Ken Crowne

Thanks, you have me wondering. I will also clarify a poor choice in post title. Just a doofus choice of words. When waters are super warm for the trout and steelhead I like to pursue, a common complaint we utter is that the fish should be left alone to tough it out. as in.....they are being "poached alive" aka a cooking technique. As to Erics reading between the lines, incorrect.....I am not looking for a decree. I tend to be very open on my thoughts; as you've seen in my post. The only conclusion I haven't spelled out with crystal clarity is this: I dislike fishing for fish in conditions I believe are off the charts stressful, and the last 6 weeks have ben one of those times in my opinion. Thats it. And when waters get this hot, I know where fish like/need to be. and it aint slow deep hidey holes. See ya on the water (provided its under 80F!!!) Peace

A big reason I haven't smallmouth fished some area and some not-so-area rivers this year are that water temps are consistently above 80 degrees. To me, that means oxygen levels really plummet. I am even feeling guilty a little bit for chasing LM bass in a local lake. When I wet wade in, its like a hot tub !!! So for those of you knowingly fishing conditions like this, these days, a question: how confident are you that a well fought battle ending with a release isn't doing damage or killing your population. Another question: how much easier has it been to locate fish in this extreme heat which is aggrivated by a severe lack of precip---when water levels are 15% lower on my favorite streams; condensing the fish-in-a-barrel situation. Can smallmouth that are getting condensed into horribly low water survive and thrive in these conditions? I thought smallie preferred temps and o2 levels were a little more sensitive.Have I been mistaken all this time? I ask in earnest because there's obviously a lot of c&r and conservation minded guys here on the board. Is there some magic list of constant cool groundwater fed rivers out there that I've missed in my 20 years of smallmouthing? Are they much tougher than I thought, and am I needlesly concerned?