Closing in on opening day

With opening weekend in the crosshairs, I spent some time this weekend scouting streams and found plenty of good news as every stream I visited is ready to fish. That news is opposite of last year’s report when we still had plenty of snow on the ground and the rivers were unfit for any type of recreational pursuit.

The Upper Midwest spent much of last week feeling more summer-like than spring-like. Here in the U.P. we actually touched 70 degrees on Friday and stream temperatures have responded well. Water temps are now nearing 50 degrees and the aquatic insects are responding nicely. On Saturday, I saw a number of stoneflies in the air alongside many, many midges. The fish did not seem to be dialed into any of that part of their diet, preferring instead to chase streamers, the bigger the better. My best luck came throwing a size 4 Sculpzilla.

The weather is forecast to take a turn for the worse this week with temps in the 30s and snow likely to happen. I’m not about to complain, however, as we can use the moisture. Stream levels are surprisingly low and could stand a good dose of precipitation. All in all, I’d have to say that things are looking up compared to the past couple of opening days when ice fishing was the only game in town.

Way ahead of last year

Spring has been trying to arrive throughout the upper Midwest and the U.P. is certainly no exception.We are weeks ahead of last year, when April brought storms with snowfalls above the one-foot mark. Depending upon where you go right now, you will find anything from rivers that have seen the bulk of runoff to those that are still frozen. 

I did manage to fish a bit this week and found the fish very reluctant to cooperate. That is most likely due to the water temperatures, the warmest of which I measured at 36 degrees. However, barring a repeat of last April, I suspect that we will actually be able to do something other than go ice fishing when opening day arrives later this month.