“Summertime,” goes the song written by George Gershwin, “and the livin’ is easy.”

But not the bass fishing, at least not this year.

And that will just heighten the challenge faced by competitors in Saturday’s Sanford Lake Open, one of two team tournaments held each year by the Sanford Lake Bass Club, the other earlier in summer on Wixom Lake.

For this weekend, “I expect the fishing will be tough, with the hot weather we’ve had lately,” said Gary Yarbrough of the local club, in a phone interview.

“All the lakes around here are 80 degrees-plus, and that’s not normal for Sanford and the other Tittabawassee River system lakes.”

Hot weather, Yarbrough said, “makes bass less active. They don’t feed as much as when it’s fall and they’re packing on weight for winter.”

Twenty to thirty boats, all or nearly all of them bearing two anglers and paying $100 each, will spend Saturday in search of largemouth and smallmouth bass, with the team weighing in the heaviest catch of up to five bass pocketing $1,000. Other cash prizes will be determined by the number of boats. Contestants also often enter a biggest-bass side pot.

Despite the likely challenging conditions, Yarbrough said, “Somebody will catch a lot of fish. Somebody always does. You come in with nothing, and there’s always some (team) that comes with a big bag,” — the containers used to transport fish to the weigh-in station, from which they’re hustled back to the lake for release.

For some bass, it might be a repeat trip. The lake’s that popular with tournament organizers and anglers.

The DNR’s new online bass tournament registry shows 10 tournaments on Sanford Lake between mid-June and mid-September. Most are club contests, and a few are “open” events such as Saturday’s.

Both largemouth and smallmouth bass can be entered in Saturday’s tournament, provided they’re at least the state-minimum 14 inches long. Anglers with five fish in the livewell can swap a just-caught fish for a smaller keeper, but must do it immediately. There’s a quarter-pound penalty for any fish that comes dead to the weigh-in station.

Only artificial baits, not live bait, can be used. No trolling. Casting or spinning gear only, with rods eight feet or shorter.