Mule, a 10-year-old dog who is a three-time winner of the Boykin National field trial, gets work year around to stay in shape; a good training program can help senior dogs stay fit. ▪ Photo by Pamela O. Kadlec.

Spring is a wonderful time of the year, but as seasons go, bird hunters all look forward to fall because that’s when hunting season opens up. And bird season is when we can do what we love to do best — to take our best friend afield. And by best friend I mean a bird dog.

My favorite hunting trips include a well-trained dog; we work together as a team: I bring down the birds and my Boykin spaniel fetches them for me. If he doesn’t see them fall he will stop on a single toot of my whistle and take arm cast directions to the fall. He will watch the sky and sometimes spot the birds before I do. He might whine in anticipation when he hears the safety click off as I shoulder the gun and swing with the bird to shoot. He might even bark at me if I miss.

Or, we might go upland hunting, where I turn him loose to quarter and flush quail, his feathered tail going ninety miles an hour when he gets a nose full of scent as he busts into the cover and forces the bobwhites to head for the hills. The dog sits to the flush and after I raise my gun to shoot and if I am lucky enough to bring down a bird or two, the spaniel is released to fetch and bring the bird to hand.

My favorite hunting companion is a 10-year-old Boykin spaniel named Mule. Mule has been trained to the highest standards and has titles and accumulated points to show for his lifetime of work. He loves to retrieve so much that he will fetch up bumpers in the yard and if you ignore him he will toss the bumpers at you from his mouth then pounce at them to give you the message to throw it! He doesn’t need training to learn new tricks but he does need retrieves every day to keep him in condition.

Senior dogs are a joy to hunt with because they have a lifetime of training behind them and because you have worked through the hunting seasons until you are a great team. If they have bad habits you may have learned to accept them and allow some less-than-perfect deliveries and, possibly, a slipped whistle or two. You might even make excuses for the misbehavior, blaming it on failing eyesight or hearing loss.

But what if, for your old dog, hearing loss is not an excuse but a reality? The older our hunting dogs become the more they are likely to show the effects of their years beside the gun, effects that can include deafness and loss of vision, achy joints and possible arthritis.

On the flip side, senior dogs are a lot like us as we age: We get set in our ways and bad habits become difficult or almost impossible to break. Recently I had two old Labrador retrievers come in for a training tune up for basically the same issue — lack of control. One would not stop and sit to a whistle in the dove field and the other would break on the shot.

Both of these dogs were trained with electronic training collars and both of the owners did not use the collars in the field. The owners felt bad about hunting with training collars, even though that is one of the best times to use the collar — to keep the dog honest. You are caught up in the hunt, watching the sky for birds or perhaps anticipating the flush of a covey of quail. Your dog is trained and “should” do what he was trained to do, right?

Well, not always. Dogs will continue to test you their whole lives to see what they can get away with. And like you, they also get caught up in the excitement of the hunt, the adrenaline pumping, and can temporarily forget the lessons they’ve learned.

When I worked the dogs with the collars they listened perfectly. It’s much better to put the collar on the dogs and not need it than to leave the collar at home and end up yelling at your dog in the field. Nine times out of 10, the dog is “collar-wise” and will be the best dog ever when wearing the collar, whether you need to use it or not. If you do need to use it, low-level corrections are all that are necessary to get the old pup’s attention.

The training collar can be a positive reinforcer, particularly if you are hunting with an older, deaf dog or one with limited hearing, since the collar becomes a ‘hearing aid’ in the most literal sense.

Sometimes the deaf dog cannot hear your voice but can hear the whistle. If he can’t hear the whistle, you may have to work with the dog to condition him to look at you when you nick him with a low level on the collar. If he has advanced to handling on blind retrieves he will already know the hand signals/casts to get him to go out and find your birds. He may even know the arm movement to come in; arm straight down, palm out extended to the ground.

Captain Harold Bailey with a nice spring walleye caught by trolling. Photo by Ken Freel.

Walleyes are the largest members of the perch family, however these heavyweights of their own clan are not known for hard-pulling fights or drag-sizzling runs. Let’s face it, Ol’ Marble-eyes is most sought after due to its excellent culinary qualities, which are most noted when the filets in your frying pan reach your dinner plate. Simply put, the fish taste great! But even though this fine game fish isn’t known for its fighting ability, it really is not the slacker on the end of the line that even some seasoned anglers seem to think.

