Stewardship Tip:Aug1st, 2008-High water temps are tough on fish
High water temps are tough on fish
It doesn’t matter much what species you’re fishing for, hot summer weather can stress them – although some fish get more stressed than others.
Cold water species like trout, salmon and steelhead are the most suceptible to mortality when temps get high, but temperate bass (stripers, hybrid striped bass and others) and black bass (largemouth, smallmouth) also suffer under the searing sun.
Part of the trouble is high water temps take fish out of their ideal comfort range, stressing them so that even if released, the struggle of the fight causes them to die after release.
The other part of the trouble is that the hot water of summer contains less dissolved oxygen, and algae booms and die-offs and other factors this time of year compound the problem.
If we want to catch more and bigger fish in the immediate future, knowing when to say when is part of a lifestyle of stewardship.
Here’s what you can do: Fish early and late or overnight when water is cooler, target fish like catfish, bullheads, sunfish or carp which are more tolerant of warm water, keep fish out of water for even less time than you normally would – not even removing them from water if possible. Keep fights short by using heavier line and gear. Abandon warmer waters for cooler waters like tailraces or streams where fish are liable to find higher oxygen content. And, ludicrous though it may seem, limit fishing time or find another fun outdoor pursuit (a nice swimming or wading trip comes to mind) and give the fish a break.
For more on catch and release fishing, visit our “Catch and Release How-To” section.
This week’s sponsor-partner:Vertical Lures
Thanks to our friends at Vertical Lures, makers of the JigX, TubeX, ChunkX and ChunkX Sling, and the new CreatureX. Their partnership makes this week’s “Stewardship Tip” possible.
Rising demand for our weekly Stewardship Tip and a new partnership with Fly Cast America now makes the Stewardship Tip available in Spanish. Ahora, reciba el Stewardship Tip en español. Gentileza de Fly Cast America.
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