With Memorial day weekend passing, and having four deaths on my local lakes this weekend the harsh reality is that the Texas heat has set in for the Summer I have been thinking a lot about my Summer catfishing tactics as well as how incredibly hot it is about to be.
I am a Texas native, I have been here all my life and they say that you “get used to the heat” but I keep waiting to “get used to it”, so far is hasn’t happened. Don’t get me wrong though, after the blizzard we had here in North Texas this year, I will take the heat over the cold any day of the week.
I get a lot of questions when the Summer sets in about Summer catfishing and how I handle being on the lake and fishing in the harsh Texas heat while catfishing in the Summer so I thought I would add some of my tricks on summer catfishing and how to handle the brutal heat.
Fish Early, Fish Late, (and Fish Often) -
Starting June 1st on my catfish guide service I stop doing full day catfishing trips and switch to haf day trips. I typically fish from 7-11 for my morning trips and from 4-8 for my “afternoon” trips and then when doing night fishing trips will start fishing around 7 or 8 at night and fish until about 11 or 12. I do a lot of fishing for channel catfish in the Summer but will chase the blue catfish as well, the bite is just not as consistent in the Summer as the channel catfish bite is.
While it is possible during the “heat of the day” from 11 until 4 it is pretty miserable. It’s like fishing on the sun, and I find that most people don’t enjoy it. There are some excellent tactics for catching catfish during the heat of the day in the summer that I may share in the future but this article is more about staying safe and staying cool and less about the actual catfishing techniques.
Fishing in the morning and evening allows you to avoid the heat of the day, but also affords the luxury of getting off the water during the middle of the day when all the pleasure boaters, tubers, skiers, wakeboarders and worst of all JET SKI’s are on the lake.
Night fishing for catfish takes this to the extreme because when you hit the lake or river after dark you find very little traffic and this is obviously the coolest time of the day.
Stay Hydrated
Make sure when you are on the water catfishing in the Summer that you stay hydrated. Take plenty of water and gatorade and make sure you drink a LOT of fluids. I was a paramedic for 10 years and can tell you first hand that heat related illnesses are serious and not anything to mess around with so make sure you drink plenty of liquids. Remember drink WATER or GATORADE and not cokes, beer or other carbonated “sugary” drinks.
Keep two liter bottles of water frozen in your freezer for a fast and inexpensive way to keep you beverages cool on the water, and when the ice melts you can drink it and have ice cold water.
Protect Your Skin
I have to be the first to admit that I have tendency to not do as well with this as I should but I have been making a significant effort over the past few years to do much better with wearing suncreen.
There are a number of guides I have known for years that have been battling skin cancer from years of not wearing sunscreen so I committed to not be in their “club”.
Make sure you cover your face, arms and exposed “parts” with a high SPF sunscreen and don’t forget to put sunscreen on your lips as well.
I like to use Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense Sunblock.
Remember, if you do apply sunscreen, make sure you wash your hands very well before handling any bait. The scent from the sunscreen on your bait is no way to attract catfish.
Cover Your Melon
Wear a hat, and keep the sun off your head and face. Wearing a hat works wonders for keeping you cool when you are out in the sun and also helps to protect your skin. I am a “freaky hat person” and always have a baseball cap on but I have an extra special fishing hat I often wear in the Summer.
I bought this on ebay a number of years ago and I love it and I wear it all Summer long. It is a cowboy hat made from Mexican Palm and has a big wide brim on it so it keeps the sun off of me and keeps me really cool. It also has a hurricane strap on it as well so I don’t have to worry about it flying off my head on the lake.
I bought this on ebay and you can find some really good deals on mexican palm hats on ebay and can get them in many different styles as well. I highly suggest these for anyone spending time outside in the summer. If you are not willing to shell out a few bucks for a Mexican palm hat or it’s just not your think then just make sure you at least have a baseball cap on your melon.
Search palm leaf cowboy hats on ebay.
Go Buff
I bought this Buff Headwear in the Florida Keys after seeing all the guides using them down there and now wonder how I every lived without it. I love it so much I bought another one the other day. You can use it to cover your head and face but I use mine primarily around my neck to keep the sun off my neck and help keep me cool.
When it gets really hot I will often times dip it into the lake and put it back on to help cool me off a bit more.
I won’t go into all the details on these because it would take forever to go through the options, so just check out Buff Headwear.
Protect Your Eyes
Just like I am a “freaky hat person” I am a “freaky sunglass person” and cannot stand to be outside without my sunglasses and I start to have panic attacks if I think I have forgotten them.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that UV rays are damaging to your eyes but sunglasses also help with finding catfish as well. If you have a good pair of polarized sunglasses they remove the glare from the water allowing you to see the catfish under the surface of the water. The difference between poliarized sunglasses you get at the gas station and GOOD polarized sunglasses is amazing. Good polarized sunglasses open up a whole new world you can see under the water.
