How to Fish Recreational Lakes

Top tip for fishing recreational lakes come summer. Many recreational lakes get really busy with boating traffic from July 4th until the kids go back to school. From a mental standpoint, tune out the recreational boats. We often find that both bass and walleye seem to get accustomed to the boating traffic where pleasure boats and jet skis probably bother us as anglers more than the fish. On flat sunny days, focus on shade. Especially in clear water lakes come mid summer. Specifically, look for shadows cast by weeds on north facing shorelines or pieces of structure. Sharp break lines that have weeds or really tall weeds in deeper water offer that shade that often holds fish. When trying to determine where the shade is at on a piece of structure, look at the shadows in your boat. Remember as well that this shadow can get really narrow come mid summer when the sun is high overhead. These locations can be specific and tight but this is a high batting average for finding fish come mid summer.