It was sure nice to have all the open water options available after the statewide opener on the 1st. I am first drawn to the native trout brooks that have been closed since Fall. A buddy and I hit several brooks toward the coast since the Winter isn't as strong and the early bite is usually good. Opening Day 2022 was no exception. We teamed up for 50 natives on small jigs tipped with maggots. The waters we fished are tight and brushy for much of their length. Where there are undercuts, the trout are almost as black as their hiding places.
A second native trout venture was to a more inland brook, with conditions being a decided step back to Winter. This shoreline ice was hell on the ankles, but I wanted to stay on the bank to avoid any redds in the steam bed from the prior spawning season.
With the tough conditions, the fishing was slow, but the trout that I could entice were of decent size quality.
With ice out on nearby lakes coming by mid-April for the most part, I turned my attention to holdover trout and salmon. Bluebird skies are great for bikinis and sun tans, but for the fishing not so much. I fished the lakes on dark, wet days as much as possible.
A little onshore chop to stack up warmer surface water was also a friend. On the other hand, there were definitely times in April when there was too much of a good thing and the rocky drops became a bit precarious.
Shore fishing on lakes is a definite challenge in ways beyond the wind direction and velocity. Public access is a real issue. Boat ramps are often in shallower coves that aren't big fish magnets. Predators are also keying in on smelt, so casting is often a hit or miss proposition depending on whether bait is around or not. That's the draw for me though.....the harder I work, the more satisfying the rewards. Even on days with action, I'm usually only fishing for a hit or 2. On the other hand, the fish that do reach the net are often quality fish. Surprisingly, I went splakeless and didn't get into any salmon either. Browns, however, are always welcomed. The stocking trucks hadn't made their rounds when I caught these. The holdovers weren't all large, but when I'm sloshing around in 39* water, anything bigger than a Frito corn chip will do.
Perhaps,some of these are the leading edge of the Seeforellen strain introductions?
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And when the water hit 45* or so, some solid bass filled in the gaps in the action.
More often than not, a jig (usually a marabou) suspended under a bobber was the ticket.
As I said, I often ground it out for a hit or 2 on the lakes. At one point, I had a 4 trip streak of "one hit wonders" where I kept the skunk at bay by making the single hit for the day count. That's pretty close to the bone, and the streak ended with a thud on 4/30. I got the 1 hit not long after my lure touched down over deep water, but my line fell slack after a couple cranks and no more action followed
April ended without a ton of progress toward Spring. As this pic of the tree line at dusk at the end of the month showed, the life of a green leaf in Maine is pretty short
On the bright side, there may still be a shot at lake shoreline trout and salmon in May, and I might have a road trip in the works as well