We have hit that time. The Midwest is getting hot as all get out. I get off work at 1pm. Peak sun overhead and heat. My tennis/golf elbow is killing me. The bite has slowed way down since it’s hot and they have been pressured for 3-4 months straight in my area. 
 

I think I’m gonna kick back for a month. Just orders the stuff to start powder painting jig heads and tying  skirts. May just sit back for the month and do that till it starts to cool off. I sound like such a baby haha

Go ahead and try that homey, you’ll be right back flinging jigs within a week! 

45 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

My tennis/golf elbow is killing me

This is the best reason to consider a break

15 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

This is the best reason to consider a break

Man it’s gotten awful and work doesn’t help but I can’t sit that out lol. 

It is in the mid 90s here every day with water surface in the upper 80s.  The thermocline is at 30’.  I expected the fish to be deep but they weren’t.  We caught spots and smallmouth in 4-10 feet of water.

 

We caught 44 in half a day.  I can’t wait to get back down there.  A big jug of ice water, a big brim hat, and my neck fan and I am good to go.  It’s 92° here right now and I just came in from making twin tail trailers for swim jigs for Monday.

12 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

It is in the mid 90s here every day with water surface in the upper 80s.  The thermocline is at 30’.  I expected the fish to be deep but they weren’t.  We caught spots and smallmouth in 4-10 feet of water.

 

We caught 44 in half a day.  I can’t wait to get back down there.  A big jug of ice water, a big brim hat, and my neck fan and I am good to go.  It’s 92° here right now and I just came in from making twin tail trailers for swim jigs for Monday.

Nice man! I work 10 hours a day in the heat as a welder/diesel mechanic. Peek of the day after work. Fishings rough 

If it's safe and you can flip your clock; Fishing a few hours at night before work might change your mind.

 

scott

2 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

If it's safe and you can flip your clock; Fishing a few hours at night before work might change your mind.

 

scott

I’ve done that. And evenings here aren’t to bad actually. Just family and kiddo time usually lol. I generally don’t have trouble finding time to fish and can go most every day for a bit. Even live close to a chain of ponds. It’s more just being tired lol and my elbow/bicep wanting to falll off haha. 

@Joedodge injuries don’t magically heal if you keep exacerbating the problem. I had to take time off from fishing in 2022-2023 due to a shoulder injury. It helped me recover. I was able to learn a lot about the rotator cuff. Side note: for any activity that involves repeated throwing, casting, swimming or other similar motions, I highly recommend paying attention to the health and strength of your rotator cuff. There are several muscles involved.

15 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

@Joedodge injuries don’t magically heal if you keep exacerbating the problem. I had to take time off from fishing in 2022-2023 due to a shoulder injury. It helped me recover. I was able to learn a lot about the rotator cuff. Side note: for any activity that involves repeated throwing, casting, swimming or other similar motions, I highly recommend paying attention to the health and strength of your rotator cuff. There are several muscles involved.

Now where have I heard that before ?

🤔 

A-Jay

19 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

@Joedodge injuries don’t magically heal if you keep exacerbating the problem. I had to take time off from fishing in 2022-2023 due to a shoulder injury. It helped me recover. I was able to learn a lot about the rotator cuff. Side note: for any activity that involves repeated throwing, casting, swimming or other similar motions, I highly recommend paying attention to the health and strength of your rotator cuff. There are several muscles involved.

Well said. My parents and many co workers have had rotator cuffs done. That’s a hard one. That’s the thing with my elbow. At 37 and as bad as it is. I got a long way to go lol. 

Any rivers nearby?  River fishing is often pretty good in the heat of summer when the lake bite seems to be tough.  Smallmouth go ballistic in rivers this time of year.

I too was on the minor but nagging injury train for the past couple years.  It started with a right knee injury from being stupid at a concert.  Turned out to be a soft tissue injury only ( I thought it was a torn meniscus) that needed PT and time to relieve the scar tissue.  My rotator cuff was messy for a while from a swinging/hanging/monkey bar type injury during a tough mudder event a while ago.  Strengthening exercises for all the support muscles in the group was the solution.

