Fishing Folsom in the Summer

Fishing Folsom Lake in the summer can seem tough - most fisherman like to get there EARLY in the morning fish from 5 and off the water by 9:30 10am - or go out at 5pm and fish until they kick you off around 830 -9 - either way you beat the heat, minimize the experience with the wake boats, jet skiers etc... and enjoy some quality time on Folsom. 

First there is a ton of water still in this lake and fishing the trees that are in 12' is still a good bet a senko pitched directly onto the main trunk or on the shadow side of the tree - keep you boat at a distance 15' away is ideal and pitch nice a quietly - Greens work well - green pumpkin or watermelon seed.  for the daring a wacky rigged.

The other thing to consider is that there is Current on this lake right now and the main river arms have unseasonal cold water still coming through - I would focus my efforts on the South Side of Main Lake Coves, points and secondary points.  I havent seen or heard of a shad spawn yet, but keep an eye out for the dimples in the backs of coves first thing in the AM - A nice topwater bait like a Gun Fish would be my first choice to pull the bass out first thing in the am - keep an eye and  a nose out for the shad, when the spawn it smells like anise or fish oils.  

The old trusty for me is the Jig or spoon bite once the sun pokes up and the topwater cant be found - I tend to focus on the 15-25' zone and will prod deeper with my graph until I see fish activity - a great way to minimize the search is Steep Walls and Large Rocks I like 5% to the mouth of the North Fork for my jigs and spoony love - once the sun comes out the fish will have a tendancy to be on the shaded side of the structure - so a good rule of thumb is keep the sun at your back and cast forward.

Dont forget the sunscreen - Be safe and let me know how you did!