We have been having abnormally hot temperatures here for the past month or so and the lakes, ponds and rivers are pretty low and really warm. I spent a few hours last week from about 7 til 9ish in the evening at a pond I always catch fish at. Even at that time I only caught 2 decent gills and a smaller LMB and they all came within 10 minutes of each other just after 9 o’clock when the sun went behind the trees. Then it was like they all knew at the same time “Ok, dinner bell, lets eat!” They started taking bugs off the top and hit my buggers like they were starving to death.
Most people that I have talked to tell me that when it gets this hot it isn’t even worth fishing during the day. My thought is, well the fish are still feeding–they’re fish. You just have to get down to where they are. I read some articles in the Panfish archives yesterday and got the feeling that you can still catch warm water species fish in the heat of the day. In fact, several articles mentioned that you can find em with poppers and dries during the middle of the day. Well, I didn’t see a single fish util the sun went down.
So, what are your mid summer fishing tactics? What time of day are you still catching fish?
I believe that you are right, that it’s a matter of getting down to where they are holding. That can involve sinking lines and counting as well as standing out in the sun getting hot Therefore I am wont to wait for sundown or sunrise and enjoy the easy fishing.
Heresy alert! An ultralight spinning rig (and I do mean ultralight) with some splitshot in front of a nymph can be easier to fish deep than a sinking line.
my tactic if thats what you want to call them are fishing in the shade
if you bounce a popper off a tree into the shade then twitch it a little it usually entices the bass to strike
if not try something down deep with alot of weight and movement
In my expirience the heat does not stop fish from feeding it changes their location only. For best success use Solunar tables (they work great for me) to decide on the time of day for fishing. The challenge is to find the fish. Shade and deeper water are good beginning but not a rule. My son in law pulled a 35 inch catfish form 1 1/2 ft of water at 90 degrees around 1:00 PM. The air temperature was about 98 and not a darn cloud in the sky.
Never heard of Solunar tables before but just looked at one on line. It was pretty cool. 8) The one I viewed even gave their predictions & forecasts for the rest of the month of specific days and how well they thought the fishing would be. Do you figure these out on your own, or do you have another method?
Because Bass are sensitive to light I tend to avoid the brightest times of day. I tend to go out between 5 and 9 AM and have the best success during that time. I work the shaded areas with the most success.
No I read an article about this long long time ago. It was interesting so I tested it multiple times and it always worked. I have a calendar from primetimes2.com. And use it for a few years. As a matter of fact most of our weekends are scheduled aroud it.
You can get them foe free from in-fisherman website too.
I also know a hunter that swears by them.
I find the best times for me is 5-9am and 12-2am. Any time during the day isn’t that great for me. Cept when the bass are hitting rubber worms, and that’s only in the cover on the river I’ve had any luck. My experience will increase now that I’m FF 2-4 times a week.
During the day I hate, but the times I’ve posted otherwise is not convenient for me. Unless I lose sleep(morning).
I’m definitely going to check out the tables, sounds extremely interesting.
The three that I look at are mostly within 10 minutes from each other.
I prefer Primetimes2.com since they show kinf of graph of fish activity rather than rigid time period.
Watch the cows, if the cows are lying down so are the fish. I’m sure that’s why solunar tables work.
You should never ever posted this here. Now I have to go and by a cow. This is deafinitely gonna cause some family problems cause there is no way my wife will tolerate the cow in the house… I can hear it now. “One of us has to go. Either me or the cow”… “Bye, bye honey, I need the cow more tham you…”
See now you will be respnsible for a brokem house… :lol: :lol: :lol:
Just got back from a quick jaunt out to the local panfish puddle. At 90 degrees, not only were the fish active, but they were active on top. The only thing I noticed was that on average the fish ran a little smaller than they do on the same water when I fish in the late evenings this time of year. That’s on average however, I did pick up good size bass and bluegill, just not as many. Also saw a very large catfish cruising the shallows as well.
And yeah, solunar tables do seem to work. Just wish they’d come up with one that told me what fly and where as well
Back on the farm we used to watch the cows, too, I think they read the solunar tables also. Alas, like MikieFinn, I have a small house with no room for a cow
Hey Mikie,
Keep the cow out there alongside the millpond off 940 and when you go by you will know if you should stop and fish then or go home make a sandwich and tie a few flies before going back.
There's probably a farmer down in WVa who will sell you a local one owner cow with the legs long on one side.
I have occasionally used solunar tables for my stillwater fishing for years & find they can be pretty accurate. That being said, I have had some real success at mid day during summer. Again, it’s a matter of finding them, & in hot weather, that’s usually COVER & DEPTH. Most of the ponds I fish tend to be quite shallow, so look at weed lines & wood…the shady side. Today, I had a ball with big gills (8" to 10") with a yellow foam beetle at the weed edges. Many were in a foot or so of water. The wet fly I first tried only resulted in a couple of dinks.
Some days you get 'em & some days you don’t.
Mike
Therefore I am wont to wait for sundown or sunrise and enjoy the easy fishing.