So far this has been a very different summer. Fishing has been decent with conditions changing almost every day. Spring and early summer were hot and dry with nowhere near enough rain. July changed all of that with 5 inches in one day and a changed weather pattern since. Now showers a couple of times a week including several afternoon thunderstorms.
Fishing on the freshwater has been improved a lot by the weather turn. Not only can I access many places that have been off limits for the last couple of summers but the fish are loving the cooler water. In the Saint George system the little alewives have begun to drop out toward the salt and it seems like the early fall feed for predators got started well over a month early. Also notable is that the pike are coming to lures more readily in the cooler water. These predators are invasive in the river but usually do not show up until the temperatures drop significantly in September.
In the saltwater it has been an interesting summer so far. First the huge schools of small stripers simply did not show up. That is not to say that there are not plenty of fish and in fact they are bigger than they have been. On the other hand they are much fussier than at any time in my career. I think that in reality they are full and not feeding most of the time and the only successful strategy is to aggravate them into striking a lure or fly. More of a challenge for both anglers and the guide but teh reward is bigger than past summers.
I expect that as the small alewives make their way into the saltwater we will see a few more fish pull up into the Saint George and am hoping that September is as great as it can be there. Of course it is really up to the fish and all I can do is react to whatever they decide. No matter what I am looking forward ot the second half of the summer and autumn.
Add new comment