S8, Ep 48: Summer Heat Strategies: Captain Brian Shumaker's Smallmouth Tips

In this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash reconnects with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a heat-management conversation timed to a forecasted 101-degree Fourth of July scorcher on the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers in Central Pennsylvania. Rather than a typical conditions update, the two focus on staying safe and staying on fish when water temperatures push into the 90s, including hydration strategy, sun protection and the switch to tropical fly lines that resist clinging in extreme heat. Brian also breaks down where smallmouth bass hold up under these conditions, favoring shade lines and oxygenated riffles fished with poppers, crayfish patterns and baitfish imitations and explains why he prefers a late-afternoon-into-dark session over an early morning start during peak summer heat. The episode closes with Brian's contact information for booking late-season smallmouth trips on the Susquehanna River system.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Guest: Captain Brian Shumaker - Owner/Guide at Susquehanna River Guides (Central Pennsylvania)

In this episode: Captain Brian Shumaker shares heat-management strategy for Pennsylvania smallmouth fishing during peak summer conditions with water temperatures pushing into the 90s. Topics include angler safety and hydration in extreme heat, sun protection gear for hot-weather fishing and tactical adjustments for fishing the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers when temperatures climb toward 100 degrees.

Key fishing techniques covered:

• Fishing shade lines with topwater poppers during high-heat conditions
• Working crayfish patterns through oxygenated riffles
• Using baitfish imitations including Murdich Minnows and Shimmering Minnow patterns
• Switching to tropical fly lines to prevent line tackiness in hot water and high temps
• Timing sessions for late afternoon into dark rather than early morning during peak summer heat

Location focus: Susquehanna River and Juniata River, Central Pennsylvania

Target species: Smallmouth bass

Equipment discussed: Tropical fly lines, poppers, crayfish patterns, Murdich Minnows, Shimmering Minnow patterns, sun hoodies with built-in buff gaiters, quick-dry SPF nylon pants, wide-brim sun hats

Key questions answered:

• How do you stay safe fishing for smallmouth in extreme summer heat
• What fly line should you use for smallmouth fishing in hot weather
• What time of day is best for smallmouth fishing during a heat wave
• What flies work best for Susquehanna River smallmouth in summer

Best for: Beginner and intermediate anglers planning summer smallmouth trips on Mid-Atlantic rivers who need practical heat-safety and tactical guidance

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Marvin Cash00:00:04

Hey, folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of The Articulate Fly. We're back with another Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report with the man himself, Captain Brian Shumaker. Brian, how are you?

Brian Shumaker00:00:13

I'm doing well, Marvin. How about yourself?

Marvin Cash00:00:15

I tell you, dude, it's getting warm, and it's going to get warmer. I'm just trying to stay cool.

Brian Shumaker00:00:20

I hear you there. Because it's just the start of it.

Marvin Cash00:00:25

Yeah. So, you know, sliding into the Fourth of July. So I'm down in the Carolinas, Brian's up in Pennsylvania.We're both going to be breaking the century mark. I'll actually be home in Virginia for the 4th.And, you know, I think we can comfortably say it's definitely warm enough for the bugs, but probably too warm for the humans.

Brian Shumaker00:00:42

I totally agree with you there it is going to be a real scorcher. We're supposed to get 101 is what they're forecasting. It's going to be a little uncomfortable out there, to say the least. I can tell you this much.I know one guy that will be getting in the water a couple times each day, and that is yours truly. Just to cool off.

Marvin Cash00:01:06

Yeah. And it's kind of interesting, right? Cause there are kind of two issues. One is, like, that level of heat really kind of affects the bite.But then there's also just kind of the angler, comfort and safety component of it as well.

Brian Shumaker00:01:17

Oh, absolutely. You gotta keep hydrated. Hydrate, hydrate.You know, you gotta at least be drinking a bottle of water at least every half hour, if not every 45 minutes just to keep yourself hydrated, you know, because it's kind of interesting. On my. My primary water is the Susquehanna and Juniata River.Juniata, you can get some shade because it's a smaller river and you got, you know, you have the trees on the. On both banks and stuff, so you can get into some shade.You get out there on the Susquehanna river, it's three quarters of a mile wide, and the only shade you have are on the banks. But you don't get a lot of shade out on the Susquehanna.

Marvin Cash00:02:03

Yeah.And I would add on the hydration thing, we were talking about this before we started recording, you know, is, you know, a cold beer is awesome, like after you cut the grass. But it's a really bad idea on hot days like this. You got to wait until you get off the water. It'll absolutely dehydrate you.

Brian Shumaker00:02:17

Oh, absolutely, Absolutely. Even caffeine will dehydrate you.You know, so basically, you want to Stick with water or, you know, like sports drink Gatorade or something like that. Yeah, you, you gotta really try to avoid the caffeine on these hot days like this too.

