Swerving into August angling
A largemouth bass, nicknamed Mongo, was the highlight of a previous warm-water fishing season. The fly in Mongo’s mouth is about an inch long, for reference. 
Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

Swerving into August angling

Back in 2011, for Christmas my mother gave me a copy of “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern” by Stephen Greenblatt.

It’s a dense piece of learning, full of rich detail.

But because deep down I’m shallow, I didn’t get very far with it.

But the title made enough of an impression that I think of August as Swerve Month.

August is when I temporarily suspend trouting activities for the most part, focusing on fishing a warmwater lake for largemouth bass.

And whatever else might show up, such as smallmouth bass, pickerel, crappie, assorted panfish, perch, crab, lobster and very small alligators.

This type of fishing requires a swerve in thinking.  There is nothing subtle about it. Success requires throwing large flies with heavy rods and making a fuss while doing so.

I’ll never forget learning the Yo-Yo Method when I was new to the warmwater game.

This involves attaching a heavy, weighted fly, like a Clouser, to a shortish, sturdy leader, in turn attached to a stout rod and line (line weight #8 is about right).

Tied to the bend of the hook of the weighted fly is two feet of thick tippet material, say 1X, and to that is tied a popper.

The popper is buoyant, but the weighted fly drags it down.

Once everything is submerged, the cunning angler simply jerks the whole shebang upwards.

The weighted fly comes up and then sinks again, causing the trailing popper to go up and down, like a yo-yo.

This also causes the angler to feel like a yo-yo.

However ungainly this maneuver, it does drive bass absolutely insane.

I generally bring two rods, one equipped with a floating line for surface action, and one with either an intermediate line (where the entire line sinks slowly) or a sink tip line (where a heavy section at the front of the line sinks quickly). You could also use removable sink tips, or a floating line with heavy flies, or added weight, or some combination of the above.

The rods are either weights 7 or 8.

I also use Tenkara rods, similarly equipped with floating or sinking lines, although with fixed-line fishing these distinctions don’t matter nearly as much. The fly either floats or it sinks, regardless of the line.

I fish from a pontoon boat, the small, portable, inflatable kind. It’s basically a floating chair, powered by a combination of oars and swim fins. I have also used an ancient leaky rowboat and a canoe. Somebody busted the oarlock on the former and the latter gets blown around too much.

The trick on this particular lake is to go out at dawn or at dusk. Unless it’s overcast, when the fishing tends to be consistent all day.

I target any sort of structure. Downed trees, vegetation that hangs over the water, sharp drop-offs.

Also, in this lake, there might be an old steam radiator or obscure piece of iron industry equipment moldering on the bottom.

I can always tell if I’ve hooked something like that. It doesn’t move.

It’s a restful sort of angling, for the most part. No sliding around on cobble. No getting the backcast caught in a bush.

One month of this is about right, too. By the end of August, I am usually bored by monstrous bass and looking forward to stalking skittish brookies or targeting large trout in moving water.

As for “The Swerve,” I’ve still got my copy. The classical head on the cover is looking  at me  in silent rebuke. So I will take another stab at it. I’ve got all month.

Latest News

Employment Opportunities

LJMN Media, publisher of The Lakeville Journal (first published in 1897) and The Millerton News (first published in 1932) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.

We seek to help readers make more informed decisions through comprehensive news coverage of communities in Northwest Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pine Plains Bombers defeated at Section IX Regional

Giana Dormi, no. 3 of Pine Plains, and Michelle Blackburn, no. 12 of Pine Plains, put the pressure on Juliana Manginelli, no. 11 of Tuckahoe, as she tries to find a pass during the second round of the regional tournament at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. on Tuesday, March 11.

Photo by Nathan Miller

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Pine Plains Bombers were knocked out in second round of the Section IX regional tournament after a hard fought game against the Tuckahoe Tigers on Tuesday, March 11.

The Bombers won the tip and got off to an early lead, but the Tuckahoe Tigers outpaced them quickly and finished the game 59-25.

Keep ReadingShow less
County comptroller releases special report on federal funding

Dan Aymar-Blair

Photo provided

POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair released a special report early last week on federal monies and how they move through the county level, including the disbursement process in the county; how federal funding benefits Dutchess residents and whether any fiscal distribution issues have surfaced locally as a result of actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration.

According to Aymar-Blair’s report, federal programming represents roughly 10% of Dutchess expenditures, not including any COVID-19 assistance. As an illustration of federal- to county-level distribution and spending, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the county received approximately $65 million from the U.S. government with $25 million going toward direct aid in support of such programs as home energy assistance and food stamps. Federal monies were also disbursed — and continue to be directed — toward county-level agencies, programming and supports such as adoption, foster care and child care needs, emergency/disaster assistance, infrastructure development and maintenance, and workforce initiatives.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Selected Shorts’ comes to Stissing Center

The Stissing Center was bustling just before the show on Sunday, March 9.

Photo by Alec Linden

PINE PLAINS — The Stissing Center was packed on Sunday for an afternoon performance of podcast and NPR series “Selected Shorts.” The sold-out show, which was recorded for national broadcast at a later date, brought a lineup of four accomplished actors and storytellers to the Pine Plains stage to recite a selection of short stories from award-winning authors.

“Selected Shorts,” a product of Manhattan-based performing arts powerhouse Symphony Space, features prominent actors who recite works of short fiction. The full program usually revolves around a theme; Sunday afternoon’s focus was “transformations.”
Comedian, writer and actress Ophira Eisenberg — or “renaissance woman of storytelling,” as Stissing Center Executive Director Patrick Trettenero introduced her — assumed hosting duties, warming up the crowd with jokes about Brooklyn egg prices and doctors with self-esteem issues — “I want a megalomaniac with a god complex and no hobbies.”

Keep ReadingShow less