Opening day on its way

When I was a kid, opening day of fishing was a magical event. I’d spend weeks prepping my gear, picking night crawlers (I had yet to be enlightened) and then spend a last, sleepless night before heading out the door early. At first light I would jump on my bike and ride to the nearest stream for the chance to stand elbow-to-elbow with other anglers eager to catch hatchery fish that were released a few days earlier. Opening day no longer carries that allure, but there is still magic in the air as that special event draws near. So what should you expect?

After spending the past ten days fighting a water problem in my basement, I was able to get out Tuesday to check stream conditions in advance of Saturday’s opener. What I saw wasn’t pretty. Like last year, this April has been filled with heavy snows and colder than average conditions. There is still a significant snowpack to melt and the forecast from today through Saturday looks to add to it rather than melt it. Nearly every stream and every river I visited was a raging torrent, unfit for safe wading. Streams typically stained by clay are still turbid, although clarity has increased from a couple of weeks ago. There were a few small tributaries that an energetic angler could fish from shore, but water temperatures remain frigid, ranging from 34 degrees to 38 degrees.

The bottom line? You may be able to find fishable water, but what will be fishable will still be high and cold. Nymphs drifted through deep pools and dark-colored streamers pulled very slowly along the bottom will be your best bet to entice fish chilled by the ice-cold conditions. If you choose to brave the conditions, be very aware of the streams you fish and wear waders only to protect you from the snow you will have to go through. To put it bluntly, stay out of the water and off any remaining shelf ice.

Where will I be? In a concert hall enjoying my daughter’s recital and dreaming of warmer weather. It can’t stay cold forever.

The spring flush is on

One week ago, Mother Nature had just gotten started depositing what would total 16 inches of heavy, wet snow on my place in Trout Creek. Today is a whole different story. Today will feature temperatures in the 50s for the third consecutive day and, with more than two feet of snow still left on the ground, the results are predictable … rivers area wide are blown out.

As late as Monday, many rivers were still sporting a layer of ice. Now the ice has become ice flows and ice jams and the red clay soil which predominates here has helped turned the rivers into mud flows. Needless to say, there is no fishing to be had unless you want to venture out onto the still-frozen lakes and drill some holes. Exactly how long the run-off will last is anyone’s guess. Rain is forecast for the weekend followed by another stretch of cold, snowy conditions.

With opening day just two weeks away, we may be looking at a repeat of last year when those gathered at fishing camps caught more Zs than fish.  Those who are a bit more optimistic simply look at the current conditions as an indicator that better days are ahead.