Summer is upon us, which as so many other seasons offer new opportunities. Sea trout are migrating to the rivers and many really don’t start fishing for them until now – myself included. It’s fun fishing, often in the evenings and in the dark and that feeling of a sea trout grabbing a big, black tube fly in the surface often startles me. The big ones can sound like someone dropped a refrigerator on the fly and feel like it too.
But there are other alternatives. Summer fishing in the salt is also, most often, associated with sea trout fishing in the dark. But one thing is that you can also catch them doing the day, as long as the water’s not too warm and especially if you know somewhere with deep water close to shore. Even in the salt the warmer water brings in new species some of which are not traditional targets on the fly.
Yet the most common is probably mackerel. Pound for pound very strong fish, once you find them often present in numbers and the perfect fish to fish from a float tube or pontoon boat. They do come close to shore, but it’s hard to predict where and when, where as from the float tube it’s usually possible to find them over deeper water (get the fast sinking line on the reels). A handful of shrimp imitations and a handful of small sand eel imitations are all you need. I very much prefer my small IceAbou Sand Eel:
Garfish are still around and provide good action as well. Many don’t like them, but there’s really no reason not to. I love how they, even though they are long and slender, can dance over the surface on the tail. Sea bass are becoming popular and are great fun to catch. I have limited experience myself, but I hope to add a little more this summer.
With a sinking line from a floattube, boat or pontoon boat new adventures and species are waiting.
In fresh water there are also plenty of opportunities if you prefer fishing during the day, even enjoying a sunny day. Roach are fun to catch on light weight gear. They readily come to the surface to take small insects, usually midges and catching them on dry fly is actually somewhat of a challenge. You need to set the hook very, very fast in order to hook them.
Flemming Harridshøj with a very big whitefish from the northern part of Swedish Lappland.
Common white fish is also an alternative species to hunt. They’re certainly not the greatest fighters, but can also present a good challenge. They also quite readily feed on the surface, but they don’t move far for a take, so the presentations need to be precise and once in a while, you’ll find a big one.
Even more uncommon to hunt is ide. They are primarily bottom feeders, so small streamers, damsels and other nymphs are good choices. They can be found in both lakes and streams. I think they’re not that common anymore, but a good opportunity to fish, even when it’s not “good fishing weather”.
A supreme grass carp caught by Jesper Lindquist Andersen.
Carp are maybe the ultimate summer species and indeed very challenging to catch. They can be very shy and hard to approach, but the flies don’t have to be fancy. Check out this easy and effective surface fly for carp by our friend, Jesper Lindquist Andersen:
And before you finally hook into one, make sure you have plenty of backing. Even a 4 pound carp is extremely strong. They aren’t particularly about water quality, so they can be found in many places.
Henrik Kure Nielsen with a nice ide caught from the floattube on a hot summerday.
All fish need food, so it’s just a matter of finding the right flies and finding the fish.