Anglers in the know will acknowledge that, on the right tackle, a mature walleye can and will put up a dogged fight. Also, walleyes are more aggressive than many fishermen seem to realize. After all, lots of walleye angling involves dunking a worm or jig just off the current line and reeling in slowly but surely until feeling that distinctive tap, tap, tap — or maybe just the weight of a feeding fish.

Anchoring up and casting around the current breaks is a great way to catch walleyes, especially since these game fish prefer to school up. If you catch one, more are sure to follow. Finding them first, though, is essential to great fishing during the spring.

But what about trolling for walleyes? If you aren’t trolling your favorite lake or river during the spring season, you’re missing out on some fine catching. One of the biggest assets of trolling is that you’ll cover lots of water, which will more likely put you over feeding fish faster than any other type of fishing technique.

PROPER TROLLING SPEED IS ESSENTIAL
Expert angler and walleye enthusiast Captain Harold Bailey loves to troll during the spring and into the summer. He says the two most important parts of trolling are the speed at which you move your baits along, and then what types of baits you use to entice these big perch to bite.

“Speed is crucial. I’ll try trolling at 1.25 to 1.3 or 1.4 miles per hour to zero-in on the correct speed,” said Capt. Bailey. “Some days it doesn’t seem to make any difference, while on others it makes all the difference what speed you’re moving along at. Ultimately, the walleyes will let you know when you’ve found the correct speed. But on most days, you’ll have to zero-in on the proper speed to catch fish.”

To troll properly, you’ve got to use quality gear. Capt. Bailey employs six 8-foot, 3-inch, medium-heavy Shakespeare Ugly Stiks matched to Daiwa Sealine SC47 LCA, Cabela’s Depthmaster II and Okuma Magda Pro brand conventional line-counting reels. On the business ends of these rigs are six easy-to-use Off-Shore side-planer boards. These planer boards help to spread out the baits and prevent spooking any walleyes, and they have enough ballast to run true even during rough conditions.

Though Capt. Bailey says there’s no set rule on the spacing of the planer boards, you want to make sure they’re far enough apart to keep the baits away from each other; you’ll cover more bottom and probably encounter more fish. Each planer board’s stationary flag helps you to keep an eye out for when a walleye decides to hop on. Then a quick snap of your rod and you’re line is free to fight the fish without the encumbrance of a heavy weight.

One important thing to remember is to be sure your bait is on the bottom. On our trip, Bailey used 3/4-ounce bottom-bouncers and made sure they were touching bottom. His reels are spooled with clear 14-pound-test Stren monofilament line.

“Side-planers help me to spread out the baits and prevent the walleyes from spooking,” he says. “After all, you’ll probably be fishing in shallow water in the spring.”

The Wally Pop J-Series by Mack’s Lures may be best suited for use around emerging weeds, according to Bailey, since the lure’s built-in float and spinning blade help prevent it from being snagged on weeds. Photo by Ken Freel.

TWO TOP TROLLING RIGS
Since walleyes are known for attacking live bait, especially minnows or worms, Bailey uses two effective end-game rigs to catch them up! The first is the Slow-Death harness by Mustad, which is better fished over rocky bottoms. The Slow-Death rig spins the worm and makes it irresistible to springtime, shallow-water walleyes. “It replaces the old harness and connects directly to the bottom-bouncers sinker rig,” explains Bailey.

The backbone of the Slow-Death rig is the hook, which was designed by Mustad walleye pro-staffers Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajecz. “We spent countless hours testing hook bends until we perfected a Slow-Death hook design that any angler could rig effectively,” says Parson.

“The hook design creates an enticing, corkscrew presentation that makes the whole technique so effective,” adds Kavajecz. “Now, Mustad has taken it one step further with a ready-to-fish rig that makes fishing this deadly technique even easier.”

The second effective trolling rig is the Wally Pop J-Series by Mack’s Lures, which is better-suited for using where emerging weeds are present, according to Bailey, since the lure’s built-in float and spinning blade help prevent it from becoming snagged on weeds. This second two-hook lure provides a trolling harness that gives a crawler an enticing action. When a walleye bites, the natural feel of the lure’s soft body gives you that extra time to set the hook. It’s been said this lure is effective even at the super slow speed of 1/4 mile per hour.

