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Enjoy your fishing more this summer

Lots of anglers refer to this time of year as the “Dog-Days of Summer.” The phrase “Dog-Days” came from ancient Rome and had to do with the stars and the belief that Sirius, The Dog Star, caused summer to be a bad time of year. Regardless of what they thought in ancient Rome, summer is not a bad time to go fishing. While catching fish in the summer can be challenging, the fact is that there are still lots of fish to catch. Their metabolism is high due to warmer water, so they eat more. If we put a bait in front of them at the right time and in the right manner, they’re going to eat that bait. Here are some things you can do to catch fish during the dog-days of summer.

First of all, wear sun-screen, and make sure it’s of a high-enough SPF(sun protection factor) to be of help. Wearing a “2” SPF really doesn’t do much good.

Fish fast. Keep moving until you find the fish. Once you find them, you can slow down and work them over good.

When I suggest that you fish fast, here’s what I mean. Let’s say you’re fishing walleyes. Check out potential walleye areas with your depth-finder. If you don’t see fish, or at least baitfish, move to another spot. Don’t put a line in the water until you are sure you’re near fish.

Once you find the fish, give them plenty of opportunities to bite. Go through them with several different presentations before you move on. Make a pass with crankbaits of a couple different colors or sizes. If nothing happens, make a troll with spinner rigs. If that doesn’t do the trick, maybe slow down and work them with slip-bobbers. If they still don’t go, mark the spot on your GPS and come back later. Eventually they will bite.

If you’re after largemouth bass, try throwing crankbaits along the weedline or on a deeper largemouth structure. Crankbaits can be worked quickly and will enable you to cover lots of water. The #6 Salmo Hornets are outstanding bass baits.

If you get a couple bass off a spot, it might pay to slow down and work a slower presentation. Find the fish by fishing fast, and catch as many as you can by fishing fast. But if and when they quit responding to the faster presentation, give them something worked a little slower. You’ll probably catch a few more.

When fishing is tough in the summer an Impulse Dip-Stick worm on a jig-head will be a good bet, and if it’s really tough, slide an Impulse Ringworm onto the jig. The Ringworm is only four inches long, and sometimes that smaller size is what the fish want.

Fishing in the heat of the day during the summer months can get hot, and if it gets too uncomfortable, you should head for some place cooler. But after the extreme cold this past winter, most of us probably aren’t doing much complaining about the heat. Rain maybe, heat, probably not. If you keep the above ideas in mind, summer can provide some of the hottest fishing of the year.

To see the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television go to fishingthemidwest.com Join us at Facebook.com/fishingthemidwest

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