There are basically three ways to reduce the brutal toll that Mississippi’s August heat and humidity can put on the human body — change times, stay on the move, be successful.
Admit it, the heat is not so bad when the fish are biting. You know it’s true.
But, the fisherman is not always in control of that equation. So let’s look at what we can do.
In this edition, writer David Hawkins tells us a great way to beat the summer heat by fishing after sunset. Just because it’s dark do the fish go to sleep. Big predator fish, like largemouth and crappie, start prowling in the cool waters. Hawkins talks to several fishermen to get their secrets to fooling bass at night.
Catfishing with jugs (where legal) is another great way to beat the heat, even in the afternoon.
“We do it from a pontoon boat, and we can stay in the shade, be comfortable and even run a fan off a pigtail connection,” said Randy Powell of Grenada. “We usually start late in the afternoon, around 4 or 5, and fish on past midnight. We often have to quit earlier because we run out of room in the fish box.”
Crappie fishermen love fishing under the lights.
“I do some of my best fishing at night at Eagle Lake under piers that have lights, and if I need to, I bring my own floating lights to put in the water,” said Rick Watson of Vicksburg. “Once we find a hot pier, the lights will draw insects, then minnows and then crappie. We can stay at one spot and catch fish for an hour then move around a find another one.”
Trolling for crappie and even striped bass is a way to stay cool in the summer, especially in a boat rigged for shade. Moving air keeps it cool and the shade takes away another layer of heat.
In the Gulf, the best way to beat the heat is to start the day on trout and reds in the morning and then running the crab pots and other surface cover to pursue tripletails.
Fishing at 30 miles per hour … pretty darned cool.
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