Throughout my many years as a trout fisherman, one thing I was always sure of was that the streams and lakes would almost certainly be crowded on the first day of trout season in April.
Many of you know what I’m talking about on that opening day: trying to make a cast and then retrieve your lure or bait without someone else casting overtop of your line and messing everything up.
Actually, years ago, I gave up trout fishing on that first day because of the extreme crowding. What’s nice these days is there are a number of special regulation, catch and release areas where you can trout fish ahead of that opening day, so I get my share of trout fishing in even before the regular season kicks off.
Obviously, I wasn’t out the first day, but from what I’m hearing and reading, the opening day this year was anything but the usual crowding, at least on many streams and lakes, and probably for good reason; the weather was cold and rainy in many locations. Add to that, in some parts of the state, stream conditions were higher than normal, making wading and casting more difficult. Apparently, the action was also a bit slower, based on what I heard and read.
As always, however, Pennsylvania streams and lakes are well stocked ahead of the opening day of trout season with plenty of trout, and I’m pretty sure many of those trout are still there.
On the positive side of the slow start, it’s likely we will have more fish in the streams than usual, and hopefully, the productive action will continue for a longer period of time.
Trout actually do better in the colder and higher water levels with temperatures in the 50s. However, as we move into mid to late summer, water levels drop, and temperatures rise, trout activity slows down, which can even be detrimental to trout. I’m guessing that trout fishing will pick up over the next few weeks or so, and water conditions should remain pretty good.
The usual baits and lures will no doubt be effective; worms, salmon eggs, minnows, and anything that imitates those offerings, I’m sure, will offer some pretty good action. We fly fishing enthusiasts, of course, will be offering an assortment of artificially tied “flies” that imitate naturally occurring larvae, insects, and other creatures that thrive in and around the stream.
By the way, don’t think for one minute that using something like artificial flies made from fur, hair, feathers, yarn, and other materials will deter your fish-catching ability — not so. I was a devoted salmon egg fisherman in my early years of fishing, and I caught plenty of fish with those eggs, but I have found that artificial tied flies that look like salmon eggs also produce extremely well.
The same can be said for streamer flies that are used to imitate fleeing minnows. What’s even more fun is when the insect hatches start to come off, and trout begin to take dry flies on the surface. When trout begin to turn onto surface floating dry flies, they will often neglect everything else, including minnows and other live bait, and the only thing that will bring a strike is that floating dry fly.
Well, the good thing is that whatever you choose to use, there is likely to be some decent fishing action in the weeks to come, and I hope to get back out there to find out.
