Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Trout Fishing - I Love Early Spring Trout Fishing

By Rolland Meigs

Over the years I spent many a spring in northern Ontario just after the ice has vanished from the many lakes that populate the northern Ontario landscape. This for the most part calls for accurate planning, come too soon and the ice will still be on the lake, come too late and the lake has started to turn. Once the lake is started to turn, the water becomes very murky and is a lot harder to attract fish to your lures. By turning I mean the cold water on the top of the lake settles to the bottom and the warmer water from the bottom comes to the top.

Hit it right and you can land a ton of fish, arrive at the wrong time and you may not see a fish all week, even though you are spending lots of hours on the water. Now the fish at this time a year, will be near the surface or along the shoreline. Some of the water that I fish have both Brook trout, and lake trout, which can offer up some awesome brook trout, and lake trout fishing.. There are tons of articles on the net that will give you great trout fishing tips, and you will also find lots of deals on trout fishing lures, and other tackle. A good place to check also would be the Bass Pro shops.

There are several different methods I use for catching trout in the springtime. Two of the most common methods are trolling and still fishing.

Still fishing: I've caught many a lake trout sitting on the shore of the lake and casting out as far as I can with a dead sucker minnow. Let the minnow just float down to the bottom, checking every once in a while to see that it is not caught under a rock. This method only works in the springtime as the lake trout are cruising the shoreline for food. I remember in my younger days fishing a northern Ontario lake that had two or three islands. I would take my boat out to the one of the islands and start a fire, then I would heat up some hot chocolate, and sit there (lots of times falling asleep) and still fish for trout for most of the day.

Trolling for trout: The secret to catching brook trout or lake trout in the early spring is trolling near the surface or as close to the shore as possible. Now you will have to watch your line carefully because you will have a tendency to get snagged along the shoreline. I usually use floating minnow imitations, spoons or spinner's, they all have their place and work great at different times of the day. One of my favorite colors for a floating minnow imitations is a perch color. I've also caught a lot of brook trout on the old standard red and white spoon.

After a morning of trolling or still fishing and having caught a few fish there's nothing like a shore lunch on the edge of a northern Ontario Lake. There's never usually a fire warning up because at this time a year the woods are still pretty wet. But for safety sake it's always best to have your fire right near the water, so it only takes a second to extinguish it if it becomes neccessary. I love freshly filleted fish along with fried potatoes, onions and either can spaghetti or canned beans.

So if you're looking to do some great trout fishing this spring, head for northern Ontario with its picturesque settings and all the fresh air that you can handle.

Want to start catching huge brook trout? Need to find a spot that offers you a chance to catch them? Brook Trout are beautiful trout and easy to catch if you know the right methods. If you need more help visit http://www.brook.ontariofishguide.com/

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