Summer doldrums and lack of interest

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bdhoover77

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I decided to start a new thread because I’m sure I can’t be the only one experiencing a lack of interest in fly fishing because of the summer doldrums.

I’ve found that my interest in actually getting out to fish has waned. Maybe it’s the summer heat and the seeming lack of good fishing opportunities near me. I had lofty expectations this year that I would fish for lots of different species beyond trout. But each time out I’ve been disappointed. I find myself more interested in tying flies (usually out of boredom) than actually getting out on the water. When I have gone out I find myself getting easily frustrated and that usually means I leave earlier than I expected. I hope the fall brings some cooler weather and fishing inspiration.

How do others deal with the summer doldrums and/or a loss of interest?
 
Health kept me home for the first half of the year, heat has kept me home for the next part, a complete uninterest in spending $50 to fish for 2 or 3 months will keep me home in the fall.

I dealt with it by coming here to make **** posts and building a pretty cool synthesizer that I can amuse myself in the AC with. Fishing is overrated.
 
I hear you, this heat and humidity are tough to deal with. Not to mention, it's hit or miss with stream levels/temps, depending on whatever t-storms may or may not have come through the area.

There are a couple streams that I would be fishing right now, despite the weather, because the stream temps are probably right where I like them (60F), but accessing them in this heat is something I just can't do like I could only a few years ago.
It's not easy waving the white flag, but it's just a reality of getting older/old. 😒
 
Take a trip to a new location to you. I find I get bored and disinterested with the same water I have been fishing for 20 years. Fly fishing to me is all about adventure, discovery and challenges. If any of those are not present then I am bored with it all. I learned a long time ago it is not about the fish for me. I can go fishing with others or take a new person fishing and just get joy out of watching them. I don't need to catch fish anymore. I do tie a lot too if i am bored and do not want to venture out for one reason or another. I find myself daydreaming when I am tying about the adventures to come and how awesome the fly is. How can any fish resist it! Maybe find whatever it is that is new to you and do that until it gets old . . .
 
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I hear ya, and echo your feelings
For the last few weeks, I’ve wanted to try to fly fish for carp on a really good local stream near me, but it keeps getting blown out with rain, therefore not clear enough to sight fish.
I did take a trip the other day to one of my favorite local blue lines just to check it out and it was perfect 58° and very nice flows.
I caught 20 some trout all wild browns and about five brookies . I was actually spin fishing because it’s too tight and narrow brush choked for fly fishing. It was a nice dry morning, but now we’re back into the sticky, humid crap again for a while.
 
It is what it is.

Since I mostly pursue trout with the fly-hoping to expand to bass/panfish/pikensteins in due time-this is expected, during high summer. The trout deserve a break. That's as preachy as I'll get on that. I take a break from it in July, for the most part; not really getting that itch to be back at it til now, or a little bit later, as the days grow shorter. I have not been on the water since my Shaw Run report, from when I was back in PA in late June.

Living now at the same lattitude as Boston since relocating to Iowa, the days are noticeably getting shorter. August out here has its cooler spells: despite days of blazing heat, as summer tries to hold on. Generally in the part of Iowa where I live, August is more like the September I remember in the MD/PA of my youth.

Life: family, hobby farming, sh*tty job-all keep me busy enough through this summer gap. As I waited for the hayfield to dry before cutting it shortly, I got all the wraps done this morning on the tip section of the infamous blue rod. Small diversions like that keep me interested.

What else? In this dead zone, I've planned a trip to northern WI in late September: probably a 'cast and blast' for trout & grouse/timberdoodles. I built a rabbit fence that really works; planted fall cabbage, rutabagas. Drank many ****tails on the porch, pulled lots of weeds from the garden, worked in my little vineyard tying and training vines, etc.

Our long range forecast shows highs dropping into the 70s for a spell a week and some out: that will be prime for the late summer terrestrial bite on the Driftless spring creeks. It will be hard not to miss some days at work to get after them then.

Joe
 
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I'd say summer is my least favorite time of year. I've still been fishing a lot, but not necessarily fly fishing. I've actually found a very renewed interest in lake fishing a few years ago, and I've been targeting lots of panfish with spinning gear.

But yeah, summer kind of makes me depressed. That's how most people are in winter, but for me it definitely happens in summer more.
 
Dear bdhoover,

The older I get the less tolerant I become of the hazy. hot, and humid parts of the Summer. For several weeks I've had tentative plans to fish the Juniata or Susquehanna for smallmouth, but I've only gone a few times for an hour or so because the conditions are not great. Both rivers are turd brown and have been for several weeks, and it's become a boat fishing season.

To be sure there have been some nice days with cooler temperatures but they have been accompanied by 25 mph winds making fly fishing pointless. Casting poppers for sunnies on a white capped lake is a fool's errand. I just hope that some level of clarity returns to the rivers before too long. The worst part is that for the past week it has been overcast and extremely humid locally and we've received a whopping .26 inches of rain in the week. Meanwhile, everything north of I-80 got bombed with rain all week long and it will take 2 weeks at least for the lump of water to get past Harrisburg.

Every year I say this the year, and every year weather conspires to ruin my plans. I feel like I'm running out of time! 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
Thread is making me feel better about myself. Just a couple hours ago, my wife was lecturing me, "Ya know, you can still go do stuff when it's hot out."

no-i-don't-think-i-will.gif
 
I dont really care for fishing in hot weather either.
But still make some smaller - 1 day - trips to fish over the summer.
Usually to a cold tailwater, or small headwater stream.
And when I can, I'll mix in swimming with it too.

A typical summer day down at the Yough for me: I'll start out fishing a headwater stream in the morning.
Spend the afternoon chilling at the beach on the lake.
Then head below the dam, to fish the evening rise on the river.

As someone else already mentioned too, hot summer days can be a good time to explore new water.
Checking things out for when conditions get better later
 
I fish until green drakes, then switch to golf, then to hunting, and last fly tying, and simulator golf. It keeps things fresh.
 
caddisflyer said:
Fall fishing has rarely impressed me. Occasionally for bass.
Click to expand...
Dear caddisflyer,

If you fish smaller streams, especially for trout, then Fall fishing can be a royal PITA with all the blown in leaves. Picking gunk off your fly every other cast gets old fast. Dries, nymphs, streamers, it doesn't matter, they all attract leaves like poop does houseflies.

But if you have access to a larger stream or river with smallmouth in it, they become absolutely suicidal for topwater flies after the first hard frost or two. The big boys know when time is drawing short and they take advantage of it.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
Hotter days at camp, taking your rod "for a swim" is the best way to stay cool. Particularly the later in the summer it is.
 
Play golf. Few hours on the local warm water stream when it isn’t “turd brown” as Tim Murphy says. Look forward to some fall trout fishing.
 
I alternate between golf and getting my butt kicked by spring creeks that stay cool (Letort and Big Spring).

Hard to describe fishing Letort and Big Spring as "enjoyable", but it is sometimes a reasonable facsimile.
 
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