The Last Saturday in April brings in the opener for Michigan’s upland stream trout fishing.  What tactics are needed to catch fish on this Holy Day?

The end of April finds us entering the period of mid-spring.  What’s more it brings us to the threshold of Opening Day for upland stream trout.  Here in the northern latitudes, where the warmth of spring can either joyously wash over us as we wade our favorite stream or, and more often, be absent to the point of, if not snow in the air, than at least a distinct chill as the thermometer hovers near freezing.  Despite the vagaries of weather, true trout anglers ignore the inconvenience of inclement meteorological elements and venture out attempting to entice the wily trout with tidbits of bait, fur, feathers, and shiny metallic objects.

Where to Fish: Part One

Get away from the crowds that congregate, almost lemming-like, on the more popular streams, especially those where steelheads are putting the finishing touches on their spawning ritual.  The Muskegon, Big Manistee, the lower reaches of the Little Manistee, Au Sable, and Rifle Rivers will attract last gasp steelheaders.  The upper Au Sable will see plenty of action as well.  This fabled trout stream will draw both newcomers to the sport and the many old-timers who are firmly secure in their long tradition of Opening on the Au Sable.

There is plenty of seldom-fished trout water available.  Get out the county maps and search them out.

Where to Fish: Part Two

On the last Saturday in April trout streams will be at their mid-spring levels and the water will be cold.  In my half century of trout fishing I’ve opened on warm, cloudy mornings, warm clear mornings, intermittent snow showers, and clear frosty days when ice had to regularly be washed from the rod’s guides.

The water may be low and clear and high and muddy.  Don’t let either of these conditions slacken your spirit.  Trout can be caught in both conditions.  I shared one of my best Opening Days with my oldest son Kevin on the upper reaches of an upland stream.  On the drive to our chosen spot snow pelted the truck.  The previous week’s cold rains had swollen the river to about two feet above its norm.  Fishing the deeper runs behind stream bottom obstructions, such as logs and large boulders, we took eight brown trout over 15” with the largest stretching to 20”.  Smaller trout added to the day’s entertainment.  Most fish were released.

Where does one fish a stream on Opening Day?

Early morning hours should be spent at the tail end of holes.  These areas offer a cornucopia of food for hungry trout.  Focus on an upstream presentation of whatever enticement you are offering and allow the action of the current to take your bait/lure where it may.  The fish will be hugging the bottom, unless the night has been unusually warm and there is a hatch of Hendricksons (Ephemerella invaria) or other aquatic insects that are also early “bloomers”.

The lead slicks that draw current into a hole are also worthy of attention.  Trout, which normally hold in the quiet water created where the current flows over the lip of bottom and into the deeper reaches of the hole, will move upstream a bit to feed in the pre and post dawn hours and also when the water is stained by the run-off of recent rains.

Trout, especially as they get older, larger, and wiser, will seek out overhead protection.  Undercut banks, logs, fallen trees, boulders, and other such stream obstructions provide the cover these fish require.  Your bait, lure or fly needs to get where the fish are.  It doesn’t take much covering water to hide a trout.  Inconspicuous logs that have their bottom underpinnings scoured out by the constant flow of current will hold trout.  Get your offering into those spots without spooking the fish and you’ll be in business.

Undercut banks, no matter how small, will harbor trout.  The trick is to get your appealing tidbit into the far reaches of the deep recesses of the overhead cover.  Fishing upstream, using stealth tactics will be the ticket to success, as is the all-important “flip-cast”.  This underhanded, literally, toss of the bait or lure is a skill which must be honed to near perfection, if the angler is to be successful.  It will get what you’re using to the trout with accuracy and without spooking every fish within fifty yards.  Practice it in the backyard before trying it out on the stream on Opening Day.

If the water is high and colored, as is commonly found, the fish will be in feeding lanes or runs.  In low water these areas may only be a foot or two deep, but with the increased volume of stream-flow along with the increased turbidity of the current, trout will gather in these select areas, especially if the current is broken or slowed by some bottom dwelling obstruction such as a large boulder.  Trout will lie in the quiet water behind the boulder and gobble any passing morsel.  Bait, such as garden hackle, minnows, and spawn bags are best used under such conditions. 

Fish the cover!  It’s that simple.  So much is postulated about lake structure that anglers forget that streams also have similar formations, be they bottom contours, woody debris (both living and long dead), rocks, and other such obstructions that create seams and edges.  A current provide structure with their edges and eddies.  Trout will focus on these structures and so should your bait/lure.

What to Toss?

The selection of what to use at the end of your fishing line to garner a fish’s strike is up to the individual, based on his experience, enjoyment, and willingness to experiment.

Nightcrawlers, both large and small, are popular and effective.  Keep in mind they must be bouncing the bottom in a natural presentation which, in my mind, means an upstream cast.  The current will take the bait to the trout.  Having the proper weight, sinker wise is important so it pays to experiment until you find what the trout want.

Spawn bags!  Specifically those tied with steelhead eggs can take trout in the early season.  Actually they are deadly on stream trout twelve months a year.  Must a stream host a steelhead run in order for the angler to use spawn sacs?  Simply put the answer is a resounding “No!”

Brown and brook trout will gobble steelhead eggs (I would never bother to use salmon eggs) with relish.  My most effective color for sack material is chartreuse and I tie them with or without floaters.  Give them a serious try this year.

Minnows!  Few trout anglers use minnows.  They may be alive or dead; both are a treat to trout.  I prefer to salt my minnows ahead of time and either lip hook them to bounce along the bottom much, like using a nightcrawler or spawn bag , or sew them on, using a large, sewing needle with a notch filed in the eye.  The latter method is a producer of outsized trout using either a downstream or upstream retrieve.  Be aware that the strike of a fish to a sewn on minnow is very aggressive.

Spinners!  If I were to be given only one spinner to use, it would be a Panther Martin.  Limit me to one color and it would be the black body/yellow spots and gold blade model in a larger size.  Fished upstream and close, very close to cover a Panther Martin has outperformed every other spinner style that I’ve tried.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have fished with a couple of guys whom I call “The Spinner Masters”.  While they don’t know each other, Matt VantHof of Spring Lake, MI and Tony Trietch of Traverse City, are knowledgeable, experienced, and dedicated spinner flingers who adhere to the adage, “Get that spinner as close to cover as you can.” 

Matt says that he likes to “toss the spinner about a foot farther than he should.”  This means that he gets the lure hung up on brush, logs, and the stream’s bank now and then, but he does catch trout and that includes some lunkers above and beyond the 20” mark on a regular basis.

Feathers and Fur:  Streamers and nymphs make up the choices for the early season trout fisherman.  Streamer-wise large is a key and dull on bright days and bright on dull days would be an accurate description of what to use.  Work the streamer downstream, using highly refined stealth tactics and get it into those little hideaways that trout love.

Nymphs, imitating aquatic insect larva and bounced along the bottom, take Opening Day trout by those willing to give them a try.  Their use, long steeped in lore and legend, is not as difficult as some would think.  Fished in typical trout cover, as described above, they can be the key to taking trout when nothing else will.

Don’t try to do it all is sound advice.  Pick out two of the tactics described and focus on them.  Trout fishing is more than catching fish.  It’s also about the pure enjoyment of a stream and all that it entails.