By David Hulsey
Summertime in the South ain’t no joke! The blazing heat of August pretty much shuts down the fish’s appetite in the afternoon. This leaves the early morning or the dark of night to have a chance at finding active fish.
Water temperatures on our lower elevation trout streams can reach dangerous levels making fishing not a good idea. Any trout hooked is in real danger of exhaustion and going belly up so maybe waiting for the cooling breezes of Autumn is a better idea! In some higher creeks up on the mountains you might find water temps below 65 degrees making fishing possible. Tailwater fisheries usually will be fishable at least a few miles below the dams.
Warmwater species may be a totally different story at least if you fish in the morning hours. Lakes, ponds and rivers that contain bass and bream remain fun and sporty even in the dog days of summer. If you’re on at daylight and off at noon you can normally find some willing fish and miss the throngs of fun seekers ripping up and down the lake.
In the first hour or two before the sun gets up over the shoreline, I usually like to throw poppers or frog patterns around the bank with good cover like logs or over hanging bushes. The strikes can be explosive and will wake you up if you missed that second cup of coffee! As the morning goes on I start working deeper into the water column first with popper dropper rigs and by ten am or so I’m in full bottom dragging worm, crawfish, or fly drop shot rigs in 8-10 feet of water.
Always be on the lookout for streams or springs flowing into the lake as these will usually be hot spots, or I should say cold spots, that will have feeding bass and bluegill lining up with the feedbag on. Any type of vegetation or boat dock that provides shade can also get you a few bites as well while punching or pitching heavy flies through or under them. Fish early and leave early are the words to remember during the dog days of summer.
Give David & Becky Hulsey a call at (770) 639-4001 to book a class or a guided trout trip. See his website at www.hulseyflyfishing.com