One in a series of seasonal articles honoring Bill Byrd.
The Dog Days of Summer are coming... WOOF!
We've all heard the term, the "dog days of summer," but what are they? In short, they are the hot, sultry days at the height of summer, falling somewhere between July through September.
Why are they called the “dog days?” Surprise!... It has nothing to do with mans best friend.
The phrase originates in antiquity, from the Latin phrase, “dies canilares,”and it describes that cyclical astronomical period when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises with our own sun each day.
Although, if we were as smart as dogs, we'd be low to the ground in the shade keeping COOL!
Well, maybe we do. Most fly fishers hang it up during these hot periods, while a very few get out there and find worlds of fish.
How do the dog days affect your fishing plans?
Over the past 10 years, I have followed a simple plan that can have you on the water when others wouldn't dare go - and you'll catch lots of fish.
This plan will work for you even in the dog days of summer, when most fly anglers assume the fishing is slow.
GEAR UP
First, have the right gear. Out on the water, the bright sun can drive midday temperatures to the century mark, or more. You must protect yourself from this.
First, have the right gear. Out on the water, the bright sun can drive midday temperatures to the century mark, or more. You must protect yourself from this.
1. The Right Clothes
The place to start is with your clothing choices. They should be lightweight, UV blocking, water-wicking clothing that dries quickly.
- Wear light colored, long sleeve shirts that breathe and let your body heat escape readily.
- Always have a big "flats hat" to cover your head, neck, and ears.
- Keep sun block handy, the kind with an SPF rating of at least 30.
- Cover your face and neck with a buff, or gaiter, likewise light in color.
2. The Right Sunglasses
- Always have a big "flats hat" to cover your head, neck, and ears.
- Keep sun block handy, the kind with an SPF rating of at least 30.
- Cover your face and neck with a buff, or gaiter, likewise light in color.
2. The Right Sunglasses
I use the purpose-designed fishing glasses you get for about $20-30 at any sporting goods aisle. You can spend hundreds on sunglasses, and that's your choice.
I choose not to.
But no matter how much you choose to spend, it is crucial you have wrap-around, UV blocking, polarized glasses.
I choose not to.
But no matter how much you choose to spend, it is crucial you have wrap-around, UV blocking, polarized glasses.
- They keep harmful glare from your eyes, glare which affects your overall health on the water. This glare damages your eyes, and it tires you and robs your energy.
- Best of all, polarized glasses let you see into the water, making it possible to spot fish, cover, and structure even in bright, clear water.
- Wrap around glasses are key, however. These cut the significant amount of REFLECTED glare that sneaks in around the outside edges of your glasses.
For more helpful info about sunglasses, check this out: Cheap Sunglasses
3. The Right Vessel - Float Tube
Here is where a little personal bias creeps in. I've been float tubing for years and consider it the best summer time fishing tool you can own. Fly fishing is primarily a shallow water proposition, and a float tube lets you be part of the water, itself.
That is a bonus.
Float tubes are also lightweight, easy to use and transport, and not expensive as such things go.
And before you say anything about them sinking or springing leaks, know this: they are surpassingly reliable and reassuring in use. Take care of the float tube, know its limitations, and you'll get on fine.
The best thing about them though has already been mentioned - you are partly in the water itself while in a float tube. This keeps your lower extremities as cool as the water, itself, and the mild exertion inherent in their use circulates cooled blood from your legs around the rest of your body.
My favorite way to go afloat in one is wearing cotton pajama pants in Summer. These keep the sun off your legs, and you get a total connection to the water when wearing them.
Pro’s
Float tubes allow more intimate, in touch fishing
You better connect with the body of water, and so are a better angler
They are less obtrusive than a boat, unless you’re a total klutz.
They embody the idea of “stealth“ fishing.
They require nothing but a fishing license – no gas, no taxes, etc.
Con’s
- They’re slow; you wont blast around the lake in one. Choose your spots well.
- They require some specialized gear - fins (scuba types recommended), waders if you prefer, pumps, etc.
- You can't carry too much extra, “stuff.“ This is mostly minimalist fishing.
- They aren't snake or gator proof
4. The Right Hydration
It is imperative that your body keeps cool when the mecury heads to the stratosphere. Nature has provided that way in the form of evaporative cooling via perspiration.... sweating, in other words.
