reach the creek, and your coolers will be topped off in a couple of hours.

Channel cats aren't picky feeders, but it's best to use fresh cut shad to take advantage of the bigger blue cats that cruise the shallows with their smaller cousins.

Other Hotspots
If you want to catch big speckled trout consistently during summer, plan to fish at night under pier lights around Ono Island. For slab crappie, fish the main river channel on Millers Ferry Lake.

SEPTEMBER
Crappie: Lake Eufaula
Eufaula's crappie remain in a predicable summer pattern that produces big numbers of fish; the occasional slab weighs 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. Water temperatures in the upper section of the water column keep these fish at depths of 14 to 30 feet and holding close to vertical cover.

To target deep-water crappie next to standing timber and bridge pilings, shoot 1/16-ounce jigs like a bow and arrow using ultralight spinning gear. The jigs descend at about a foot per second; when you see the line twitch or go slack, set the hook.

According to anglers and biologists, Barbour, Cowikee, White Oak and Wylaunee creeks are best.

To book a guided crappie trip on Lake Eufaula, call Jesse Bowman at (334) 774-4808.

Other Hotspots
September is a great time to work plastic frogs over weedbeds at Guntersville. Fish the upper lake for explosive big largemouth bass action. This month is also excellent for catching good numbers of channel cats from Bankhead Lake.

OCTOBER
Smallmouth Bass/Pickwick Lake
For an experience of a lifetime, make upper Pickwick Lake your fishing destination for October. Trophy smallmouth bass thrive in the forage-rich waters below Wheeler Dam. On a good fall day with the powerhouse turbines running, anglers may catch 20 fish, with many weighing more than 4 pounds. Knowledgeable anglers report five-fish stringers weighing 25-plus pounds; a lucky few will land a 7- or 8-pounder.

To target smallies, make controlled drifts over hard bottoms of gravel or rock and cast upstream at a 45-degree angle. Your 1/4-ounce bucktail jig should bounce on the bottom as it swings past the boat in an arc.

For guided smallie action, contact Steve Hacker at (256) 760-8090.

Other Hotspots
A close relative of the smallmouth, large spotted bass on Logan Martin Lake are hammering tube lures and grubs fished in the current this month.

It's also a great time to catch crappie on Lake Martin from humps in the main lake.