Staking out spring spaces
By Nick Simonson
As a weather junkie, I know that any forecast over five days out is not to be trusted. As an angler though, especially the glass-half-full kind who relishes the thought of the season’s first cast over running water, I know that even a 16-day experimental forecast which shows a hint at extended temperatures above freezing needs to be taken seriously. With just such a halfpromise of an early spring melt beginning to register on the U.S.S. Our Outdoors’ longrange scanners, I’m already charting a course for all those places spring fish hang out. While it differs from lake to lake and stream to stream, there are classic spots for popular gamefish to scout out now for early season efforts. Pike Places One of the first fish to be on the move each spring is the northern pike, and in those states with no closed season such as North Dakota, some of the fastest fishing action can be just a couple of weeks
down the road when feeder creeks begin to flow with the water of melting snow which draws prespawn fish up seasonal waterways. Basically, wherever there are streams with moving water attached to a larger river or lake is where you’ll find prespawn pike. As sight feeders, be certain to target them with something that will get their attention, whether it’s brightly colored jigs and upsized plastic twisters or large flashy flies, make it big and gaudy in the dingy runoff of the season to be certain they see it.