If you're in a float tube, or wading - possibly the best summer-time way to go fishing - some of your body heat will be taken away from your lower extremities by the water itself. This puts less of a burden on your natural cooling system. But the upper part of your body is still exposed, and that's when perspiration kicks in.
If you're in a boat, kayak, canoe, or hiking/walking....well, pretty much all of your body is exposed.
To keep cool under these conditions, the body perspires, and it does so heavily when its hot. However, heavy sweating removes water from your body's tissues, and you must replenish it with cool, clean water. It is a fairly delicate balance between water going in, and water being sweated out.... and it can kill you if you ignore that balance.
To keep the water flowing, I keep bottled water tethered over the side of my float tube, which keeps it cool enough. Some will have an ice chest, or carry a canteen of some kind. Whatever works. Just do it.
PS - Drink WATER, not sugary drinks, or alcoholic beverages to excess.
Enough said about that.
Any Time Is Fishing Time
Okay, now that you are properly outfitted, head out in the middle of the day to your favorite waters! Quit cryin'...I'm serious.
Most game fish are sight feeders, and this includes all the sunfishes.
They need the light of the sun to help them find their forage, and they have to be in water that can be penetrated by enough light to make this possible. What this means is you will find the fish you want to catch in relatively shallow water ...10-15’
I know that you've always heard "fish early, and late", especially in Southern summers. And there is nothing wrong with that. Indeed, there is a lot of merit in fishing at such times. Fish may move close in to shore then, and may be actively feeding. But, I can assure you, the fish don't stop feeding just because its after 10 AM.
I fish during the week, during the middle of the day, and have been out fishing in temperatures of 105°F on summer mid-days. I have also had some of my absolute best catches ever at these times!
There weren't many other fishermen around, either -- just fish.
How can this be true?
It's simple, really. It is because, the fish we pursue in our immediate area, including largemouth black bass, smallmouth bass, shoal bass, redeye bass, bluegills, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish (shellcrackers) green sunfish, crappies, yellow perch - even trout - well, they can’t leave the water for the comfort of the local mall.
High sun, midday conditions are a fact of life for them, just as they are for you.
Okay, with that no-brainer out of the way, lets discuss the elephant in the room, the one thing I know you are thinking:
"Well fish refuse to bite and take deep cover from high sun conditions, because the bright light hurts their eyes. Right"
Not entirely, no.
What they do is stay in the shadows and lurk. The water is somewhat cooler there, generally more oxygen is available, and they blend in better - both for protection from predation, and to prey on their own forage.
In other words, its more to their liking that they can better hide from bigger predators, and as predators, themselves, they can take prey as it moves near them.
You won't find these fish, though, until you understand these elements of their game plan. Once you understand, you'll know where to look.
Bright Days Are Not The Enemy
The late Doug Hannon, the "Bass Professor," was a dedicated record keeper – his detailed fishing logs were legendary. Through these records, Doug proved that the greatest number of trophy sized largemouth black bass he caught in Florida were taken in high sun, between the hours of 10AM and 2PM.
This flies in the face of the “fish early, and late" crowd.
But, high sun periods are peak activity times for the major forage foods that bass feed upon. The bass just follow the food, the hour of day notwithstanding.
All this business about light and lurking struck home for me back when I was an avid cave diver. That was years ago, but I still vividly remember my amazement at the detail I could see when staying back in the shadows of an underwater cave. Looking OUT into brightly lighted water was like viewing a brilliant theatre stage.
I saw every tiny detail of plants, fish, small organisms, and movement in that water.
Visibility was shockingly clear.
It's the same for the fish we are after, "hiding" under the dock or beneath the overhanging flora.
 |
Amazing what you can see! |
Fish may harbor in any shady areas they can find, suspending beneath any item in the water that produces a spot to blend in. It is the gloom and good camouflage they are after. Here they can hide from BOTH predators and prey.
If you drop a fly near the dock where they are sheltering -- zoom -- any aggressive fish there will charge out and smack that fly. Others will follow to get in on the action
Where To Fish?
First and foremost, you want be sure there is deep water earby. Fish find sanctuary and a safe home in deeper water. So start with that part in mind, by asking this question:
"Can the fish retreat to, and come from, nearby deep water to be here?"
