The Dog Days of Summer are here; it’s a good thing I really like dogs. I’ve spent a lot of weekend mornings teaching fly fishing and casting classes at the Bethesda Orvis store and, now that those are mostly wrapped up, I’ve got my weekends back and can hit the water early and had a free Saturday to get out and do some fishing myself.
While the local chatter is all about how hot things are and how the fishing has slowed, the fish are still feeding. What most anglers miss is when conditions change, so should your tactics. The smallmouth hunt is no different than fishing trout and observation is the key to hooking up. Matching the “hatch” is the most important even if the hatch is baitfish and or crayfish. Smallies are piled high in shaded and cooler feeder creeks and getting fat on bait that’s had a few months to grow and school up in eddies. Getting out in the mornings before sun-up or after sundown will help your chances and help you beat crowds of tubers and canoeists.
Remember, if your friends tell you to stay home and watch fishing DVDs you need to find some new friends to talk fishing with.
