Getting into summer fishing

[little_desert_lakes]

Now that the spring hatches and stuff are over, my beginner fishing is getting harder. As I understand it, lake fish are mostly withdrawing to deeper and different waters--which is hard for me to follow to when I'm a shore fisher at relatively small reservoirs. A lot of the shoreline at local fishing spots can be pretty shallow and weedy and I don't know how to fish well in those situations yet. But the point is, I'm struggling to figure out how to keep up decent catches.

My rod's 6', 6'.5 (it's in the car and I can't be bothered to check exactly right now), and I use 10lbs-proof line. Simple, cheap glow-in-the-dark jigheads, soft plastic baits that i modify, a couple spinners, some Powerbait, and a little topwater popper make up most of the lure tools in my tacklebox, since I mostly bottom-fish for now. I've been pretty successful with bringing in rainbow trout somewhere over a foot long, medium-small sunfish, and the occasional smallmouth somewhere over a foot long. I'm not too ambitious of a fisherman yet, but it would be fun to start reeling in bigger stuff, of course. There are muskies around somewhere.

Does anyone have suggestions for tackling summer fishing? I'm on a very tight budget, but I'm a patient learner and even enjoy DIY tackle and rigs.

[SenkoSam]

baits that i modify

 Curious - which baits? how modified?


Questions - do you ever fish from a boat?
               - if so would you use a fish finder-sonar?
               - what is the depth range you fish in this lake?
               - what weight jigs?
               - do you move along the shoreline and cast everywhere you can?

Bottom fishing is okay when using bottom weighted lures, i.e. jig & trailer, plastic worm or creature bait Texas rigged. As for myself I use ball head jigs no heavier than 1/8 oz with soft plastics in many shapes and actions. I also modify plastics and many work better than anything I ever bought
.

The above is my latest discovery: two different size grub bodies with curl tail cut off and attached by melting the ends with a candle flame. Notice also the use of an unpainted ball head jig.

I have a mold for the above swimbait and added color using a plastic dye. It caught crappy and bass.

These are examples of lures that cover quite a bit of water and at the depth fish are at whether on bottom or mid depth.
Since you've been able to catch different species fish, no reason other fish species won't bite whatever you cast as long as lure size, shape and action are proper for that lake. 

There are tons of lures and ways to fish them but at the same time it's not possible to know which of them you need. But one thing I've found is that fish are nearer the surface in summer in early morning and that's where I fish my lures.

[bahar]

In summer, if the water depth is high, the surface temperature and the layers below the water surface are warm, but the temperature of the very lower layers and the water floor is cold because the heat of the sun and the sharpness of sunlight reach the layers of the water floor less. Also, if the water is static, the water temperature will heat up, but if the water flows quickly, the water temperature will be lower and as a result, the water will be colder.
In winter, all surfaces and layers of water are cold and have a uniform temperature. Some lakes and mirages have spontaneous warm water, which has a uniform temperature in all seasons, and in winter, when you go to such a place for fishing, you see steam rising from the water. But let's talk about the effect of cold and hot water on fish; In the spring the weather is cool, in this season the fish become active and the adult fish begin to mate and as a result lay eggs.
In the summer, when all the waters are warm, the fish are very active and constantly active and feeding. In this season, juveniles are found in abundance in all the waters, and they move in flocks along the water. In early autumn, when the weather cools down, the fish become less active and come in small and large groups.
In late autumn and winter, when the weather is very cold, most fish that are very sensitive to the cold water, gradually become active and gather in deep parts of the water or in pits and grooves, as well as near the roots of trees in the water. They spend the winter using their fat. Very, very few fish grown in the cold season. But the important thing is to know how each type of fish gets hooked in each season.
In the spring, because the fish are just alive, they gnaw very slowly on the hook and play gently with the hook and bait.
So we should not expect fish to hit the hook hard and fast in the spring.
In summer, the fish are at the peak of their activity and hit the hook and bait very hard, breaking the bait into pieces.
Summer is the peak season for fish such as carp, amur, turmeric, bridal fish, etc. In late summer and early fall, the fish are still a bit lively and more or less reach for hooks and prey.
Usually in early autumn, well-grown and heavy fish come to the hooks and prey, because in this season, natural prey such as baby fish, worms, frogs, etc. are rarely found.
Inevitably, these large, heavy fish go to almost any prey to store fat for the winter, just like the prey we throw into the water. If you catch fish such as carp at low weights, such as one kilogram or half a kilogram, in the summer, you will definitely catch carp weighing two kilograms and three kilograms upwards in late summer.
In winter, too, due to the extreme cold of the water, the fish are very inactive and rarely come to the hook and bait.

[trout snacher]

depending on whether you are wanting to fish with only jigs or live bait and depending on where you live I've found that on the year of the locust that they're the best live bait I've ever used.

[SENKOSAM1]

 

Some days you can catch 4-5 different types of fish; most days I catch at least 4:
sunfish, yellow perch, bass and crappie. They can be caught using the same lure as the photos showed.

[dandanel]

You caught beautiful fish.

[SENKOSAM1]

I agree. But then again most fish caught are beautiful in my mind! - some a lot cuter than others LOL

[phknnutt]

Now that the spring hatches and stuff are over, my beginner fishing is getting harder. As I understand it, lake fish are mostly withdrawing to deeper and different waters--which is hard for me to follow to when I'm a shore fisher at relatively small reservoirs. A lot of the shoreline at local fishing spots can be pretty shallow and weedy and I don't know how to fish well in those situations yet. But the point is, I'm struggling to figure out how to keep up decent catches.

My rod's 6', 6'.5 (it's in the car and I can't be bothered to check exactly right now), and I use 10lbs-proof line. Simple, cheap glow-in-the-dark jigheads, soft plastic baits that i modify, a couple spinners, some Powerbait, and a little topwater popper make up most of the lure tools in my tacklebox, since I mostly bottom-fish for now. I've been pretty successful with bringing in rainbow trout somewhere over a foot long, medium-small sunfish, and the occasional smallmouth somewhere over a foot long. I'm not too ambitious of a fisherman yet, but it would be fun to start reeling in bigger stuff, of course. There are muskies around somewhere.

Does anyone have suggestions for tackling summer fishing? I'm on a very tight budget, but I'm a patient learner and even enjoy DIY tackle and rigs.

Me personally I use either worms, shad, or anchovies... I just caught a 4ft pike on shad. I also have a lot of luck in more shallow areas using a lure with a bobber, I know this sounds weird but the bobber keeps the lure out of the weeds.

[wiperhunter2]

Me personally I use either worms, shad, or anchovies... I just caught a 4ft pike on shad. I also have a lot of luck in more shallow areas using a lure with a bobber, I know this sounds weird but the bobber keeps the lure out of the weeds.

Nice pike, did you catch it on a minnow? By the way, welcome to the site.