Marvin Cash00:02:36

Yeah.And then I would also say, despite the fact that you want to be comfortable, you know, even with 50 SPF sunscreen, dude, you gotta cover up everything. Right. And also too. Right. You know, be smart and, you know, wear socks with your sandals.

Brian Shumaker00:02:50

Well, I hate to say this, that I agree with you, but that's not something I can do. I can't wear socks and because I get in and out of the water and I can't stand to have, you know, have my feet be wet like that all day.At least in sandals, you know, your feet will dry out. But dag, boy, I can't wear socks with my sandals. Yeah.

Marvin Cash00:03:11

I would say though, I've, I've gotten the, the, the keen sandal tan before and it's pretty painful.

Brian Shumaker00:03:18

Oh, I, Yeah. Well, mine starts, usually it's in, starts in May and I'm looking at my foot and it's pretty good shape for the Keen this time of year.

Marvin Cash00:03:28

Yeah. You know, so folks, I would say, you know, the great thing is we've got these great sun hoodies now, Right.And a lot of them have the buff gaiters built into them and also too, the kind of quick dry SPF nylon pants and so you can kind of stay dry. And you know, I, I don't know about you. I've got a, a straw cowboy hat that I bought out in Montana that I crack out when it's a hundred degrees.And you really need the sun cover in the shade, right?

Brian Shumaker00:03:51

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I got one. I actually got down in the Caribbean and it's got a big wide brim. Yeah. Anything you can do is to keep yourself covered.

Marvin Cash00:04:04

Yeah. And so, you know, when it's hot like this, I don't know, you probably are rolling with like tropical lines all the time.But I mean, you know, folks, you also have to kind of be mindful if you're fishing like a trout type line for smallmouth, they're going to get kind of soupy and sticky in this kind of heat, right?

Brian Shumaker00:04:17

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Fishing. The tropical lines started going to them quite a few years ago. That's the ticket for.Especially when you start getting into July, August and even the early part of September. Yeah. If you don't, I mean, it's almost like the fly line melts in a way. You know, just clings to everything.So the tropical lines are your best Bet for this time of year.

Marvin Cash00:04:47

Yeah.And so, you know, you know, if you're lucky, right, you can start early and kind of get off the water before it gets crazy hot, but then you know, kind of shift into the bite, you know.If you're talking about water temperatures pushing into the 90s, what do you expect when you go out on a day like any of the days this week and probably into early next week?

Brian Shumaker00:05:03

Well, I mean you can fish the shade, still fish the shade lines with, with your top water, with your bugs and stuff like that. Your poppers, crayfish are going to be another good pattern to use if you get into the riffles where it's a little bit more oxygenated.You know, you can roll crayfish down through there. Murdich minnows, shimmering minnows, little bait fish patterns.Yeah, that's sort of the game you're going to play is you're going to have to play the shade game and you know, like to play the riffle game too as well.

Marvin Cash00:05:41

Yeah.And if you were to trying to pick between like an early morning off the water early session or starting like late afternoon and fish into dark, which would you kind of prefer this time of year?

Brian Shumaker00:05:52

I prefer, I would probably prefer going later and fishing into, into the. Till it gets dark is the way I like to do it. I mean the early bite you, I mean you'd have to get out there.It gets daylight, quarter after 5, 5:30 in the morning. So you'd be meeting probably somewhere around 4:30. You know, do you run the shuttles and everything to be there at first light?So I'd probably stick with, for me personally, I would do the late afternoon into dark, get on the water around 5 o' clock and you know, you, you can still fish till nine, quarter after nine or so like that, you still got enough light.

Marvin Cash00:06:39

Yeah, it makes the steak and the gin and tonics taste a whole lot better too, doesn't it?

Brian Shumaker00:06:43

Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

Marvin Cash00:06:47

So I know you've, you're pretty well booked up probably until the back half of the season, but you want to let folks know kind of how to get in touch and you know what you have available on your calendar and all that kind of good stuff.

Brian Shumaker00:06:57

Sure. I got, I got like three days left towards the end of July and probably about four days left in August.September still has a few more dates and October does as well. You can reach me, call or text at 717-574-5338 and if you call, call me. Best time's going to be in the evenings to get a hold of me.You can also go to my website, www.susqriverguides.com. Um, you can also check me out on Instagram at @susqguide. Um, that's how you can get ahold of me.

Marvin Cash00:07:45

Well, there you go.And you know, I would say, too, folks, if you got a question for Brian, you got a smallmouth question, email me or DM me and we'll see if we can't get into the rotation on the show. And I would say too, you know, pretty hot, kind of going to be a dry summer, I think, you know, so you owe it yourself to get out there.But I would say stay hydrated, get some sunscreen on and have fun and get out there and catch a few. But I also want to wish everybody a happy fourth of July. Happy fourth of July, Brian.

Brian Shumaker00:08:09

Happy fourth of July, Marvin.

Marvin Cash00:08:11

Tight lines, everybody.