Then, trace a path from that deep water to the obvious places, like low, wooden docks with algae growing on them.
We’ve all seen this kind of cover and every fishing magazine tells us to hit them.
In high sun periods, in most cases, you'll find bluegills or mixed sunfishes assembled under these shady docks. Especially near the deep end of the framework. There is security there, and the food chain is fully growing on and around these structures.... and the lower the dock is to the water, the better.
As well, most any place with a log, a piece of brush, an old tire, a spot under an overhanging tree or bush… any shade will attract fish. A ditch or small channel will hold fish suspending in the lower light levels found there. This is what you should be looking for, and the next question should be...
"Can a fish find what its looking for once it reaches that spot?"
Anywhere that offers a, "yes" to these questions should be probed for feeding fish. In streams, wood is fine, and fish will hide in grasses, plus under individual rocks and ledges.
First and foremost, you want be sure there is deep water earby. Fish find sanctuary and a safe home in deeper water. So start with that part in mind, by asking this question:
"Can the fish retreat to, and come from, nearby deep water to be here?"
Then, trace a path from that deep water to the obvious places, like low, wooden docks with algae growing on them.
We’ve all seen this kind of cover and every fishing magazine tells us to hit them.
In high sun periods, in most cases, you'll find bluegills or mixed sunfishes assembled under these shady docks. Especially near the deep end of the framework. There is security there, and the food chain is fully growing on and around these structures.... and the lower the dock is to the water, the better.
As well, most any place with a log, a piece of brush, an old tire, a spot under an overhanging tree or bush… any shade will attract fish. A ditch or small channel will hold fish suspending in the lower light levels found there. This is what you should be looking for, and the next question should be...
"Can a fish find what its looking for once it reaches that spot?"
Anywhere that offers a, "yes" to these questions should be probed for feeding fish. In streams, wood is fine, and fish will hide in grasses, plus under individual rocks and ledges.
What Are They Eating?
In some fisheries small insects found on the surface are a major forage during this midday period, but that's usually the exception.
I usually hope for aggressive surface feeding on foam spiders or poppers.
But instead, I normally find smaller suspending nymph imitations getting hammered way more by the fish, just below the surface.
There is one particular fishery I visit where the water is less than four feet deep. Most of the time, my size-14 to size-12 suspending nymph is THE best performing fly.
Occasionally the predominant fish species will hit aggressively on top, but most of the time, the action is subsurface. You have to probe the water from top to bottom to find out what the fish will take. If you'll do that, the fish will react when you use a fly that mimics what they are feeding on!
More Experiences
In another water system I regularly fish, there is a lone large log across a small ditch.
It isn't obvious. The ditch is only two feet across and only a foot deeper than the surrounding water. To my amazement, I have cast to and caught and released as many as ten fish of up to 4 species from the shade and security of that single log!
I made 15 casts to every fish hiding spot of that log: the main trunk, branches, forks between branches. They all held fish.
Most fly fishers make the mistake of catching one fish and moving to the next spot.
In the shade of one small tree, I have found as many as 30 fish stacked up in the shady gloom of the branches. Careful casts from the outside to the inside of the pod meant that I caught and released most of the fish gathered there.
And as in both cases mentioned above, I caught those fish on my size-14 suspending nymph pattern. In deeper water, I quickly switch to my size 10 weighted streamers.
Cool Water Trout
Trout will often be lurking deep in a pool, watching upstream for anything that swims by.
A size 12 streamer cast upstream, and dead drifted into this deep pool will often elicit strikes. Another tactic is to dead drift a small streamer into the pool, let it swing toward the back of the pool, then strip it cross pool as though it is trying to swim to cover.
The image below has everything - boulders, deep shade – so probe all carefully with a size-12 black, olive or crayfish streamer.
In areas with boulders lying cross stream, present a size-10 or -12 streamer so that it swings downstream and tumbles on the gravel stream bed into the hydro cushion in front of these rocks. Many times trout will nail that fly while tumbling on the stream bed. Another presentation is to tumble the fly into position just upstream of the rock and strip it across stream.
When you find those deep narrow undercuts where the current is too strong for your typical bead head nymph to swing through and get deep, tie on a size-12 streamer. Cast it just upstream of the spot and swing it through the shaded deepest spot. If that doesn't get a strike, swing it into that deep spot and strip it out fast.
