To Beat Freshwater Heat, Just Look for Bubbles

With exceedingly hot water temperatures, any tips to help catch fish can be the difference between a skunked day or an ice box full of fillets.

Here one for freshwater fishing: Capt. Doc Lee, a freshwater fly-fishing guide on , said when fishing a freshwater lake or river, and the water is still, look for bubbles coming off the bottom.

“That spot means there’s the bottom has debris or some sort of structure giving off gas,” Lee said. “Normally fish are holding on that structure like bluegill, shellcracker, speckled perch or catfish.”

He recommends fishing early morning or late afternoon, as well as shady spots in the morning such as bridges, tree or shrubbery.

When the sun comes up, look for shady spot in the water. Fish tend to migrate into those cooler areas.

“Or go deeper and fish shallow in the morning, but as the sun comes up go to deeper water,” Lee said, “and fish slowly with small baits.”

Local public freshwater lakes include Lake Evers at Linger Lodge and Braden River Road, and Lake Manatee in Lake Manatee State Park off State Road 64 in eastern Manatee County.

On the saltwater side, Capt. Rick Grassett of the Snook Fin-Addict said tarpon action continues to be good in the coastal gulf off Sarasota beaches, but west winds last week prevented them from tarpon fishing a couple of days.

"Anglers jumped several tarpon and brought one to the boat," Grassett said. "We also caught and released trout and bluefish in Sarasota Bay."

Last Monday, Grassett said an angler fishing the coastal gulf on his boat jumped a pair of tarpon on flies. He said although there are still plenty of large schools of tarpon, singles, doubles and small schools have responded best to the fly.

Grassett said deep grass flats should also be a good option for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more.