Early spring is an amazing time of the year to fly fish lakes and ponds for trout. From just after ice out through the the spring green up is a fantastic period to get on a stillwater, and just might produce the biggest trout of your season! When rivers are flowing fast and cold, lakes are heating up and the fishing can be outstanding. Still water fly fishing can be intimidating for people who’ve spent most of their time on a river. Just figuring out where to fish can be a challenge, but the task is certainly easier at this time of year.
Trout are attracted to warmer waters found near the surface. Later on in the year, as the surface becomes too warm for a trout to comfortably reside, they will go deeper in the lakes requiring sinking lines or heavily weighted flies. Early spring is just the opposite. High sun and longer days heat the surface of the lake or pond. All fish are attracted the the warmer water. When the water is still in the 30’s and 40’s the difference of a few degrees is a big deal. A simple stream thermometer can be helpful in identifying warmer areas of the lake. Shallow areas such as bays allow the lake bottom to absorb sunlight and can heat the entire water column much faster than the deeper parts of the lake. Now that we understand the importance of water temp, the next thing to find is food. Most of the food in a lake or pond is located in the littoral zone. This is the area where water meets land, extending out generally to where the sunlight no longer hits the bottom. This can be different on every lake depending on water clarity, bottom structure and contour. The key take away here is that you will find the most food closer to shore where vegetation, and aquatic insects are most prevalent, and thus too are baitfish. If we narrow our search for warm water near shore, we can begin looking for specific features that will attract the most fish. Bays, inlets and outlets, shelves, points, and down wind ends of the lakes are all good locations to check, but if you can find a combination of these features all the better. Once on the water its important to observe. Are there any birds flying over the water? They will possibly indicate a midge hatch. If the water is calm, look for rises, boils, or disturbances that could give away the location of feeding fish. In choppy water try drifting a slick where debris and insects may be concentrated. I once won a competition session on a PA lake in April because I noticed a single rise two days before the comp while looking over the water. All of the other competitors went to known productive spots, while I began fishing where I saw the rise, the fish were there. The next day I won another session on a different lake because I fished near where birds were darting over the water. When you find a productive area of the lake you next need to select a line and flies. Since trout will be close to the surface, I’d begin with a floating or intermediate line to cover the top 6-10 feet of water. I like to fish three flies when searching for fish, a bright attractor bugger, a nymph or chironomid, and a darker colored bugger. Between the three flies its usually enough to get a reaction strike. Vary your retrieves, I’ve had days where the slowest figure 8 retrieve is key and days where a fast and erratic retrieve works best. If none of these work, try a static presentation with your flies hanging under a strike indicator or dry fly. Often time fishing “the hang” will result in extra fish. The hang is when you allow your flies to dangle directly under your rod tip before pulling them out of the water to re cast. Fish will often follow your flies and eat right at the boat or bank when you stop the flies or begin lifting them from the water. Still water fishing is truly and wonderful alternative to battling high flows and lethargic river fish. Lakes often grow large trout that are very willing to eat a fly at this time of year. I hope this gives anyone who is hesitant about trying out still water fly fishing the confidence to give it a go. Good luck on the water!
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