Summer Solstice - Time to fish after work/chores/sitting the AC all day.
We are entering into the longest days of the year with the summer solstice on June 21 this gives us the most amount of day light of the year. Bad news for vampires good news for anglers. There is no better time to go explore local bass water close to home after work or chores or what ever you do during the day. For most people trout fishing is a full day commitment at a minimum BUT there is bass, carp, bluegill, striper, etc. water much closer. Furthermore, during the summer months fishing is usually best during that evening window – where fish come out of their day time slumber and feed in shallow water AND in most places on the surface! …. OR AS US BASS ANGLERS call it TOP WATER SEASON!!!!
So here are a few tips to get out and take advantage of these extra hours of light and this time of year in the fishing calendar…
1- First and foremost find water. Sounds simplistic but pull up google/Apple Maps and find blue close to you. It could be creeks, ponds, sloughs, irrigation ditches, puddles, really any blue on the map that you can get to for an evening quickly is worth exploring and will most likely have some form of fish in it.
a. This time of year small creeks in the valley are full of water and most have populations of some type of bass. Smallmouth, spotted, large, hybrids, carp, panfish, etc. Finding a crossing or park access is a great spot
b. Golf Course ponds (ask permission first ), Park ponds (usually great carp fisheries), HOA ponds (proceed at your own risk CBU does not endorse trespassing), Irrigation ditches.
2- Once you find the place book out the time. Put it on the calendar and GO!
3- With regards to gear and what to bring keep it simple: lanyard and a fly box in your pocket – if you need a change of clothes bring that as well. 5-7wts with floating lines will take care of most of the fishing we are talking about (stripers on foot may need more specific gear) Bottom line Don’t over think it – one of the main goals I always have for these short evening sessions is clearing my head and if I am over thinking gear, changing flies all the time, or carrying enough gear around for a small expedition it just defeats the purpose.
a. Bass: couple poppers, 5-7wt rod with floating line, stout leader (2x-0x) GO! – wanna go a bit more techy you can have some smaller wolly buggers for popper/dropper fishing or some small bait fish to run right under the surface.
b. Carp: 5-7wt rods with floating lines – usually a longer leader and floro tippet in the 3x-0x. Flies for this are really dependent on the situation but Clousers Swimming Nymph, Carp Hybrid, Carp Crack, Carp n crunch, honestly any wolly bugger is a good fly to start with.
4- GO INTO YOUR LOCAL FLY SHOP – Go visit the guys that are the masters of fishing after work. I know from my time working in fly shops that there is nothing more motivating to go fish than sitting in a fly shop all day, talking fishing, and being surrounded by fishing to light the fire to get out on the water. I know when I was working the counter in fly shops I found ALL sorts of local spots to go fish after “work” – creeks, ponds, ditches, etc. to go hit during those short evening hours before dark and when we turn the closed sign on the shop.
In the end whether you are a new angler or as veteran as they come getting “better” or staying sharp at anything are all dependent on participating in said activity. SO if you are learning the sprot the more you do it the better you get quicker – if you wanna perform on your next trip the keys or Amazon you gotta be sharp so get out and fish.
