Summer
Fishing Tips
Ah, summertime....The spawns are
over, the weather is getting hot, and most fish, and people begin to
get a little moody from the heat. But don't hang up your rod, just
yet. While it is great to hang out at the beach, and catch some sun,
there are still fish to catch. Summertime is more than just barbecues
and picnics for those that know a few summer fishing tips.
When the spawns are over, bass,
and crappie head back out to deeper water and sulk. Crappie will
suspend at different depths without any regard to structure, and
refuse to bite anything unless it almost swims into their mouth. In
summertime, it's best to leave the crappie to the die-hard crappie
specialists. Bass, on the other hand, still actively feed, and will
congregate along drop-offs and structure in deeper water, and move
into the shallows to feed in the mornings and evenings (and even
sometimes at night). Sunfish may move out into a little deeper water
in the heat of the day, but most of them will just look for some
shade from overhanging vegetation. They like to sit under trees and
wait for bugs to fall in the water, giving them a free meal. Striped
and White bass will cruise the lakes and rivers looking for schools
of shad, and pother bait-fish to dine on, and will stage off of sandy
points in morning and evening. Catfish will cruise drop-offs until
nightfall, then move into the shallows looking for just about
anything edible.
- In the mornings and evenings, bass are very susceptible to a top-water cast near cover. Good choices are Pop Rs, Billy Basses, and Heddon Chuggers. At night, black Jitterbugs and Hula-Poppers can be deadly.
- During the day, try working diving crankbaits along ledges and channels for largemouth bass. Bagleys Diving Bs, and Rapalas work very well for this. Jigs are also a good choice.
- To get the most bang for your buck, try flyfishing for bluegills. Cast tiny poppers, dry flies, or especially terrestrials under overhanging trees, and into the shadows. These little pugs will pounce on flies, especially anything that looks like a cricket, spider or ant.
- To find striped and white bass, look for flocks of diving birds. Likely as not, right underneath them will be large schools of bait-fish, and underneath them will be schools of bass. Drive your boat to within casting distance and throw your lures directly into the boiling water. When the action slows down, just wait a bit, and they will re-surface nearby, or you can just look for another school. This is called Jump-Fishing.
Summertime doesn't have to be downtime
for fishing, if you learn a few good summer fishing tips.
Happy fishing.
Summer Fishing Tips
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