Spring Springing

Flowers in my yard suggest that spring is springing,  and fishing reports I have been hearing concur. I need to go experience the fishing part myself for the change to be fully real to me.

The catch-logging/social app Fishbrain really lit up last week, with folks all around my region sharing pics of bass, trout, crappie, bluegills and more. Someone is always catching something — even when conditions are bad — but last week saw more than a small uptick in fish pics shares!

My buddy Jeff (Str8slayem on Fishbrain) is among those who really caught them well. Largemouth, smallmouth, spots, Coosa bass, rock bass, crappie and bluegill were just some of fish he found during recent creek outings. Two of his most productive baits during recent outings, both from Rebel Lures, were a LIVEflex Cata Crawler and a Crickhopper.

The Crickhopper is one of my go-to lures for creeks and rivers, but I’ve seldom thrown it this early in the year. Based on his recent success, I’m going to have to try it my next time out!

I’m not sure when that next time out will be, but it kind of seems like it needs to be as soon as I can make it happen! Hoping the next post will be my own report!

Spring Springing Quickly

Spring is officially about a week away, but I'm glad to say that signs of the changing season are plentiful. A month ago today I was fishing atop the Indiana ice and getting ready to travel to Michigan, just in time to welcome a big lake-effect snow. My family raced the biggest southern storm of the winter home from that trip and soon had our coldest temperatures of this year. The snow that fell has only been gone a couple of weeks, but forecast is full of 60s, and I can count half a dozen kinds of flowers blooming in my yard.

It's not just here either. Posts I'm seeing on Instagram, facebook and Twitter scream spring. Big bass freshly caught, flowers blooming, people playing in short sleeves, families getting out... Even way to the north, where friends are still ice-fishing, the pictures suggest late ice, strangely moderate conditions and change trying to happen.

My upcoming trips, although all to different places, are definitely springish by design, and on my most recent trout outing with Asher, we shed coats in the afternoon.

I'm not saying the cold has fled us for the year. Some of our most winterish weather often comes very late some years. The trend is toward spring, though, and that's good news, as far as I'm concerned.

Fleeing from Spring

Or first daffodil of 2015 opened yesterday, and several other will follow soon. Today brought beautiful weather for Little League tryouts, and I think the temp has probably found the 60s by now. The whole 10-day actually looked fairly nice, last I saw. So what am I don't? Heading north to go ice fishing again, of course!

Sensible friends in the industry travel south to fish for bass or various saltwater sport fish this time of year -- thus bringing on the enjoyment of spring even before it arrives wherever they call home. Being far too fond of ice-fishing, I instead travel north and extend winter.

Next week's travels will take me to Indiana to chase crappie (and assorted other species) through the ice. From there, I'm headed Traverse City, Michigan. Hard to say what we'll chase up there. Too many fine options to even guess. I've been assured, however, that I will see no daffodils.

Spring

Word has it spring sprang early this afternoon. While my friends to the north remain unconvinced, (something about a foot and a half of ice makes it seem less springy, I hear), we're enjoying perfect weather in North Georgia today, and it feels like the first day of spring. Mid 60s, I'd guess, sunny, and with a slight breeze. Truly the only thing that's not good about today's weather is that I probably won't have the opportunity to get out in it and go fishing.

Our winter has been cold, as yours most likely has, no matter where you are reading this, so our flowers and fish behavior and such clearly are behind where they'd normally be. It doesn't look as springy outside as it should in mid March, and it I could go to the ponds, I'd probably need to fish more slowly than would feel right. The forecast looked good last I peeked at it, though, and it won't take much weather like today's to make it seem like spring in every way.

I sure do wonder what the fish are doing on the pond today!

Start Looking Shallow

The 10-day forecast for my hometown in North Georgia shows highs in the 60s every day! Given strings of sunny days, bass, crappie and bluegill should be moving onto shallow flats in big numbers during that time. Much is spawn related, but the fish also find food in the shallow water as the water warms and move into ambush positions around shallow cover. The best places to find the earliest shallow bite in major reservoirs tend to be big cover-rich flats that are close to deeper water and where the water is somewhat stained -- often close to a main lake. As spring progresses more fish will move well up the creeks. I'm ready for warm weather and for the shallow bite.

My next fishing stop actually is the White River in Arkansas. As a tailwater, the White is always cold, and the fish are much more impacted by water levels than water temperatures. By the time I get home, though, I expect the fish in the ponds around home to be shallow and aggressive and for the fishing action to make it seem more like spring.

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