By Ronnie Parris
The temps outside are in the nineties. The lake surface temps are high eighties, so some anglers would say it’s useless to go fishing, but they would be wrong. Fish are like us, the heat may slow us down but we still have to eat. As the water gets hotter, I tend to fish the colder lakes more and concentrate on fishing deeper. No other time of year are your electronics gonna be more important. Fish may be scattered or you may get lucky and find a wade of baitfish, if you can locate just a few degrees cooler. Sometimes, it will be a cold branch or stream pouring into the lake that you can visibly see but often times, you may find an underwater spring that cools the water a few degrees and that’s all it takes to make a difference. In the picture for this article, you can tell we were getting a good rain all morning and that cooled the surface and had the bait coming up shallow with the fish right behind them. At this time of year, it’s awfully easy to get discouraged if you don’t find them fast, but be patient and watch that fish finder.
Pay close attention to the thermocline, which will mark as a blue static looking fuzz. It may look different on your sonar but it should show up as a fuzz of some color. Fish should be close to this; usually walleye below it with bass in or above it. The thermocline is the point where the hot and cold water meet and this is also where the oxygen level will usually be the best. Usually this time of year, I am trolling and I will set my lines at several different depths according to what I’m seeing on the screen, which is why I usually catch several different species of fish. Slow your presentations down. These fish aren’t into chasing in this hotter water, so try to make it as easy as possible for them to take your bait or lures. If you fish live bait, take care to keep your baits lively. A handful of ice cubs every once in a while does wonders for minnows as the water in your bait well heats up.
Be careful and take precautions not to dehydrate. There have been a lot of cases where people didn’t drink enough water and suffered from dehydration or heat stroke on the water. Always wear a good sunscreen to protect your skin and wear a good set of sunglasses. Also, if you’re keeping fish to eat, it’s gonna be important to have ice for your cooler or livewell to keep your catch from spoiling. If you practice catch and release, it is crucial to not over-fight the fish and not to handle it with hot dry hands. The faster you get it back in the water with the least amount of handling, the better chance it will have of surviving. If you take kids out, go early and come off the water when it gets hot so you don’t burn them out. You may want to fish till it gets hot and swap up to a good swimming trip. Dog days may be a little tougher but that just means there will be less competition when you get on the water. Be safe and have a great time on the water. If you would like to go for some great hot weather fishing give me a call and I would be glad to hook you up.
Ronnie Parris is the Owner and Head Guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, North Carolina, heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. (www.smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com)