Got the clock set for 3:30 am tomorrow and will be off the water by noon.

Won't even consider the following days until triple digits subside.

The heat index was around 105 this past weekend and it will be 111 here this week. I had too many other things to do this past weekend so I didn't fish.

Next weekend I'm supposed to be with my girlfriend at her place on Lake Keowee, but with it being the 4th of July weekend and all of the pleasure boaters I don't think that I will bring my kayak. I'll stick to the bank for a few days.

That being said, if I'm fishing for fun when the heat is brutal I'll head out on the water between 5 and 6 in the morning and be off the water no later than 10 or 11. I have to gut it out on tournament days.

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Drink lots of water, sun protection clothing, that's about it. Fish at night if you can get yourself to do it.

Greetings All,

Yes, very warm these days in my region of Southern AZ. Given the pre-monsoon conditions where it is just hot (triple digit hot) and windy. This past weekend, the entire SO AZ was under National Weather Service declared "Red Flag" warning conditions. The hot winds were well over 15 mph with gusts over the upper 20s.

Yeah, just what you need to work out that angling ambition, right?

Over the many years of living all around AZ, I find that I don't change my fishing approach too much because of the heat. The typical approach of weedless soft plastics seem to produce results regardless of the ambient air temperatures. Now I am a recreational angler so I'm just out to have a good time. My preferred UL approach works for me. It is difficult to send those small presentations in high winds. There was a lot of low angle casting going on this weekend.

@Bassin101 The recommendation to "go slow" is a good one. It certainly produced bass for me in the Tucson urban waters. None of them were large but all were good fun.

I still use the same rigging and soft plastics low and slow. Generally as light of weight as possible. Usually less than 1/16 oz - 1/64 oz. All the waters in SO AZ are very popular and the UL presentation helps with success.

What does change is my personal preparation. The heat is no joke and is dangerous. Have a good quick exit strategy. Also have plenty of sun protection and stay well hydrated. It is the difference between a good or bad day. My gear includes a large thermos of water. It keeps the water from getting crazy hot. Drinking frequently just to make sure things continue to be good for ya.

Also good quality clothing for adequate sun protection is very helpful. Burning is no good.

The fish have not demonstrated they are too different in behavior. I do pretty much the same thing in the winter and summer time at the various reservoirs in the region. Also the same when I'm up in the metro PHX areas and the Mesa canals too!

Let's be careful out there. Have a good time just make sure you're good. Be well, Cheers!

Something else to add from us Arizona desert rats: BUY A GOOD COOLER!!! It doesn’t have to be a $200+ Yeti, but get one that will keep ice for more than a couple of hours in direct sunlight. Cold fluids not only keep your core temperature in line, but absorb faster into your system.

Sipping on cold water and Gatorade throughout the day will literally save your life in the heat. Once you get a heat Illness, your system is forever altered and your tolerance gets considerably less.

Greetings and Happy Fourth All!
@ElGuapo928 Fantastic recommendation. Yeah, by your location designation that low elevation just makes the heat even more intense!

I regret to admit I've not ever put a line in at Roosevelt. I've driven by there so many many times but no time to fish it. I look forward to fixing that sometime soon.

Be well! Cheers!

Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. When it’s this hot I fish very early in the morning or in the evening when it’s starting to cool off.

2 hours ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Once you get a heat Illness, your system is forever altered and your tolerance gets considerably less.

I'm a retired firefighter. I remember the exact day I had to have a break from the heat. Havent been the same since.

2 hours ago, Fishing_Rod said:

Greetings and Happy Fourth All!
@ElGuapo928 Fantastic recommendation. Yeah, by your location designation that low elevation just makes the heat even more intense!

I regret to admit I've not ever put a line in at Roosevelt. I've driven by there so many many times but no time to fish it. I look forward to fixing that sometime soon.

Be well! Cheers!

Hopefully we get some water with the monsoons - down to 39% as of today.

Update. 106 heat index in Michigan. Ended up getting on the water mid-day due to a series of events. Caught around 30 fish in two hours (four bass) fishing micro jigs around a lillypad field. Fish were suspended about eight feet down.

I just got done mowing and trimming my lawn.

Felt like I was wearing a wet diaper due to the sweltering humidity. Pure swamp ass.

