Summer doesn't mean fishing is over.

[BrooksAndHooks]

It has always made me laugh when bait guys or causal fishers ask me how I catch trout/fish in the summer or fall. So many people believe that after spring and a few weeks of stocking the fish all disappear or something... probably because they can't catch them anymore. Anyways, with the cool nights we have been having and mild, overcast days, I got out friday and saturday evening for some fishing. Water was nice and cool and the fish were active and fishing hard. No major hatches for me either evening but still landed some excellent fish, wild browns and stocked bows on one stream, and wild browns and native brookies on another. Landed my personal best brown trout as well saturday evening. Have been nymphing with pretty good success with your typical late summer patterns. Wanted to share some pictures with you guys.

Sorry about the middle picture, it was taken at near dark and I really had to jack up the exposure to even see the fish, and it looks pretty weird. The big guy was at dusk too otherwise pictures might be better.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Nice fish. I agree, flyfishing for trout is far from over during the summer. I have had some banner summer days fishing trico's and terrestrials.

 

[poopdeck]

Nice fish and nice pictures. I disagree on your summer fishing point. I don't know anybody, lowly bait fishermen, ghastly spin fishermen and casual fishermen alike, who think trout can't be caught in the summer. Why do the fly fishing only anglers seem to think this?

 

[jifigz]

I also can't think of anyone that thinks that trout/fish can't be caught during the summer. I just saw several people last week using worms on streams and they were having good success, or at least they said. Fishing in the summer certainly isn't as good as spring and fall and maybe even winter for that matter though.

 

[pcray1231]

Generally it's not fly vs. bait vs. spin. It's stocked vs. wild.

It's true that you CAN catch stocked fish in mid-summer. But the pickins are certainly slimmer.

This is just generalities, and don't get me wrong, there are plenty of exceptions. In terms of management criticism, we tend to focus on the exceptions, because those are the areas where we disagree with the PFBC. But we shouldn't lose sight that the general reality is that:

- Trout streams that are stocked generally do not hold strong wild trout populations.
- The reason is warm water temps.

And everyday Joe the stockie slayer likes big water as opposed to small water, making the above even more true. Their favorite streams are smallmouth streams at this time of year, and they are largely ignorant of wild trout opportunities (and even summertime stocked opportunities often overlap with those wild trout). Heck, many are tuning out even by mid-May, when us wild trout guys think things are really turning on.

Anyway, fly, bait, or spinner, for wild trout enthusiasts summer is one of the best, if not THE best, trout fishing season. Talk to a hard core wild trout spinner guy and they'll tell you July is the best month of the year. I'd say that fly fisherman, if anything, put the peak earlier due to the May hatches.

 

[AFISHN]

So true....as I get my gear ready for a fishing trip to Western PA on Tuesday to fish a nice limestone stream

 

[Aducker]

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great day on the water.

 

[afishinado]

The skinny colored ones are great, but the fat green ones are a lotta fun to catch and are great challenge to FF for in the summer, as well as many other fish that swim in the lakes, streams, rivers and oceans. Opportunities for having fun FFing are everywhere. It's great to change things up and step out to broaden your horizons...

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

Thanks guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. I also enjoy seeing everyone elses through the year.

I was simply reflecting on my personal experiences with guys literally asking me that question. I can't speak for the people you may know or talk to, sorry. Around here the stocked stream fishing is tough and most guys don't realize how and where and when to catch fish. Nothing to start a big debate about, just a catchy title to a post. I swear you guys can start a discussion/debate about anything some days! hahaha.

Definitely some good opportunities to fish other species as well later in the year. I am an opportunistic fisherman and not picky.

 

[fayettenamese]

If you find a limestone stream in western PA please let me know! I have to drive east at least to central bedford county to find a limestoner.

 

[tomitrout]

Somebody needs to photoshop a tenkara fishing unicorn onto that pic.

 

[Reeder]

It is not limited to bait guys. There are plenty of fly guys who call it quits by July. A fairly large majority actually, when compared to the crowds you see in April and May. I hiked about 3 miles on Penns last weekend and didn't see a soul. I do most of my limestone fishing in the summer just for that reason.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

I fished in the Poconos yesterday and Sat. and had two of my best dry fly eves. of the season. After not fishing for over a month it was a much needed break! That was on a freestone stream and the fish were stocked rainbows and and browns; most (if not all) appeared to be stream bred.There wasn't another angler to be seen. Interestingly, on the second night there were no visible rises and I still brought eight to hand and missed several. that was the "off" night btw. My buddy was too tired from the morning fishing which paled in comparison despite the water temps being much better early. He missed out!

 

[dryflyguy]

Yeah - if you know where to look, there certainly is lots of good fishing around all summer.
Of course for trout, you should be mind full of water temps.

Hot humid weather - along with the mosquitos - can get pretty annoying for me at times though.

I'd also like to know where there is a limestone stream in western PA.

 

[afishinado]

A lot of guys I talk to hang it up in the summer because they don't want to travel or explore to find places to trout fish. You can always search and explore to find trout in the summer but many of the stocked trout streams close to home are decent warmwater fisheries right now. And it doesn't take any special equipment or fancy flies to catch them.

I actually look forward to the summer and changing it up from trout.
One of my favorite things is fishing for smallies in the streams as well as the bigger rivers. Also lakes and ponds offer some great fishing for largemouths as well as all sorts of panfish.

It's all fun!...give it a try.

 

[poopdeck]

^ I'm with Afish. I don't fish for one species of fish with one style of fishing. As the seasons change so do the fish I target and the methods I employ. In the spring I go after the shad, stripers and drum and do a little trout fishing. Summer it's all about the flounder and smallmouth bass. Fall it's back to striper, SMB and walleye.Winter has me fishing for whatever I can pull up through an 8" hole. When I don't know what to do ill go pull up some catfish, sea bass or whatever has the hot bite.

I think your fish of choice is largely based on geography. Where I live I'm at least an hour and a half away from any decent trout streams. I'm not driving 3 hours for a slow day of trout fishing, ticks and sweating. If you live near good trout fishing I assume your not driving 3+ hours for skates, sea Robbins and green head horse flies.

I'm not debating the point I'm simply pointing out why I don't trout fish in the summer. Since I am horribly average I think this is probably true for most people.

 

[wildtrout2]

As a wild trout chaser I much prefer June, July, and August when the freestone stream temps are warmer. Just this past Saturday I tied my personal best wild brown (19"), so summer works best for me. For the record, out of 17 trips this season, the warmest stream temp I got was 59F.

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

Geography definitely does play a part, and I was LMB fishing a bit this summer as well, but as I mentioned in my post I took advantage of the recent weather and cooler water temps to go for some trout. I have tons and tons of trout streams around, but also some good bass fisheries. Usually its just what I'm in the mood for or what my buddy or brother wants to fish that day.

Thanks for all the comments guys.

 

[gfoledc]

Fishing is never over

 

[troutbert]

gfoledc wrote:
Fishing is never over

"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" (John Belushi)