Every March there is a longing for fishing open water and warmer days! It doesn’t help that as the days get longer the ice takes a beating and we may squeak out one last ice fishing trip, but my mind is already on my boat. It also doesn’t help that when I sit down for dinner my boat is right outside my window. Early season fishing can be tough as the elements don’t make it easy with cold water and many bodies of water still have ice receding. However, if you know where to go, fishing can be productive and fast, but you need to be flexible and move around to find the fish.
When spring comes hopefully all of the work and prep that we have done during the winter has us prepared for all of the work ahead. Staying on task in filling the fly boxes after a busy season is always a challenge between chores at home and guiding ice fishing trips. Sometimes the right fly is very important but being in the right spot at the right time may be the difference. Last spring Bryan Rosa (www.originoutfitters.com) and I fished together, and he did very well compared to me. We were using the same flies, but Bryan had a faster sinking line than I did and that may be the difference in being successful in the spring and going home fishless. Also knowing how to manipulate the line to make sure that your flies stay in the strike zone is important as well. A few well-placed upstream mends can make all of the difference to hooking up or going home fishless.
When things come together it can be very rewarding to be the first to put some nice fish in the net. Early season conditions can be tough as the water is still very cold and any precipitation can be either snow, sleet or very cold rain, which makes fishing challenging at best. However, when everything comes together it can be very rewarding and fulfilling to be one of the first to land their target species. So don’t delay and give us a call or email today to book your early season trip.