MURKY WATER OFTEN BEST
Although marble-eyes are noted for preferring clear, cold water — and extensive gravel or rocky areas to spawn — spring’s cold water temperatures often mean looking for slightly warmer water.

“Oftentimes, in the spring, it’s a good idea to look for dirty (muddy) water,” says Capt. Bailey. “Why? Because it’s a little warmer and the walleyes will move into it during the early spring.”

Obviously, some areas where muddy conditions occur include where streams come into the main body of water, even manmade situations like groundwater runoff and drainpipes. Besides runoff areas, coves and bays will hold suspended sediment longer after spring downpours, and also be slightly warmer than the surrounding clearer water. It’s just another aspect of spring walleye fishing to keep in mind, since most of us will look for walleyes in clearer water conditions. As the spring progresses, and the water warms more to the walleyes’ liking, you’re more likely to find the fish in clearer water, just off current breaks and over gravelly bottom as expected.

So, including trolling tactics in your spring walleye fishing will go a long way toward helping you catch more of these big perch right now. You’ll also likely notice that these game fish — almost always noted for tasting great — are also surprisingly good fighters when they’ve put on some years and weight. Whatever your reason for seeking walleyes, now is prime time to do just that. Hope to see you on the water!

Photo By Ron Sinfelt

Nothing could be finer than bass in Pennsylvania in the sprii-i-iinggg-tiiime. Come on, sing along. Get in the spirit of the season. This is the time to fish for bass in most of the state. The bass are in shallow water, they tend to be aggressive, and the trophy fish are feeding heavily.

If I wanted to, I could probably build to a thrilling climax by leaving the best for last. But no, let’s jump right into smallmouth bass fishing at Lake Erie, the best smallmouth bass fishing on the planet.

Smallmouth bass fishing at Lake Erie starts to get good when the water temperature reached the high 30s, then improves as it rises through the 40s and 50s. This may last from April into June. Actually it starts even sooner in Presque Isle Bay, but we will cover that separately.

Most of the better smallmouth bass fishing in the Pennsylvania section of Lake Erie is on the east side of Erie, from Erie to the New York state border. The reason is simple: in this part of the lake there is more of the rocky, rubble bottom that smallmouth bass prefer. Some of the first fishing in the lake takes place by cribs just outside the entrance to Presque Isle Bay.

Bass anglers usually launch from one of the boat ramps in Presque Isle Bay, at Chestnut Street on the city side of the bay, at the marina in Presque Isle State Park, at a couple of access areas just outside the bay, East Street and Lampe Marina, or farther to the east at Shade’s Beach or North East Marina.

Of course there is some very good smallmouth fishing on the west side of Erie. Anglers launch at Walnut Creek Access to get to it. But this is mostly done by local bass anglers who know the precise locations of hot spots that are fewer in number.

Finding bass on the east side is much easier. Bass fishing is not equal wherever you go on the east side, but you might catch bass just about anywhere. One of the more popular places for bass fishing is off Sixteenmile Creek. Another is an area known as the W’s, so called because cuts eroded in the cliffs take the shape of W’s, sort of.

Locating the best bass-holding places can be challenging to anglers who are not accustomed to fishing this huge lake. Shoreline markers are just about worthless except for getting into the right general area. You need to know how to read your sonar.

Smallmouth bass fishing is generally best during May because the bass are shallower than they are during summer. However, “shallow” here may not be shallow in the terms of anglers who are more accustomed to fishing for smallmouth bass in rivers or smaller lakes. The bass might be any where from a depth of 10 feet out to a depth of 35 feet, which may be more than a half-mile from shore.

Two factors combine to make the perfect smallmouth bass habitat in Lake Erie. One is a rock-rubble bottom, as opposed to the flat shale which forms bottom in large areas of the lake. Second is an irregular bottom, particularly drop-offs, depressions and humps. The latter can be detected on sonar/fish finders quite easily. But telling the difference between flat shale and rock rubble is much more difficult. There is no simple explanation, except that on days when the lake is calm a sonar with fine detail will show the small ups and downs of rock rubble versus the very flat shale.

But even on a shale bottom, a drop-off usually will hold smallmouth bass.

Top lures for spring fishing are blade baits such as the Heddon Sonar or Cicada in silver-and-blue or gold-and-chartreuse color patterns. As the water warms into the 50’s, switch to tube jigs and other jigs. Very good examples are the Yum F2 Ferocity in green pumpkin and chartreuse or melon candy, the Lake Fork Crawfish Tube, the Kalin Lunker Grub in Avocado/Green S&P, and Berkley Power Bait 4-inch Power Tube or 4-inch Chigger Craw.