 

The latest was tennis/golfers elbow.  Back in Oct of last year I was working out with a lot of heavy weights.  My muscles grew faster than the tendons could support them and my left elbow got tendinitis pretty bad.  I did PT for 6 weeks and then went and saw an osteo.  Long story short, I ended up doing PRP therapy which hurt like a mother for a few days after but has largely sorted it out most days.  I still get the occasional twinge, but nothing like before.  You have to plan your fishing and work around it (the first 2-3 weeks is minimal stress and only stretching and a 6-8 week nominal recovery time).  I’m a left hand rod holder with a baitcaster and the first time I set the hook on a fish with a baitcaster I thought my arm was going to rip open.  But after that I’ve found the more I use it the better it feels. 

 

the important thing is to fix it while you can.  At 37, your body is young enough that it can heal after an operation or PT.

54 minutes ago, gim said:

Any rivers nearby?  River fishing is often pretty good in the heat of summer when the lake bite seems to be tough.  Smallmouth go ballistic in rivers this time of year.

We do have the Des Moines river and a couple small ones cat fisherman take over though. So I never really have bothered to try lol. I should tho

35 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I too was on the minor but nagging injury train for the past couple years.  It started with a right knee injury from being stupid at a concert.  Turned out to be a soft tissue injury only ( I thought it was a torn meniscus) that needed PT and time to relieve the scar tissue.  My rotator cuff was messy for a while from a swinging/hanging/monkey bar type injury during a tough mudder event a while ago.  Strengthening exercises for all the support muscles in the group was the solution.

 

The latest was tennis/golfers elbow.  Back in Oct of last year I was working out with a lot of heavy weights.  My muscles grew faster than the tendons could support them and my left elbow got tendinitis pretty bad.  I did PT for 6 weeks and then went and saw an osteo.  Long story short, I ended up doing PRP therapy which hurt like a mother for a few days after but has largely sorted it out most days.  I still get the occasional twinge, but nothing like before.  You have to plan your fishing and work around it (the first 2-3 weeks is minimal stress and only stretching and a 6-8 week nominal recovery time).  I’m a left hand rod holder with a baitcaster and the first time I set the hook on a fish with a baitcaster I thought my arm was going to rip open.  But after that I’ve found the more I use it the better it feels. 

 

the important thing is to fix it while you can.  At 37, your body is young enough that it can heal after an operation or PT.

Oh wow. Thats a rough time. Yeah I gotta get it under control. It’s just getting worse. If I do fish I may go once a week or something. But I probably won’t keep it up like I am. I was gonna hold off till ponds Ice over but probably shouldn’t 

From this time of year until about mid-september, rivers are the real juice.  Metabolism is up, the food-chain is exploding, water is low & bass are concentrated, and current keeps them cool and oxygenated.  Great time for bank-hopping, wading, or floating a river.  Many rivers have better and more numerous bass -- both lm and sm -- than a lot of people realize, and they are often underfished. 

Take August off. Then I won't be alone. 

3 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Take August off. Then I won't be alone. 

Sounds good lol. Sucks. But that’s life I suppose 

Just now, Joedodge said:

Sounds good lol. Sucks. But that’s life I suppose 

 

Misery loves company. So, we'll keep each other company. I'll get us a balcony seat and we can chjeer for the guys still fishing like these two:

 

21 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Misery loves company. So, we'll keep each other company. I'll get us a balcony seat and we can chjeer for the guys still fishing like these two:

 

Haha sounds great! 

@Joedodge Try these exercises daily for your elbow pain. They have always worked for me especially the first two. 

https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ad1515

Night time is the right time.

600 moof Avail reduces the inflammation.

Shouldn’t get tennis elbow fishing unless your casting technique is incorrect. I watch today’s pro’s casting the cast with the reel spool parallel to the water thumb upright….incorrect! This motion strains the elbow ligaments. Correct motion is your thumb pointed at your ear the reel handle sideways, using the wrist more, no stress on the elbow.

Tom

16 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@Joedodge Try these exercises daily for your elbow pain. They have always worked for me especially the first two. 

https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ad1515

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that. I’ve looked up some stretches but that’s a really detailed page. 

10 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Night time is the right time.

Tom

I can’t argue that. But I already get up in the middle of the night for work haha. 

Be careful with your tennis elbow. Left untreated it could ruin your elbow. It happened to me. I haven’t fished in 18 months. I needed a few surgeries to correct my severe tendon elbow. My elbow is still healing. I just been buying lots of tackle waiting to get better. 

14 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that. I’ve looked up some stretches but that’s a really detailed page. 

I can’t argue that. But I already get up in the middle of the night for work haha. 

Enjoy the month off👍

I meant to say my “severe tennis elbow”….