Goodbye Lovely June

I will miss you wonderful June. You are famous for June swoon love, for marriages, for graduations, Flag Day, D-Day and Father’s Day. You are the birth month of my first granddaughter and the marriage date of our daughter.

However your famous days are not why I love you. You are the best time of the year for fishing and I enjoy your time the most.  I never actually realized how much you meant to me, until my neighbor, Warren, said “June is the best month for fishing”. Warren was right.

You are not like the fickle March, April or May. They lure me out onto the the lake, which I have missed all winter, but  they keep the lakes cold and the fish down deep. You hit me with 20 mile winds, intermittent rain, and, most years,  hit me with a day like this.

I have fished in all months of the year. I have actually caught fish in most months as well, but June is the best. Most of our fishing trips have not been in June, and perhaps that is why we never caught much.

June brings mild weather with warm days and nights. The chilling overnight lows which keep water temperatures below 70 degrees fade away with May. June water temperatures are usually in the 70’s, and the fish are biting. The mosquitoes are not too bad, the wind is generally moving slowly, and the fish are biting.

July brings high temperatures and lake water in the 80’s.  July brings rapid growth of algae and bottom weeds.  July is hot and humid in the boat and even the shade is uncomfortable. The mosquitoes are biting and snagging weeds happens on every cast. The fish move down to cooler water and suspend off shore. They hide below the “thermocline” which is a mysterious layer of warm water above the cooler water. When they are suspended, they are reluctant to bite.

When fish do bite they move up to the shade and are usually only there in the early morning or late evening. This is also the mosquito’s prime hunting time. Getting up before the sun or staying out past dark are not much fun anymore. Most July’s I just throw the cover on the boat and let it sit.

The only month worse than July is August. They don’t call it “Dog Days” for nothing. September can bring productive fishing, but it is often spotty. Fish tend to stay put in September. October is supposed to be the best time for fishing as the fish load up on food for the winter. However you have fish in coves to stay out of the wind and end up  fighting downed leaves in every cove. I have never caught much in October except for the giant drum I caught in 2011.

This past June was especially productive. We caught bass, saugeye, crappies, bluegills, and white bass. Below are some of our successful June fishing this year and years past. I has been fun, but today the heat index will be near 100. Goodbye my friend. See you again next year.