EARLY SEASON

Wow 2012!.........it is flying by. Before you know it canoe season will be upon us. And for many that means fishing and more fishing. All that pent up expectation is let loose in the spring and in our eagerness we often are a bit overzealous and consequently fail to connect. "must not be biting".....is all to often our refrain from a lackluster cold water early season trip.

I'm fond of calling fishing "the thinking mans game". Lots of variables to plug into that computer that sits atop your shoulders. Weather, time of year, time of day, water temp, sunlight, forage base etc. etc. can all play their part.

Early season can be stellar but it can also be tough. While the fish are drawn toward the warmth of the shallows their metabolism is quite slow as compared to summer months. On the flip side they are generally hungry as the forage base is decidedly narrower early in the season. So why do we have some tough days?

Lets look at water temps and its impacts on the underwater world. While we might hit some nice sunny days early on where you enjoy shedding a few layers the water warms slowly by comparison. Fish are cold blooded critters. When it is cold they generally move slow themselves. In fact most water creatures are moving quite slow early in the year..............and so should you!

We have been paddling, the sun is out, we might have even broke a sweat...........time to fish........out comes the rod and we start rocketing casts about eager to connect. As no strikes occur we actually start to increase our rate of retrieve, all to no avail :'(.

Time to slow it down........nothing is moving very fast. Time to think tight wobbling lures which are quiet. Save the wide wobbling plastic cranks with rattles for summer and instead reach for the tight wobble of balsa wood. Retrieves are slow with frequent pauses. BTW, if your fishing cranks or slim minnow lures vary the angle of your rod tip after each pause to get the lure going in a new direction. Watch any small fish.......they go a ways, pause, and then start afresh in a slightly different direction.

How about sunlight? Yup..........early season doesn't lend itself very well to early fishing times. Let the sun warm the water. Mid afternoon might be the very best time of all.......

Location? Think warmth.........shallow bays out of the wind can be tops. Dark bottoms warm faster so don't dismiss mud bottoms especially if there is a little weed growth. I really like trees in the water early on as they are a direct conduit for heat from the sun.

Exceptions from above abound........such as spawning walleyes......but my purpose is to get the noogin involved in this great piscatorial pastime.