With the calendar now marking the official start of spring, I think it's appropriate to say that the month of March has been absolutely off the hook when it comes to fly fishing for tributary trout!
It really started this past fall with perfect water conditions throughout the months of October and November that brought in hordes of big brown trout from the lake. But I already have said that in previous posts, so we can forget about the why and when, and talk about the fishing.
March traditionally has been the month of mood swings, both in temperature and water levels. One day it's sunny and warm with air temperatures near 60 degrees, the next it's cold and snowy. And this year is no different. The only thing that does appear to be consistent so far, is the fishing. We have had some p
retty great outings so far with many fish making it to the net. Swinging big flies for drop back browns has been a blast, and has been our primary way of fishing. And if you want to get into some lake run rainbows and steelhead, dead drifting egg patterns seems to be the ticket. Either way, there are plenty of fish to be had this spring.
So with everything looking pretty darn good right now, what can we look forward too?
Well let me tell you! In the month of April temperatures will begin to moderate, the steelhead fishing will get better, and we won't need to wear the many layers of clothing we now need to wear to stay warm. We will have a mix of both pre-spawn and drop back steelhead along with a few brown trout still in the system. The only tricky part will be to find out whether the fish are on the egg bite or eating baitfish. But hey...I'm up for the challenge!
The fantastic tributary fishing isn't the only thing to look forward to. We also start seeing our first hatch of mayflies on our many inland trout streams - the Hendricksons! This is a great hatch of bugs and makes for our first really good dry fly fishing of the year. So if you wanted to, you could catch steelhead in the morning, then drive 35-45 minutes, and catch your first trout on a dry by the afternoon! Pretty cool huh?
Plenty to look forward too...stay tuned!
4 comments:
Good Grief! Where do you pull these fish out of??? I'm thinking that a trip East next spring, might be on the agenda.
RD - These are all lake run fish from the great lakes. Fall and spring are the best times to fish for them, as winter is often too cold and in the summer they have all moved back into the lake. And they can grow much larger!!
Brian - You have a great site! It is clear that you put a lot of time, effort and passion into it. I really enjoy your photos and narratives.
Sebastian - Thanks for the visit...And thank you for your kind comments! Maybe I'll see you on the stream some day - Brian
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