I would have been fishing every day this week, but work schedule us a bunch of overtime because they can't let us have a holiday without punishing us for it first. So, ten hour days in the hottest week of the year, and no time in the mornings to fish, and no energy left in the evenings.

But usually I fish very early morning if I'm trying to beat the heat.

Greetings All,

@IcatchDinks Hah, no good deed goes unpunished, right? Yeah, that whole work things is a total bother to my angling ambitions. Thus, I'm left with a precious weekend time. So I do what I can to make the most of it, when I'm able to. Gotta take care of the Dad stuff first. Once all that is sorted, then the fishing gear comes out.

As always, let's be careful out there, regardless of what time you are out there! Be well, Cheers!

21 hours ago, gim said:

I just got done mowing and trimming my lawn.

Felt like I was wearing a wet diaper due to the sweltering humidity. Pure swamp ass.

I hear that. I skipped it as it's Africa Hot here too.

Plus we are getting blasted every night with thunder storms. Just about the time it starts to dry out, we'll you know.

#welcometothejungle

A-Jay

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I hear that. I skipped it as it's Africa Hot here too.

More like an Amazon rainforest...bloody hot and humid every day....storms passing through at intervals. Even running errands is a 'walk on the wild side'.

I go just before dawn and stay for a few hours before it gets dangerously hot. 105⁰F heat today, but hadn't yet cracked 90 before I left. That's how I do it anyways as I don't night fish.

On 6/29/2026 at 9:17 AM, Bird said:

Got the clock set for 3:30 am tomorrow and will be off the water by noon.

Won't even consider the following days until triple digits subside.

9 minutes ago, Fyrewuulf said:

I go just before dawn and stay for a few hours before it gets dangerously hot. 105⁰F heat today, but hadn't yet cracked 90 before I left. That's how I do it anyways as I don't night fish.

^^^This is how I do it. Set the alarm for 0330. On the water when the sun comes up and headed home at noon. Those are just about my most favorite fishing days even if the fishing is slow. Quiet, cool (comparably), usually have the lake to myself, watching daybreak. Now I have to find a day I can do it.

@A-Jay I love the 'vintage' label! It's not an old post...it's a mid-century modern post.

I'm actually looking for excuses to keep from fishing in this extreme heat.

Luckily my daughter texted and asked if I'd pressure wash her house tomorrow, I quickly replied YES. 😀

Next week looks much better as far as temperatures go but stormy.

1 hour ago, Fyrewuulf said:

I go just before dawn and stay for a few hours before it gets dangerously hot. 105⁰F heat today, but hadn't yet cracked 90 before I left. That's how I do it anyways as I don't night fish.

Wish I could do that - but with a disabled wife, I need to get her breakfast (she usually wakes about 8am) and do some other things before I can be 'set free'. So 10:00-10:30 would be my earliest time to get out...and this week that's too late to avoid the heat.

Go fishing.

Drink lots of Liquid IV. Eat jerky.

I've been through chemo, surgery, more chemo and immunotherapy infusions and I'm not the same. I don't feel like suffering in midday heat anymore. I'm fishing by 6:15-6:30 and done by noon. I used to then go home, drink a beer, eat lunch and take a nap. Now I skip the beer. If I do happen to fish the afternoon I'm focusing on shade. Weeds, lilies, laydowns and overhangs. I'll pitch to it all. I won't hesitate to throw a topwater to the shadows. It's always surprising how some big bass will simply stay shallow. I'm a shallow water fisherman.

If you must fish midday, points are steady producers. Docks on or near deep water will almost always hold bass. Deeper, shady or both.

Understand that the first day of hot temps hasn't turned the water to bath temps yet. That takes a couple days.

2 hours ago, the reel ess said:

I've been through chemo, surgery, more chemo and immunotherapy infusions and I'm not the same.

Having had chemo and immunotherapy, I'm in the same boat. Currently I'm in a holding pattern - regular CT/PET/MRI scans to make sure things aren't taking off again - but the treatments i went through did do a number on my ability to withstand heat.

I will be venturing out to fish at night this weekend and heat is the main reason

I don't follow tournament fishing, do they still hold pro tourneys in the deep south in this kind of weather?