But also a lot of hours fishing over seemingly barren waters. Maybe it was the weather.....colder than March, with more snow, but not a lot of water overall to feed the streams until the end of the month.
I made it a point to spend a lot of time wading the shorelines of bigger lakes looking for holdover trout and salmon. I caught fish on about half the trips and had a least a hit or follow on about 2 trips out of 3. It came down to busting my butt for a hit or 2. I learned a lot though about wind direction, shoreline types, and access. For the most part, if there wasn't an onshore chop against a rocky shoreline or a steep drop off, there was no sign of life. An onshore wind into gradually sloping, soft bottomed coves didn't cut it. So, juggling all the factors made it a tough game. Still, the rewards were there and all the sweeter because you had to fight for them. Browns dominated (a welcome change), with a few small salmon in the mix. Pics aren't the best with a lot going on wading on a steep rocky drop in a heavy chop
This little guy wasn't going to wait around for a pic when release was in sight.
And on those days when lake shore trout and salmon were a "no go", I found a few panfish to give me a tug. I wouldn't mind getting into the pumpkinseeds with a flyrod on warmer days! Even they were picky at times if the water cooled too much and my sorry butt got totally consumed by the skunk monster twice
As far as the small streams go, they were predictably frigid for the opener.
And even when they warmed up a bit, it was slower than usual. It was fun to meet the challenges. On one outing, you had to get your lure deep back into root structures to get any hits. The fish I did entice weren't big, but they were black as coal
When it comes to small water, I am more than a wee bit secretive. "Mr. X from Parts Unknown" suits me just fine
As mentioned, rain did return to end the month. Flows livened up and the fish responded. From the looks of the forecast, we should be in good shape for awhile now
Small water equals small fish for the most part, but size doesn't matter when I'm into an afternoon of eager native brookies. I even managed to catch a couple photos as one grabbed my white jig and became quite annoyed at the hook.
May....I'll likely get more serious with the flyrod