TROUT FISHING SPRING 2011



(One stock trout taken this spring)



It has been some time since I have been able to commit time to this site. Family concerns have kept me from writing but I have still been able to find limited time on the trout waters this spring. The fish are there even though we have experienced some up and down water conditions this year.

            DEC has apparently done quite a little stocking of trout in our local waters. The average trout caught has been between ten inches and twelve inches in length. There were some a little larger but not many that have been much smaller. On a couple of occasions I have tied into a large brown that, so far, has eluded my best efforts to land. Twice now he has struck my lure and I have had him on the line for a few seconds before he shakes the hook. He has given me a good look at his size and coloration each time so that I know he is in the eighteen to twenty inch range. Perhaps there will be another encounter yet this year.



(A few trout added to the creel)

            The bugs have been thick at times on the water but not so over whelming that they can’t be tolerated. A little insect repellent is in order if you really want to enjoy your outing. A number of the other bugs have been hatching out as well, such as mayflies, and the trout are rising regularly to the surface to take these bugs.

            It is a good time for the dry fly fisherman to be out. There hasn’t been a large influx of fishermen in our immediate area so far and therefore the fish have not been fully educated at this time. You should find some very receptive trout waiting for your fly.



(Hatchery trout taken during high water)


           On the few outings I have taken this spring, I would say I have caught and released between two and three dozen trout. That does not include the eight or nine I have put in my creel for the table. It has been an enjoyable trout season so far. The only problem is that you need to watch the weather patterns closely in order to hit the water during the most ideal conditions.

TROUT FINALLY HITTING

We finally got into trout fishing last week. Previously all we were catching were perch in some of the rivers we were trying. Last Tuesday, although we did pull in a number of good sized perch, we also landed one good brown trout.


(brown caught by Leo)

 Fishing with Gary and Leo, we tried a number of places with no success. The weather has still been very up and down in temperature and snowfall or rainfall. Water levels have been fluctuating quite a bit the past week or two. We had snow at least two days last week and rain most of the rest of the week. The one good day we had we got out fishing.
We ended up in one large fishing hole just below a local dam and started catching perch once again. We had pulled in about a dozen of these fat bellied yellow perch and were just deciding to quit for the day.


(another view of brown trout)

 As Leo began a retrieve of his line, a trout suddenly struck and put on quite a nice show. This brown went aerial about three times and gave him quite a fight before he was able to land a 15 inch brown that weighed in on the digital scale at 1 pound and 3 ounces. It was a beautiful fish.
That was the total excitement so far of trout fishing, but at least the trout are there and are starting to cooperate. At the end of the week Leo saw another fisherman had pulled out another trout about the same as his, from that same pool.
We should be seeing marked increase in the trout fishing as of this week.

TROUT OPENER RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

We are just three weeks away from the spring Trout season opener. Of course just when our hopes start running high, we get dumped on with another two feet of snow. Winter just doesn’t seem to want to give up this year.
But it does give us a good lead time to get ready for the opening day of fishing. Who knows what the conditions might be on April 1^st. All I know is that I haven’t missed an opener in a number of years now and unless there are really severe conditions, I don’t plan to miss this one.


(fishing creel I made at a class by Mick Jarvis of Adirondack Basket and Heritage Design)

Last year was a real slow start. I fished a number of hours without a single nibble. When I finally got a strike, there was no fooling around with Mr. Brown Trout. He was a nice 17-18 inch brown that hit the spinner hard. I was using small trout worms for bait with a gold spinner blade that day. What a way to start the season.
I went on to catch a few more trout during the early season before starting on other species as the summer started out.
I bought a 7 foot single piece rod with a sensitive tip, specifically for trout fishing last spring. It was a joy to use and certainly helped a number of times when trying to detect those light bumps and taps on the line. Getting around in the woods and vehicles wasn’t really all that bad once you learn to watch the tip. This year I am also adding a new open faced spinning reel to complete the outfit.


(college friend, Don Mauer, with stock trout from Spring 2010)
(my new rod on right side of photo)

It isn’t that I don’t have a number of reels, but most of them are a few years old and don’t have the right balance for this particular rod. Once you balance rod and reel, you take a lot of arm fatigue out of fishing all day. Looking into my tackle box, I find need of a few more lures. Doesn’t every fisherman need another lure or two? Some new, fresh line on the spools and I think I will be ready for opening day.
Since I had some luck with walleye this past year, I am also looking for that opener later in the spring. I hooked into a rainbow trout and a walleye, both over 15 inches, in the same pool last spring on one of our local rivers. 

(large brown from 2010 opener)


Now is the time to get things in order. The openers will be on us in very short time. I have a couple of sportsman shows to speak at these next couple of weekends and then there will be just a little over a week until trout season. Sure hope it warms a bit more before that time!

RIVER FISHING AND SURPRISES IT BRINGS

     Here in the Adirondacks we have a diverse number of waterways to fish. I believe that is what makes it so attractive to fishermen. You are only limited by your own imagination when it comes to the type fishing you might wish to pursue. Lakes abound and they are always fertile fisheries for a large number of species. There are also the backwoods ponds and small lakes that usually produce trout. The brooks and streams of the area carry brook trout and brown trout on regular basis. The rivers can be very much like the lakes in offering a large selection of species to fish.

(fishing on the Chateaugay River)

     The Ausable, Bouquett, Chateaugay, Salmon, Chazy, Saranac rivers, plus many others are all within easy driving distance. They offer the fisherman any number of species and some very fine fishing opportunities. Those living along the rivers have often worked with the state conservation groups to provide anglers access to these waters, so the fisherman who observes the rules and follows the directives listed at the fishing access sites can help keep those arrangements open for some time to come. Always police the area you fish and do not leave garbage and junk behind when you leave. Observe land owners rights and if a section is not posted as public access, don't invade the owners privacy.

