Over the years, open water fishing in March is often the toughest of the year. March 2018 couldn't have been more different. I ice fished little this season and focused on getting more open water spots under my belt. Nearly all the prospecting I did paid big dividends. I had to trudge through deep snow at times, cross sketchy ice to get to open water to wade in (it's a walk and leap of faith
), and get OK's from a private property owners time or 2. At the same time, I had to stay on the right side of the line to stay in legal waters. Confluences with major rivers can get tricky in that regard. Kind of reminded me of clamming 40 years ago and staying on the right side of the line between waters that were certified or NOT certified for shellfish harvest. I guess it ended up OK....no tickets and only one icy dip that slowed me down. Here is one such "edge" area. Some thicker ice out of the picture to the left, skim ice to the right, and an opening in between with a wadeable sandbar leading to deeper water.
The results? One PB after another fell. I ended up with 57 trout/salmon in March. My previous best for that month was 31 in 2016, but that included 11 native brookies from trickles due to the early opener that year. Other than that, March has only been good for a total of a fish or 2. Fishing must be one of the few sports where you can get better with age
Here are a few pics of fish from the past few weeks. You can definitely see the ones taken after snowstorms, but I'd rather deal with this slush than that on the lakes.
Jigs were the "go to" lure.....under a bobber early, then with a slow, jerky retrieve later. Chartreuse either alone or in combo was favored. Just a few on crankbaits and spoons.
