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| Fish during dawn and dusk hours to reduce your time in the sun and improve odds of catching fish. |
Too hot to fish?
Nah, it’s never too hot to fish, at least for me.
Many anglers, however, commonly blame hot weather for a reduction in fishing success as summer wears on, and they tend to slow down because of that perception. Is that perception based in reality? Do fish stop eating, or
just slow down as water temperatures reach their peak? Or should the blame
rest more solidly on the shoulders of anglers?
High temperatures, higher humidity, mosquitoes … the list of reasons to not
even fish is long and varied. However, there are ways to beat the heat, so
to speak.
When you do venture out, arm yourself with the self defense for fighting hot
summer sun or various insects. With proper preparation, you can enjoy
successful fishing trips under most weather conditions.
A hat, sunscreen, bug spray and cold water are useless sitting at home. You
can enjoy the bounties of summer longer if you don’t have to risk sun burn
to catch another walleye. It’s one variable of the equation you can control.
While protecting yourself from the elements is important, catching fish also
adds to the experience. First, keep in mind that natural food sources for
fish are abundant during mid-to-late summer. The current year’s crop of bait
fish and young game fish are active and big enough to serve as a meal for
adult fish, so even the best anglers have increased competition. There’s
just more options for big fish.
A bit of advice is to beat the heat and improve your odds of catching fish
by working hard both ends of the day around dawn and dusk. You not only
avoid the hottest part of the day, but fish are more active during these
periods, and this will help increase your chances.
While it’s generally overlooked, another tip is to use fresh, cool bait.
Catching fish with dead minnows or crawlers is more due to luck than skill.
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| Keeping minnows and other bait fresh is of utmost importance during hot days |
With water temperatures rising throughout summer, many successful anglers
will change bait preference rather than changing bait bucket water every 30
minutes to keep minnows alive.
If you’d rather not switch to leeches or crawlers, the best method for
keeping minnows alive is using a livewell in a boat. If that’s not an
option, try a adding a few ice cubes to the minnow bucket and keep the water
moving so it doesn’t become stagnant.
As far as location, give attention to underwater cover such as weed patches
and work the edges. Also keep in mind that as the water heats up, many fish
will be moving toward deeper water.
Fishing the dog days of summer can be enjoyable and successful. And even if
you don’t catch anything, as far as I’m concerned a bad day of fishing still
beats a good day of golf, hands down.
Leier is a biologist with the Game and Fish Dept. He can be reached via email: dleier@state.nd.us
Photo credits to the ND Game and Fish Department
