Summer Trout

When water temperatures rise during summer trout action slows, then stops. You need to find more temperate climes and times to do well. Flies generally work better than lures as hatches peak and, if water temperatures get too high for most action, you'll find bait the most effective choice.

COOL WATER

Look for cool water to improve your results.

On rivers and streams, tailwaters below dams can be 10 to 20 degrees cooler than impoundments. Some tailwaters are both deep and fast so waders are highly recommended.

Streams that drain watersheds which face north generally stay cooler than those with watersheds that drain south.

Faster running streams hold more oxygen than slow streams so can be productive at higher temperatures.

Streams and ponds in heavily wooded areas stay cooler than those in open meadows.

Lakes and streams with cliffs on the south side shade early so stay cooler.

Deep canyon streams stay cooler where they run north and south for minimum sun.

COOL HOURS

Water cools most on nights without clouds. The higher the altitude the greater the cooling. Higher elevation waters warm slowest too. But the coolest hours anywhere are from first light until the sun hits the water. Plan your fishing early and you'll do well.

HOT FLY ACTION

During the warmer months you'll find fly fishing the choice. As a rule summer flies are pale so they stay reasonably cool. In colder weather flies tend to be dark.

As the season goes on minnows get smaller in numbers but larger in size. If you seek big fish go with big streamer flies and, if it's legal, fish after dark.

Grasshoppers also get larger so a stream where Size 14 hoppers produced in June may need Size 10 by August.

If you don't find a solid hatch consider beetles and other terrestrial flies.

In stillwater, consider extra-fast sinking lines and short leaders that will take flies down fast.

LUSTY SUMMER LURES

As water temperatures rise and fish grow loggy, slow retrieves seem the order of the day. Spinners offer this, and stream anglers find smaller than usual spinners with copper, black or dull finish blades seem most effective.

In lakes and ponds you need to go deep to find cool water. Check the water temperature on the surface. Figure a degree cooler for every foot and a half to two feet of depth. Decent results usually obtain at temperatures below 70 degrees.

To get deep fast you'll need heavier lures like Wob-L-Rite and other thick body spoons. If you troll, consider a downrigger to stay deep. Large lipped plugs can go down to 30 feet or so.

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