Don’t allow the heat to keep you from fishing

Bill Sparks, of Billings, holds a 20-inch walleye while a basket of crappie sitting nearby demonstrates that fishing can be good in spite of the July heat.

Photo by Ken White | Special to the Daily Mail

The 90 degree July heat might make some people think the fishing wouldn’t be good, but anglers like Bill Sparks, of Billings, know otherwise.

Sparks proved the point on a recent 94 degree day by catching lots of crappie ­— a 20-inch walleye, a three pound channel cat as well as having several fish break his six pound test line before he could reel them in.

Sparks had one advantage, he was fishing off a covered dock where the shade helped keep the hot sun from bearing down on him. Using small minnows, the action was so fast, he kept busy pulling fish out of the lake.

Another fisherman, Jim Jackson, of Springfield, has been catching crappie, bluegill and catfish. Last week, he caught a limit of crappie, lots of bluegill and several catfish. His secret?

“Just hang in there and be prepared,” noted Jackson.

Jackson hits the water early in the morning, brings plenty of water to keep hydrated, sunscreen, an umbrella and night crawlers for bait. Jackson usually starts off looking for catfish, then walleye and bluegill or crappie. He also uses 1/16th ounce jigs for crappie.

“The crappie fishing has been a surprise,” said Jackson. “I have been catching lots of them, but the size could be larger. I might catch 10 undersized fish before catching a keeper. I do most of my serious crappie fishing in July at night under a light, but this summer I found a couple of spots where the fish have been hitting nearly anytime of the day. It’s been different this summer.”

Both Jackson and Sparks said they don’t see many other anglers on the lake. Many times, during the week, they may be the only fishermen within sight. With temperatures in the 90s, it’s no wonder. Fishing in the heat isn’t very conducive to comfort.

Fishing at night is the best approach for many crappie and cat fishermen to avoid the sweltering heat of Missouri’s summer months. They take to the water under cover of darkness ­— not just to beat the heat, but because fishing the hours between dusk and dawn puts an angler on the water when the fish are active.

Crappie, bass, walleye and catfish are being caught by anglers who take night fishing seriously during the summer heat.

Another case in point about hot weather fishing was a July walleye trip with Brent Frazee on Stockton Lake. Surprisingly, both July and August are good months for walleye fishing in Missouri. It didn’t seem right to be heading out for walleye with the temperature hovering around 80 degrees when we started out.

Bob Davis, however, had been out the day before and assured us that the walleye fishing was good, as he had caught his limit of walleye.

Davis was right, because we caught our limit of big walleye (that was when the length limit was 18 inches instead of the 15 inch limit today). Had we been in Canada, more than likely, we wouldn’t have bothered fishing for walleye on a bright, windless and hot day. The old saying, “You can’t catch fish if you don’t have your hook in the water” holds true.

I remember when I fished lots of tournaments, there was always someone who caught fish. One day on Table Rock stands out. The weather was miserable. The wind was howling and the rain was pelting down. I was having a bad day and thought everyone else was as well. Wrong! When I finally made it back in, there was an angler holding up three bass including a six pounder.

Someone was always at the weigh-in with a string of bass. At another tournament on Table Rock, the day was hot and windless; not a good day for fishing. I felt good about catching a limit of bass, including two that were over five pounds each. When I arrived at the weigh-in, my catch was the 16th best.

That is the way it goes when fishing. Another old saying that holds true: “It’s always fishing, but not always catching.”

The moral is, “Don’t let the hot weather stop you from fishing.”