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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
Summer Fishing is Finally Here!
by Mike Guarino All of a sudden if feels like Mother Nature flicked a switch and turned summer on! For the longest time, I thought she either lost power or forgot to check her calendar because we had to deal with lots of rain and unseasonable temperatures. This warm weather feels like a welcome gift that I definitely won't return or re-wrap! This time of year is definitely one of my favorite fishing seasons. Everything seems to slow down a bit (perhaps because of the humidity in the air), but mostly I think, because of the soothing effect the warm weather and calm lakes has on most of us. Early in the season local anglers are anxious to get out on the water and chase our favorite species after being held under winter's boot for so long. We rush to get our fishing gear ready, register boats, and start stubborn outboard motors. When the day to fish finally comes, we rejoice; but by this time of year, things have settled down and we're happy to float along and enjoy the scenery. Don't get me wrong though, we are still chasing big fish and lots of them, the pace is what changes not the goal. There are a couple of different styles of fishing that float many anglers' boats this time of year, and they couldn't be more different than the Red Sox and Yankees. The first is fly fishing, a sport with style and grace that once dominated the Belgrade Lakes fishing scene. The second involves targeting largemouth bass — that wonderful game fish that grows big and draws an allegiance of anglers from around the world. Let's start with fly fishing, one of my favorite yet most frustrating ways to try and catch fish. Right now we are in the depths of our annual mayfly hatch. These big bugs can be seen smashed on windshields, stuck to screens and caught in spider webs through out the region, but where anglers like to see them most is hovering above the water on a calm evening. Just about every species of fish in the Belgrade chain eats a mayfly, although some eat more bugs than others. Fly fishing enthusiasts usually think about brook trout when discussing mayflies and this area is surrounded by beautiful brook trout ponds. However, when I think about mayflies and fly fishing, I think about white perch sipping bugs off the surface. If you can find a big school of perch cruising across the skim of the water, you can bet they are looking for bugs. When you find the fish/bugs, try casting a 5-weight fly rod loaded with a green or yellow winged Hexagenia (mayfly). In addition to catching fish during the Hex hatch, swimmers are certainly seeing the shells of the nymph version of the Hex floating on the surface. The shells look similar to the underside of real Hex Nymph and they are a sure sign that the mayflies are taking flight around your favorite lake or pond. The largemouth bass fishing has really improved since the water temperatures have hit 70°. There were some big largemouth being caught before, but all of a sudden folks are catching giant bass in big numbers. Patience is key if you want Belgrade largemouth because sometimes they can be finicky, but when the bite turns on the fishing is excellent. With the exception of live bait (which is certainly the best big bass bait of them all — and is the focus of next week's article), the largemouth have been hitting a variety of plastic baits including the infamous Senko, Berkley power worms in black/blue, and creature baits like the 4-inch Berkley Chigger Craw in watermelon or black with red flake. Lure of the Week
Berkley Chigger Craw. Largemouth bass will continue to feed on crayfish throughout the summer making this bait a great choice for anglers looking for a big "bucket mouth". You can fish this bait on a traditional lead jig head, Texas Style with a bullet weight or as a trailer on a 1/4 oz. or 3/8 oz. bass jig. The claws give this bait a great action while it falls slowly through the weeds or is hopped along the bottom behind. Mike Guarino can be reached at | ||