Any color pattern that resembles a goby should be very good. An Ohio study showed that the goby has become the top forage for Lake Erie smallmouth bass, a fact that will not surprise many anglers familier with Erie.

Each year the ‘Pennsylvania’s Biggest Fish’ list indicated the heaviest fish of each species reported in the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission ‘Angler Recognition Program’. Lake Erie fish dominate the smallmouth bass category, with examples that weigh 7 pounds upwards to more than 8 pounds. Over the past four years, all but three of the list’s of top five for each year have been from Lake Erie.

Special regulations apply to bass fishing in Lake Erie, and specifically named tributaries. From January 1 through April 16 and from June 18 through December 31, the daily limit for bass (combined species) is four, and the minimum size limit is 15 inches. From April 16 through June 17, the minimum size limit is 20 inches, and the daily creel limit is one bass, either species.

Cross Creek Lake is a big bass hot spot in the southwest corner of the state. Few other waters in Pennsylvania have such outstanding potential for giving up largemouth bass that weigh more than 5 pounds. In the list of Pennsylvania’s List of Biggest Fish of 2010, the number 4 entry came from this lake. It weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces, had a length of 23.5 inches and a girth of 15 inches.

Photo By Ron Sinfelt

May is beautiful. Spring is in full bloom and the weather is finally agreeable. If getting on the water isn’t on your mind, it should be. Bassin’ in the Buckeye state is coming of age.

Here’s a sneak peek at where you can get in on some of the state’s best bass action this spring.

PLEASANT HILL RESERVOIR
When it comes to a double bass bite for anglers looking to find both largemouth and smallmouth in one place, fisheries biologist Mike Wilkerson gives this overlooked lake a definite thumbs-up.

“Pleasant Hill consistently rates near the top of the list for both size and numbers of largemouth bass,” said Wilkerson.

The upper end of the lake is the top pick for the largemouth bass and the lower section has a fishable population of smallmouth bass. The bucketmouths sometimes hit the 20-inch mark and the smallies occasionally go 15 inches or so.

The largemouth bass are frequently caught on soft plastic baits and spinnerbaits in the shallow western end of the lake. The smallmouth bass will hit jigs and small crankbaits up along the rocks near the dam, where the water reaches 35 feet deep.

The boat ramp on the northern shore is off State Route 95 on Covert Road. There are no horsepower restrictions. Anglers find a lot of recreational traffic from Memorial Day through Labor Day so it’s easiest to handle a small boat in the early mornings and evenings.

Pleasant Hill is 2 miles southwest of Perrysville and 12 miles southeast of Mansfield.

Call District Three at (330)644-2293 or the MCWD at (419)938-7884 for additional information.

ACTON LAKE
Fish Management Supervisor Doug Maloney goes on record recommending this 642-acre jewel. The lake is set in the hills of Hueston Woods State Park in Butler and Preble counties.

“Our electrofishing surveys show excellent numbers of bass 15 inches and larger,” said Maloney. “Acton is the top bass lake in the Cincinnati area and the number of bass we see per hour during the electrofishing surveys is one of the highest anywhere in Ohio.”

Anglers will find plenty of action from 2- to 4-pound bucketmouths, with the opportunity for a 5-pound lunker now and then. Most of the fish are from 12 to 17 inches. The 15-inch minimum length limit, which has been in effect for over a decade, has done its job well.

The shoreline emerging vegetation, docks, and any lay-down timber are places to start. Casting traditional baits for early-season bass means fast action when conditions are right.

The marina is operated by the state park and boats can be rented off County Road 47 near the nature center. A 10-horsepower restriction is in effect.

Acton is located 5 miles northwest of Oxford.

For additional information contact District 5 at (937)372-9261 or the Hueston Woods State Park at (513)523-6347.

PORTAGE LAKES
Portage Lakes harbors more big bass than anglers know. The last ODOW fisheries survey was in 2009 and of the fish measuring at least 12 inches, 19 percent were at least 15 inches. The largest was over 20 inches.

East Reservoir covers 379 acres and is known to host some whopper-sized bucketmouths. This is where ODNR fisheries biologist Chris Aman likes to toss a crankbait on occasion; he’s past needing to be convinced that this reservoir and the other Portage lakes are worth fishing.

