Central Pennsylvania Fishing

The dog days of August are upon us. At this point in the summer, many smallmouth bass fisherman are scratching there heads and wondering where the fish have gone or why they’re just not biting. Lucky for us. Fish have to eat to live. This means they are almost always catchable. We just have to put ourselves in the best position to get the job done. Many fisherman will turn to night fishing during the hottest days of the summer. If night fishing isn’t an option, what do you do? With this in mind, I threw together a few tips to help shed some light on the subject of hot weather smallmouth bass.

Fish the first two hours of the day – The morning bite can be excellent during the dog days of summer. There’s nothing like the quiet solitude of and early morning fishing trip with the fog slowly lifting from the water and a good cup of coffee in hand! The fishing ain’t too bad either. Some of my biggest Smallies have been caught in the early morning hours.

Fish the last two hours of the day –Hatches of various winged insects often occur within this time frame. Also, in general, winged insects become more active in the evening. The water can come alive as small baitfish raise to get a bite to eat. This is fishing 101. When small baitfishes are active larger predators will take advantage of the situation.

Fish the shade – If you have to fish during the heat of the day find shade. On hot sunny days, smallmouth will seek shelter from the sun. Some likely spots will be fallen trees, ledges, root wads, vegetation, large submerged boulders, and trees along the bank that afford the fish some shade.

Fish the riffles- Riffles at the head of pools attract hot weather smallmouth bass for a few reasons. First, the riffles help disperse some of the intensity of the summer sun. Second, they contain more dissolved oxygen than the slower warmer pools. Last, but not least, they afford the smallmouth bass a great ambush point for feeding.

Fish deep structure- Deep water provides the smallmouth bass a level of protection from the summer sun. Water temperature is a consideration however. If the water is too warm the fish will not hold in deeper water. The comfort range for smallmouth bass is 69 degrees to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. There upper tolerance is 89 degrees Fahrenheit. In moving water, I like to focus on deep water runs were there is good current. If you can find runs with good current, good water temps, and deep channels you are in business!

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