Hey Hall of Fame family,
We're in the dog days of summer, Hall of Famers. We've been in a multi-day heat advisory here in Missouri, and temperatures have been in the high 90s with high humidity and little wind. It's been brutal to say the least, and the fishing has only been slightly better. The summer heat doesn't mean you're going to instantly have a bad day of fishing, though! Here are some tips to stay cool and catch fish at the same time.
First and foremost, stay hydrated. This kinda goes without saying, doesn't it? You can never bring enough water with you, especially when temperatures are soaring. Personally, I try to drink at least as much water as I'm sweating out. Secondly, sun shirts (like ours) and/or sunscreen is your friend! Third, bring a hat that will keep the sun off your face and neck. Here's a little story about when I didn't have an adequate water supply or proper sun protection. It's July, 2019, and Paul and I are floating a 17 mile stretch of river in our kayaks. I was wearing a tank top and had one 40 oz bottle of water. I had no hat, no sunglasses, and no sunscreen. By the 8 or 9 mile mark, I was already out of water and burning badly. The only thing I had to drink was a warm Rainbow Unicorn Bang energy drink... I didn't fish much longer after this point, as I was solely focused on surviving the float. When we finally made it back to the ramp, I was severely sunburnt, dehydrated, and completely exhausted. I was so ill prepared for that journey, but I've learned. I will never make those mistakes again.
Next, fish moving water. I find that moving water, such as rivers and creeks, tend to be slightly cooler than ponds and lakes. There is also typically more oxygenation occuring in flowing water, and I find that fish in these places are slightly more active in heat waves like the one we're currently in. In the dog days of summer, I also like to focus on shade lines while fishing. If I'd rather be in the shade when it's hot out, the fish probably do too. Just recently on my local river, all the bites I had came from the shady side of the stream. I didn't catch any or have a single bite from the sunny side. Another way to locate bass in the summer is by finding heavy cover. Heavy cover, such as lily pads or thick grass, often provides shaded and abush areas for predatory bass. A couple years ago, we were fishing a string of ponds near our house. It was mid summer, bluebird skies, no wind, and 100 degrees outside. These ponds have a thick grass line all the way around the lake, about 3 feet off the bank. We had low expectations, but focused on punching the heavy grass with Texas rigs and heavy jigs. Surprisingly, we caught quality bass from each of those ponds out of that thick grass cover. Conditions were not ideal, but we put found fish and put a pattern together. The hot weather didn't bother us as much while we were catching fish!
I hope these tips and personal experiences help you stay cool out on the water, while helping you catch hard to get summer bass.
Thanks for reading, tight lines!
Erik Hoffman, Hall of Fame Outdoor Co