The Portage Lake system consists of five interconnected major lakes and several smaller lakes totaling 1,681 acres of water. The largest is Turkeyfoot at 664 acres. Structure that Turkeyfoot anglers should check includes the Christmas tree reef submerged about 120 feet from the main-lake shoreline of the island in the lake.

Tournament organizer Rory Franks is another fan and believes the fishing here is just about as good as it gets. He recommends anglers hit the grass flats in Mud and Turkeyfoot lakes with suspending jerkbaits.

Long Lake covers 225 acres and North Reservoir 219. North Reservoir is a good choice for newcomers since there are probably more bass in this lake than in any of the others.

Portage Lakes gets pounded pretty hard as spring progresses. Bring some finesse baits to fool these educated bass.

The 10-mph speed limit is enforced. There is a 400-horsepower restriction. The entire system is no-wake with the exception of parts of East Reservoir and Turkeyfoot.

Portage Lakes is reached via State Routes 93, 224, and 619 near Akron in Summit County.

Contact District 3 at (330)644-2293, the Portage Lakes State Park at (330)644-2220 or Frank’s Bass Fishing Promotions at www.dobass.com.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Be glad turkeys can’t read. If they were capable of discerning the printed word, they would probably be so depressed about their species’ immediate future that they’d just say the heck with it and give up breeding for good!

Now, I don’t mean to imply that pre-season forecasts like the one you have just begun to read and think about are a waste of time. Far from it; rather, a properly thought-out “expert” analysis is a logical starting point for any hunter who wishes to take charge of the new season instead of leaving his hits and misses to mere circumstance. The problem with relying on the experts is they can’t be everywhere at once, and New York is a big state.

In other words, we hunters should keep predictions and statistics in perspective.

Right now, the statewide outlook for spring turkey hunting is not encouraging, but that’s based on a wide-angle glimpse, not a close-up view. Just because state biologists and volunteers found a below-average ratio of poults per hen during the DEC’s most recent summer survey does not mean nest production was low in your back forty. More meaningful, by far, is the surprising number of newly bearded jakes and chatterbox jennies you bumped into during that trail hike you took a couple of weeks ago. For summer population tallies and reproduction estimates are just snapshots in time. They are interesting, for purposes of noting year-to-year comparisons and trends, but they can’t foreshadow the impact of mild or harsh weather patterns through the ensuing autumn and winter months or other variables that can be game-changers for spring-season turkey hunters.

Having said all that, poult-hen ratios were below-average on a statewide basis in 2011, for the third consecutive August. The estimate came in at 2.6 poults per hen, according to DEC chief gamebird biologist Mike Schiavone. Over the previous 10 ears, the average was 3.0 poults per hen.

If nothing else, those numbers suggest there will be slightly fewer yearlings — both jakes and jennies — to confound hunters this May. But it does not necessarily indicate diminished numbers of the mature toms, or gobblers, that most spring-season hunters prefer to lure to gun or bow.

“Four of the past six years have seen below-average productivity,” Schiavone noted.

Okay, but an optimist would say it could have been worse, since two of the last six years were marked by above average poult-to-hen ratios. If you’re not an optimist, if your glass isn’t half full, then what made you roll out of bed at oh-dark-thirty last May, when the woods in some parts of the state were being inundated twice their normal volume of rain? What convinced you that New York turkeys would have any nesting success at all after that soggy debacle?

Maybe it was the data, if you studied it dispassionately..

In the Syracuse area, birds, hunters, golf courses and everything else beneath the sky were drenched with 8.3 inches of rain in May. We all know heavy rainfalls are bad for nesting and tending broods and most of us assumed subsequent surveys would show abysmal poults-to-hen ratios in Central New York.

Yet when the August survey results came out, the DEC reported a tally of 3.7 poults per hen in the Oneida Lake Plains, which includes Syracuse and surrounding townships. That was the third-highest poult-hen ratio recorded, among 23 management units surveyed, in 2011. How do we explain that?

One possibility is a statistical anomaly, meaning in this case there were a misleading number of broods out and about when DEC Region 7 turkey-checkers did their thing. It’s more likely, however; that hen turkeys pounded by May rains re-nested successfully and hatched a fair number of second-chance poults in the drier weeks afterward.

In his report, Schiavone commented on that possibility.

