Dog Days

[Stump bumper]

Thought I start a post about bath tub water fishing. I don't fish much this time of year just because my temper boils to easy. But my theory is most fish lay on bottom just under the thermocline near big shad travel ways. Two or three times a day they will rush up through those shad and drive them to the top and feed on them on the way up and back down to the bottom then sit there. There are few big bass that will brave the heat to raid sunfish beds near deep drop offs then go back to their deep water haunts. There are hundreds of fresh water springs under the lake that provide a great source of O2 rich water much deeper that most people think to fish and it my theory that people that weigh in regular big bags have everyone of those springs marked on their GPS.

I think the two species that you will find above the thermocline this time of year are catfish and gar since they need little O2 to survive.

That is very little on dog day fishing so please add what you have have learned about the dog days of summer.

[Bg193ch]

I'm learning from this thread already.  I thought you looked for fish right above the thermocline. Makes sense to fish right below it.  

[Dan the fisherman]

I fish tree tops 20+ Feet this time of the year.  Kinda sux when the wind is blowing but does well when it's not.  N e thing vertical seems to get a few.  As long as it's deeper than 15 feet or so.  

[RyanG]

I never fish trees, mainly because I am totally ignorant of how to do so. You use a spoon usually for that?

 

[Stump bumper]

10 hours ago, RyanG said:

I never fish trees, mainly because I am totally ignorant of how to do so. You use a spoon usually for that?

Spoons are good especially 1 oz spoons so you can knock them out of tree tops, but this time of year Bass will target smaller bait fish so IMO the little worms and even ned rigs catch more bass. My personal best walleye just over 8lbs came from a tree with a drop shot 4inch watermelon robo worm in a tree 30 feet down, near the water intake near point 5. 

Old timers used jigs and bounced them against the trees simulating crawfish climbing the trees.

The point here is not any tree, you want to find the shad hanging between the trees in the thermocline, then fish at the level, it is much easier if the top of the trees are that level since getting down through branches is not easy. 

My biggest problem with fishing trees in the summer is as soon as you get it down, grandpa comes out and starts pulling the grand kids on a tube all around you, and if you don't have a gps lock trolling motor you are not going to be able to stay on the tree if you can stay on the front of your own boat.

 

 

[RyanG]

Thanks for the information! I'm not much of a spoon guy but maybe that should change. It would be good to learn I suppose! I'll have to look around and give it a shot, it's definitely something I have wanted to learn for a long time and beaver definitely has an abundance of deep trees. I'm gonna try to squeeze out tomorrow for a bit while it's still cool and rainy, if so I'll report back. In the meantime I think I'll start collecting some spoons. I almost always have a drop shot tied on this time of year but I struggle with boat traffic, I just lose focus and my fishing suffers. So ready to have the lake back this fall. lol 

[Dan the fisherman]

I just dangle a drop shot right next to a tree.  20-30 feet or so.  Works pretty good when the water is calm. 

[Bg193ch]

On 7/29/2016 at 10:10 AM, RyanG said:

Thanks for the information! I'm not much of a spoon guy but maybe that should change. It would be good to learn I suppose! I'll have to look around and give it a shot, it's definitely something I have wanted to learn for a long time and beaver definitely has an abundance of deep trees. I'm gonna try to squeeze out tomorrow for a bit while it's still cool and rainy, if so I'll report back. In the meantime I think I'll start collecting some spoons. I almost always have a drop shot tied on this time of year but I struggle with boat traffic, I just lose focus and my fishing suffers. So ready to have the lake back this fall. lol 

There's always something to buy!  Women have purses. We have tackle!  

[RyanG]

14 hours ago, Bg193ch said:

There's always something to buy!  Women have purses. We have tackle!  

That's the truth! Haha.