Spring fishing in put and take

Ask a regular put-and-take angler about the best time of year, and many say spring. When the ice has gone and the water sits around 6 to 14 degrees, rainbow trout wakes up and is hungry after winter. It hunts willingly and often takes through a large part of the day, not only at dawn and dusk.

Why spring is so good

After a long winter the fish wants to eat, and the water holds exactly the cool, oxygen-rich temperature it likes best. That means you rarely need to finesse as much as on a hot summer day. Active fishing pays, and a sluggish hour often turns if you just stay with it and move along the water. Many waters also stock new fish ahead of the season start, and freshly stocked fish often take willingly the first days.

Method and baits

In spring you can fish actively. Search the water with spinners and spoons and vary the pace, or fish active streamers on the fly against the hunting fish. If you prefer to wait the fish out, PowerBait is a simple and grateful choice. Start muted in colour, but have a signal colour ready, because early spring water can be stained by meltwater.

Early spring and meltwater

The first weeks after ice-out can bring stained, cold meltwater that makes the fishing sluggish for a few days. Then it pays to fish bright baits that show in the stained water, and to look up quieter, clearer pockets where the fish gather. When the water clears and warms the first degrees the fishing usually takes off properly.

Time of day

Dawn and dusk still give most, but spring’s cool water means the fish often take well even in the middle of the day. The weather matters more than the clock here: a mild, overcast spring day is usually better than a cold and clear day with a north wind, which can kill the fishing dead. Before the ice has gone it is spring ice, not spring fishing – do not ice-fish on rotten ice. When summer comes and the water warms it turns, and then other tricks apply, see summer fishing. The whole year sits in the season overview.