(Brother-in-law with a brown trout from Chazy River)

     Many years ago, I used to fish regularly with an old gentleman who was an Adirondack fishing guide for about 50 years. He was in his late 70's when I fished with him and it was a pleasure and joy to see him work on the lake we often fished. But even though he had a very productive lake to fish at his leisure, every once in a while he would say, "let's hit a river today!" That is just what we would do. Down in that area we had the Hudson, Schroon and a couple of other smaller rivers to fish. He liked to change his routine once in a while just for the challenge. He knew that rivers are always changing and the experience would be new each time, unlike the lake he usually fished, where he could read the bottom like a book and tell you exactly where to anchor and cast to catch a bass.

(author fishing a central Adirondack river)

     When your fishing starts to become a bit mundane and predictable, head to one of the rivers and see if it doesn't put some excitement back into your pastime. You may be surprised just how enjoyable it can be.

TROUT OPENER: A BIG HIT IN 2010

(Trout Opener: a Big Hit in 2010 by Bob Phillips, first appeared in Lake Champlain Weekly in April 2010)
 
   April Fools day came and went without one person trying to play an April’s fool joke on me. At least I don’t believe anyone did. I was on the trout waters looking for trout on the first day of the opener. I suppose that one or two of those fishermen I spoke with could have been telling a whopper but it doesn’t necessarily have to be April Fool’s day for that to happen. Most of the accounts about the fishing I heard that day ran very consistent with one another, so I think I was getting the straight scoop.
   Trout opener was a beautiful day right from the start. It was above the freezing mark, maybe not by much at the dawning hour but it got up into the sixties before the day was done. Clear skies and a very light breeze when there was any breeze at all. Perfect spring day to be out on your favorite trout waters. Ice flows still cover many of our northern ponds and small lakes. The woods still hold some big patches of snow. On top of the few days of rain we experienced at the end of March, the waters were high but fishable.
   The small narrow creeks were running quite fast with the rain and runoff of the last few days. You needed to find stretches of flat, open areas on the rivers to be able to fish the opener. Some smaller creeks were lazy enough they could be fished easily, but in my immediate area I found the rivers much more to my liking. The usual fishing spots were busy with many fishermen, but not so many that we got into each others way. There were a lot fewer than many years. I believe many fishermen stayed home thinking the recent rains were going to make the waters to high and cold to be successful. That is too bad if you thought like that, because the fishing was excellent!
   I fished a couple hours in the morning before I came in to complete some work that needed my attention. I visited a couple of different spots to just check the waters and see what the rest of the day might bring. My first stop, I never even got out of my car. I saw that the water was racing through the ledges that I planned to fish and there was no sense in trying to fight that much water. The second stop looked much more promising.
   I had initially thought of fishing some of the smaller streams, so I brought my shorter spinning outfit for the morning trip. It was good for the first attempt I made at a small feeder brook. I got one strike from a trout but it was very half-hearted and I never hooked into him. Things were looking better all the time.
   The next stop didn’t produce even a strike. I was on a bigger body of water and soon found that the shorter spinning rig wasn’t as handy in this situation. I figured I would change to a longer outfit once I came out for the afternoon.
   It was at the next fishing hole that I saw the first indication that trout were present. One fisherman had caught a big brown trout. That was a nice trout to say the least. It was a 19-20 inch brown trout. I didn’t get a weight on it, but it was fat bellied and a beautiful fish. No one else was getting any strikes from trout, but it was encouraging at any rate. I neglected to ask him what he caught it on, but as I watched him fishing he seemed to be using a light colored, soft-bodied lure.
   I returned home during the late morning to take care of a couple of things that needed attention but determined to be back out as soon as possible in the afternoon.
   Early afternoon, I again hit the river and found the fishing much more pleasant than staying inside on such a beautiful day. During the morning I had already seen seven deer in three different places as well as other wildlife like turkeys and many songbirds. If nothing else happened it was still a pleasant outing.
   The first pool I hit was quiet. Nothing biting. No trout. Since this was the first spot, I was still optimistic. I headed down the road. The second hole was under a bridge. I always like fishing the holes around bridges. They seem to be deeper than other parts of the rivers and they seem to hold some of the nicest fish. A couple of US fishermen were already there when I arrived. I talked to one of them about how his day was going. They had caught one brown trout about 14 inches in length, but that was about it so far.
   I then went across the road to fish the other side of the bridge. I had switched my outfit to a seven foot spinning rod but I was still using the same terminal tackle on the end of the line. I don’t fish much with live bait, and very little with night crawlers or trout worms unless I am fishing for early trout. I had a gold trout spinner on a swivel with a single number 6 hook on the spinner with a couple of trout worms. I had added a couple of splitshot about a foot above the spinner for weight. I began casting this into the ripples and let it drift, then with a slow retrieve I kept it just off bottom as I brought it back through the eddy.
   On the third or fourth cast a trout struck! He was a nice looking one as he flashed around in the pool. I finally landed him and found he was sixteen and a half inches, weighing in at one pound and four ounces. My opener was complete. I was more than happy with that success. I fished a bit longer but I had other things pressing for attention so I quit a bit earlier than usual.
   Considering my own success and the reports of many fishermen I talked with, if you made excuse for not getting out on this opener in 2010 you really missed an opportunity. It was ideal fishing and that is enough said!
   Don’t pass up chances to get out fishing this year but get out afield and astream with your rod and reel