2012 Fishing Season - April Wrap Up
I think its more sad than strange that the first monthly wrap up of my 2012 fishing season comes in April. Sad because there is nothing to summarize for the first three months of the season. That changed in April - but just barely.
Actual FishingApril 7 - Checked out a local pond stocked with rainbow trout. I have only fished it in the fall and had good success.The day was breezy, overcast and around 5C. My fish finder wasn’t working so I was not too sure about the water temperature however judging from the feel of the water on my toes it wasn’t too bad.The fishing wasn’t what I was looking for. There were lots of willing rock bass in the shallows and I also landed one decent out of season smallmouth bass at the far end of the lake (not sure where that came from) but I couldn’t find a trout. Could the lack of trout in April be related to the fact they stock later in the spring? At any rate, it was good to get out.
April 15 - I headed down to the river not far from home. Generally there is an abundance of pan fish to be found and later in the season plentiful smallmouth and the occasional muskie. The water was low - hope we get rain or they release more water into the river. Other than checking out the workings of my new fly rod there was not much success on the fish front.
April 28 - The month is almost gone before I finally get another opportunity to get out. The destination is Bing Retreat a private lake a couple hours from home. I usually get there once a year - usually in the spring. My notes tell me last year it was April 18 and that the water was very cold. Today looks more promising.
I decided to fish a full sinking line and a streamer since the work was the fish were being caught deep. I took a while but I after about a half hour I had what I thought was a hit. And then another but no takes. After about an hour I finally hooked into a fish for sure but he slipped the hook after a bit of vigourous head shaking. This happened a few more times before I managed to land my first fish. It was a small brook trout which explained the head shaking behaviour. By lunch I had landed three and lost about as many. All were small - two rainbows and one brook trout.Judging by more frequent hits the fish were more active in the afternoon. Perhaps in response to warmer water temperatures (approaching 50-51F). I was trying a few different bugger patterns and finally settled on a smaller (size 10) olive bead head bugger with crystal flash in the tail. It seemed to work as well as anything.By the end of the day I had landed half a dozen fish, lost at least as many and had numerous other hits. A good way to end the monthUpcoming Fishing PlansMay will be a busy month work wise but there should also be some fishing opportunities including a couple days at Kenauk which has been an annual destination for some years. I hope to find time to check out a few local lakes that I haven't been too for several years and hopefully some time to dip a line in New York later in the month.