Many times, that will trigger a strike.
So, when hot summer conditions would tempt you to stay home, experiment. Get a float tube and the right clothes. Understand that the fish are looking for certain things, seasonal things, and figure out where they might be found.
Know that most of the action will come from below the surface.
Then, be THE fly fisher on the water to catch fish.
Try using these tips on your favorite water and let me know how you do.
- Bill Byrd
Post note: Sadly, that last line is not to be.... Bill Byrd passed away in 2021.
His webpage, www.byrdultrafly.com, a favorite for so long, is no longer available.
The web archive DOES exist, however, and I highly recommend it. See the link at the end.
Over the course of several seasons, Bill and I corresponded and he gave me his permission to post and edit his writing, with credit being given to him.
With that in mind, I will pay homage to the man and periodically present his works here in edited format.
Tribute article to Bill Byrd: Bill Bird Tribute
Bill Byrd web archive: Bill Byrd Archive
Tight Lines,
David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
I usually hope for aggressive surface feeding on foam spiders or poppers.
But instead, I normally find smaller suspending nymph imitations getting hammered way more by the fish, just below the surface.
There is one particular fishery I visit where the water is less than four feet deep. Most of the time, my size-14 to size-12 suspending nymph is THE best performing fly.
Occasionally the predominant fish species will hit aggressively on top, but most of the time, the action is subsurface. You have to probe the water from top to bottom to find out what the fish will take. If you'll do that, the fish will react when you use a fly that mimics what they are feeding on!
More Experiences
In another water system I regularly fish, there is a lone large log across a small ditch.
It isn't obvious. The ditch is only two feet across and only a foot deeper than the surrounding water. To my amazement, I have cast to and caught and released as many as ten fish of up to 4 species from the shade and security of that single log!
I made 15 casts to every fish hiding spot of that log: the main trunk, branches, forks between branches. They all held fish.
Most fly fishers make the mistake of catching one fish and moving to the next spot.
In the shade of one small tree, I have found as many as 30 fish stacked up in the shady gloom of the branches. Careful casts from the outside to the inside of the pod meant that I caught and released most of the fish gathered there.
And as in both cases mentioned above, I caught those fish on my size-14 suspending nymph pattern. In deeper water, I quickly switch to my size 10 weighted streamers.
Cool Water Trout
Trout will often be lurking deep in a pool, watching upstream for anything that swims by.
A size 12 streamer cast upstream, and dead drifted into this deep pool will often elicit strikes. Another tactic is to dead drift a small streamer into the pool, let it swing toward the back of the pool, then strip it cross pool as though it is trying to swim to cover.
The image below has everything - boulders, deep shade – so probe all carefully with a size-12 black, olive or crayfish streamer.
In areas with boulders lying cross stream, present a size-10 or -12 streamer so that it swings downstream and tumbles on the gravel stream bed into the hydro cushion in front of these rocks. Many times trout will nail that fly while tumbling on the stream bed. Another presentation is to tumble the fly into position just upstream of the rock and strip it across stream.
When you find those deep narrow undercuts where the current is too strong for your typical bead head nymph to swing through and get deep, tie on a size-12 streamer. Cast it just upstream of the spot and swing it through the shaded deepest spot. If that doesn't get a strike, swing it into that deep spot and strip it out fast.
Many times, that will trigger a strike.
So, when hot summer conditions would tempt you to stay home, experiment. Get a float tube and the right clothes. Understand that the fish are looking for certain things, seasonal things, and figure out where they might be found.
Know that most of the action will come from below the surface.
Then, be THE fly fisher on the water to catch fish.
Try using these tips on your favorite water and let me know how you do.
- Bill Byrd
Post note: Sadly, that last line is not to be.... Bill Byrd passed away in 2021.
His webpage, www.byrdultrafly.com, a favorite for so long, is no longer available.
The web archive DOES exist, however, and I highly recommend it. See the link at the end.
Over the course of several seasons, Bill and I corresponded and he gave me his permission to post and edit his writing, with credit being given to him.
With that in mind, I will pay homage to the man and periodically present his works here in edited format.
Tribute article to Bill Byrd: Bill Bird Tribute
Bill Byrd web archive: Bill Byrd Archive
Tight Lines,
David Hutton
Palmetto Fly n Fish
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