Summertime

[gspdark1]

Still a newbie. Is summertime freshwater fishing a lost cause? Any tips on where I should go when the heat is on?

[Dirty]

The summertime is not a lost cause. There is plenty of good freshwater fishing. Depending on what you want to target. You might need to move to deeper water instead of the shallows. Time of day usually makes a big difference for me. I know people who have good luck during the mid day. I'm a early morning late afternoon fisherman. Where to fish? Where are you located? How far are you willing to travel?

[gspdark1]

Dirty: first, thank you for helping out the new guy.
I live in Bayonne and have just started fishing Speedwell Lake in Morristown and will try to hit up Farrington Lake soon.
I'm willing to drive upwards to 30-45 minutes and am totally clueless of good spots to hit besides parks with shore access.
Also, I think it's important to say that I do not have a watercraft.

[catfishonthelake]

No time of year is a lost cause if you know when, where or what to fish for. High water temps will slow down a lot of fish, but species like catfish are more tolerable of warmer water. Fish at night!!! Many larger predators will only feed at dusk, dawn at night and on cloudy days or before an approaching front. River fishing can also be great for smallmouth, especially in dam tailwaters, riffles and deep pools. Carp will feed at night and so will bass. I've caught pike in the Passaic in the heat of the summer as well, but the bigger fish do tend to prefer cooler water. High-pressure, blue-bird sky days without clouds or humidity on a 90-degree day in July can seem impossible to fish, but then just wait until it gets dark out. Fish gotta eat. Did I mention to fish at night???

[catfishonthelake]

Originally Posted by gspdark1

Dirty: first, thank you for helping out the new guy.
I live in Bayonne and have just started fishing Speedwell Lake in Morristown and will try to hit up Farrington Lake soon.
I'm willing to drive upwards to 30-45 minutes and am totally clueless of good spots to hit besides parks with shore access.
Also, I think it's important to say that I do not have a watercraft.

BTW, I used to live in Jersey City. There's some monsters swimming around the duck pond in Secaucus. I kid you not.

[Lard Almighty]

Here are a few tips for the dog days that work on just about every species of fish:

• Fish in low light (early morning, late evening, and overcast days)
• Fish at night
• Slow down your lure retrieve
• Fish during periods of stable weather (not right after a cold front moves in)
• Fish the hours before a big storm (beat it once you see lightning!)
• If you're not too proud, fish bait, which will always catch something
• Target shady areas and cover, or fish deep water
• In rivers and streams, target falls and riffles that agitate the water (imparting oxygen)

[Skunk City]

My advice, which has worked well for me...

Summertime is the best time to fish at NIGHT! Getting out there after dark when the temps have dropped a little bit and less fishermen out there will definetly increase your catches. Hot, lethargic fish during the day will be more active at night, chasing baitfish into the shallows. I've landed my personal best Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, and Hybrid Striped Bass at night. The fish will readily hit topwater baits, which is pretty much known as "heart attack" fishing, as the fish will basically explode on your bait, scaring the crap out of you. It's definetly an awesome experience that will take some getting used to, but I've found, and others will agree, to be well worth the extra effort.

My second piece of advice would be to pick up a kayak. If you're like me with limited space and not the owner of an SUV, fishing from a kayak will enable you to hit TONS of spots that are not accessible from land. Up until 2 years ago, I did the shore fishing thing regularly. I caught fish, but hated coming up on spots that guys were already fishing. I picked up an entry level 10ft. kayak for less than $250, outfitted it a bit, and haven't looked back. I've landed tons of Bass, tons of nice Panfish, some Hybrid Striped Bass, and lately, a bunch of nice Northern Pike from the kayak. I can load and unload it off the roof of my Dodge SRT-4 sports car in a couple of minutes and be on my way to spots I could never hit from land. At this point in living situation, it was the best purchase I could make to really get back into fishing.

Hope this helps ya a bit...

[FISHOFF]

Originally Posted by gspdark1

Still a newbie. Is summertime freshwater fishing a lost cause? Any tips on where I should go when the heat is on?

Go DEEP!!