As the dog days of summer come to Big Bear Lake, things are not what they should be. The trout are acting like it is spring or fall not summer! With surface water temperatures at 68 degrees in the western end of the lake and oxygen levels good down to 26 feet at the dam, 16 feet at Papoose Bay and 20 feet at the west ramp the trout have set up summer camp there.

Anglers trolling leadcore at 2 to 4 colors are not only finding limits of trout early and late, but inexplicably the fish are biting in the middle of the day. This type of bite is very unusual in the summer time when the sun is hot and high. Drift fishing with PowerBait in the same area has also got the trout on the chew. Slip bobbers are a good idea, but not essential, as long as you count and measure the line as your bait sinks down to the levels noted.

As we creep closer to the August full moon (8/13) the fish will get finicky once again. Look for fish counts to go down with little action midday, but good action early and sometimes late in the day.