Hello, all. I apologize for the long time since my last column.

I have had a very busy early summer with the last few weeks spent doing “research” before writing this.
Of course, my research is best done in early morning, on my boat, with my best fishing buddies. This included a grandson lately.
The heat that stuck with us through June also followed up in July causing most species to go deep and slow down their activity.
My contacts indicate that bass, crappie, stripers, etc., in other words most gamefish, have been difficult to locate and slow on the bite. Catfish, usually catchable all summer in quantity, have also been very slow to hit most baits.
According to sources the best activity has been very early in the morning but not so much late in the evening with the temperatures only beginning to drop near midnight. Deep, slow and lots of patience was the ticket of late.
Oh, yes, even the panfish, including bluegills, sunfish and shellcrackers, have been slow on the bite.
What about my favorite quarry, the lowly Wacammaw (white perch) to the rest of the world?
This is what my recent dedication to “research” has focused on. Starting just after mid-July the Waccamaw began to school in my favorite, Lake Tillery.
This meant lots of action once you located the schools.
Just in the last week or so the schools started to be on top of the water allowing visual searching, which is so much easier than trolling around eyeing the fish finder.
I know everyone is not into fishing for fish that are mostly under one pound but I recommend it highly. Once you’ve jigged a feeding school and caught three at a time on a small light action rig you are sure to be hooked.
It just adds to the experience when you have that fish fry and cook the 50 or more you caught that day. Needless to say my 12-year-old grandson was thrilled and can’t wait till our next trip.
Going forward I expect much more of the same until late August when there should be a break in the heat. For all but the Waccamaw, get out there early and beat the heat. Your catch will be bigger and you won’t suffer so much dehydration.
Fishin’ Tip of the Week: This week’s tip is specific to a location, not a technique. On Lake Tillery the Waccamaw are very consistently located at the mouth of Livingston Point and a couple of hundred yards into Jacob’s Creek. Ask any angler on the lake where these places are and I’ll see you there around 8 or so in the morning. I’ll be the guy with the biggest grin!
Thanks and Good Fishin’.
Larry Hunter writes a fishing column for The Stanly News & Press.