When it’s 95 degrees and humid, it’s hard to have the ambition to do anything. I’m not sure where the expression about the dog days of summer originated, but lying back with your feet up on those blistering afternoons in a nice, cool spot is a good idea.

This past weekend, I returned to the West Canada Creek. Unlike a couple of weeks ago, the fishing was very poor. An hour before dark Sunday evening, I waded into the stream, hoping to hook into a few browns like I did over the Fourth of July. I was surprised. There wasn’t a fish rising. The only thing biting were the mosquitoes, and they were really hungry.

On Monday morning, I took my kayak to Trenton Falls. I have been trying to do a little white-water stuff, so I tried the class II run just below the dam. I played around in the rapids for a while and ended up chasing my little, yellow boat down the river a ways. Once re[an error occurred while processing this directive]trieved, I dumped the water and headed for shore, only to find two beautiful trout in the brush.

About 2½ miles downstream to Cincinnati Creek, the West Canada is a catch-and-release area limited to artificial lures only. Someone had caught two browns that were more than 20 inches long and heavier than three pounds apiece. Obviously they planned on keeping these giants. Two fishermen were casting lures upstream but denied any knowledge of the fish. Clearly the fish were feeding in the colder, faster water that morning.

When the water is warm, we must be very careful not to stress the fish. Catching a fish in the heat of summer and fighting them for any length of time causes lactic acid to build up in their muscles, which blocks the oxygen in their system. It’s like any of us getting a muscle cramp when we overexert ourselves. When we release the fish, they will probably die. To avoid killing these fish, you have to get them in quickly and release them without a lot of stress.

A couple of years ago, I was fishing on the Salmon River for summer-run steelheads. Hooking fish was no problem, but these fish are real fighters. Even after a short battle, the fish rose to the surface once released. We ended up eating a few fish we would have normally released.

Usually when the water gets warm, the fish will move to deep, spring holes to survive. Sometimes at the mouths of spring creeks, the fish will gather as the colder water flows into the warmer streams. This need for survival makes them very vulnerable to fishermen. A section of the Beaverkill in lower Delaware County is even closed to fishing from July 1-Aug. 31 to protect the thermally stressed fish.

If you fish during this critical time, use line or leader that is strong enough to get the fish in fast instead of fighting them to exhaustion. Turn back most of your fish so they can be caught another day.

Then again, maybe it’s better just to do what our dog Tucker does — find a cool spot and take a nap.

The Upper Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited is playing host to a golf tournament at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14 at the Afton Golf Club.

The captain and crew event includes green fees, an all-you-can-eat buffet, cart and prizes. There will be a silent auction of used sporting goods. Proceeds will be used for youth and adult fishing and conservation education.

The cost is $65. To register, send your check by Aug. 7 to: Bob Turrell, The Market Place, 213 Chestnut Street, Oneonta, N.Y., 13820.

For more information, call 432-2240, 639-1739 or 639-1262.

Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at brockway@dmcom.net.