There is long scientific explanation for the difference between good polarized glasses and the cheap ones that I won’t bore you with but trust me, there is a huge difference.
I wear Costa Del Mar Costa 400 Fathom Polarized Sunglasses blue lenses. They are amazing and I have been wearing them for years. They are an investment but if you keep up with them and take care of them they will last for YEARS. Plus Costa Del Mar has an amazing warranty and excellent customer service through their repair program in case you do something stupid (again, no details but I did something stupid and had to test out their repair program).
*Discclosure* – I am on the Costa Del Mar Pro Staff, but if I wasn’t on the Costa Del Mar Pro Staff I would still be wearing Costa Del Mar Sunglasses.
Show Some Leg, But Not Any Arm
Obviously wearing shorts is probably common sense in the Summer but hey, you never know. The uncommon thing is I am never amazed at how many strange looks I get because I fish in long sleeve shirts in the Summer.
Wearing long sleeves for fishing in the Summer is pretty common in saltwater but you don’t see it much in freshwater. I always wear long sleeves with catfishing in the Summer, not only do the sleeves help keep the sun off your skin, and keep you cooler but they also help to keep you cool through evaporation.
Some of the technologies that are out today greatly help with this because many fabrics have UV protections and other technologies . These new “high tech” fishing shirts like the ones I wear have so many features and so much technology they are a “steal”.
I wear the Columbia Sportswear Company Bonehead Shirt for Men – Long Sleeve and also the Columbia Sportswear Company Skiff Guide II Tee Shirts for Men – Long Sleeve
and highly recommend them to everyone. If you only have one fishing shirt this is the one to get.
Air Out Your Feet
OK, so now that I am letting all of my weird quirks out about hats and sunglasses and such I have to reveal that I hate shoes. If I could never wear shoes again I probably wouldn’t.
I like to fish barefoot also. Something about catfishing barefoot in the boat just makes me feel at peace with the world, and then around 10:00 when that hot Texas sun has been blazing down on my catfish guide boat for a few hours I (usually very quickly) put my shoes on because I look like one of those dancing chickens in the fair, but I still want to keep my feet cool.
I have two pairs of “warm weather” fishing shoes that I wear.
Crocs
OK, again unless you have been under s rock somewhere you probably know what Crocs are. The truth is they are probably the ugliest shoes you will ever own and they really look quite freaky. That being said, I am not one for fashion and could usually care less what I look like, especially when fishing so I have a pair of Crocs that I have owned for years.
Crocs are incredibly comfortable (there’s a reason all the doctors and nurses in the hospitals wear them). They are like walking on a big pile of bubble gum or something. Plus they keep my feet nice and cool with lots of air circulating.
Above and beyond all the obvious listed above, CROCS FLOAT and they are waterproof. Like I said in the Fujifilm Finepix XP10 Digital Camera review everything I own at one point or another ends up in the water. I won’t tell you why I know Croc’s float and won’t go into details but just trust me.
Crocs now has a line that comes in camo, just in case you need to sneak up on something in your Croc’s. I am going to ask Mrs’ Redneck to get me a pair of these for Fathers Day Crocs Realtree Shoes for Men.
The only thing I don’t like about Croc’s is they are kind of “clunky” and awkward if you are really moving around a lot.
Keen Newport H2 Sandals
I have had these for about 5 or 6 years and got them as a gift, and immediately feel in love with them. They are hands down my favorite shoes overall and my favorite fishing shoes. They are cool and comfortable.
They don’t float like Croc’s will and they are not waterproof but when you do get them wet they dry quickly and unlike Crocs they are not “clunky” to wear so you can do pretty much anything you want in them and they are not awkward.
The Keen Newport H2 Sandals are a pricey but I have been wearing mine every day from April until October for about 5 or 6 years now and they are still holding up well.
These tips and tricks for staying cool while fishing for catfish in the Summer will help you stay safe and stay comfortable while you are catching that big catfish.
What tips and tricks do you have for staying cool while catfishing in the Summer?
My wife is a diabettic and gets medical supplies shipped to her. The packaging that they come in contains “jell bags”. These are tough plastic bags filled with some kind of jelly that I guess absorbs impact against insulin bottles … but … and here is the interesting thing (to me). They freeze solid in the freezer. When I go out for the day I line my small cooler bag with frozen instances of these and then put my water in with them. The water remains ice cold all day and … even after 6+ hours in the heat of the day, those jell bags are either still frozen or at a minimum cold/slushy. Not sure of the chemistry involved but they seem to stay colder longer than equivalent ice. They also are far more convenient and I can use a smaller volume (hence ligher) than ice.