“Rainfall amounts declined in June,” he noted. “(And) drier conditions then may have resulted in improved nesting success or may have allowed adult hens whose nests failed in May to re-nest in June.”

Regardless, I can assure Game & Fish readers plenty of young turkeys were stuffing themselves with waste corn and alfalfa during the fall season and on into the winter in Syracuse-area fields. How many of those birds will be susceptible to hunters’ calling skills in the next few weeks? As always, we won’t know until the shooting stops.

Meanwhile, here are some of the highlights of the DEC’s 2011 summer turkey survey report:

*Some 429 hen-flock sightings were recorded. That’s 16 fewer than reported the previous August.

*Statewide, the 2.6 poults-per-hen ratio was unchanged from 2010. It was the third year in a row with ratios below the long-term average of 3.0 poults per hen.

*Approximately 23 percent of observed hen flocks did not have any visible poults in tow. That compared with the 21 percent of poult-less flocks in 2010 and the 24 percent of hen flocks seen without poults during August, 2009. The recent 10-year average percentage of poult-less flocks is 19 percent.

Photo By Ron Sinfelt

Most bass fishermen agree June is one of the best times to challenge New England’s black bass. By the same token, few will agree May is a bad time.

As water temperatures continue warm, several things happen that make bass fishing extremely productive this month. First, the metabolism rate of the fish increases and, coming off the long winter, bass feed heavily. Second, their eagerness to feed makes them susceptible to a wide range of offerings.

And as water temperatures climb into that magical 50- to 60-degree range later this month things will only get better. This happens sooner in southern New England than it does in the northern part of the region, but by then bass are in or close to the spawning season. The fish will be found more and more often in shallow water creating beds or seeking mates, and they became aggressive and protective of their spawning sites.

Add it all up and it boils down to one thing: May can be a hot month for New England bass.

With that in mind, here are some waters that should provide some excellent bass action this month.

MESSALONSKEE LAKE, MAINE
Maine is blessed with world-class bass waters, but few are as well known as the seven lakes and ponds making up the Belgrade chain, just a hop, skip and jump north of Augusta, the state capital.

While all produce good bass action, and though it has experienced a milfoil infestation and illegal introduction of northern pike, Messalonskee Lake still gets a lot of attention for several reasons.

The lake is home to both largemouth and smallmouth, has good numbers of both, and the action can be fast and furious. Furthermore, some real lunkers are in the lake, which is easy to find and offers good access. At 3,500-acres, the lake also provides anglers plenty of places to wet a line.

The south end of the lake is shallow and quite marshy but holds tons of fish. The same is true of the abundant structure in Belgrade Stream from Wings Mills to the lake, a stretch of water best fished from canoes and smaller boats. Access on this end is possible off Route 27 in Belgrade.

Going up the lake any of the numerous coves, rocky points, islands and visible cover should produce action, particularly in the narrow northern arm heading towards Oakland. Average depth is just over 30 feet and visibility is generally good down to 10 feet. Anglers should find plenty of action with plastic worms allowed to sink to the bottom. Crankbaits such as the Grappler Shad and Jointed Grappler Shad from Cotton Cordell, Rebel’s Big Claw, and Shad Rap and Jointed Shad Rap from Rapala should do well, too.

Messalonskee Lake also has a good forage base of smelt, golden shiners and chubs, and natural bait also take their share of bass.

Access for boats on trailers on the north end will be found off Route 11 in Oakland.

For more information on bag and length limits and regulation pertaining to bass fishing visit www.mefishwildlife.com or telephone (207) 287-8000.

LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE,  NEW HAMPSHIRE
If history is any indication of the future, the bass spawn will be in progress early this month on New Hampshire’s largest lake. For success with Winnipesaukee’s abundant smallmouths, anglers at this time of year should target shallow rocky shorelines, points and gravelly flats, especially those offering 3 to 10 feet of water. With 72 square miles of surface area, more than 240 islands and over 180 miles of shoreline, there are plenty of these areas to choose from.

For those new to the lake, however, the inside of Rattlesnake and Sleepers Islands off West Alton, the Forty Island area, the bars and shallows around Mark, Mink and Bear Islands and other islands off Meredith Neck and those leading into Center Harbor are all perennial smallmouth hotspots this month. Don’t forget to check out water around navigational buoys that mark rock piles, shoals and other shallow areas.

For smallmouth, tubes fixed to 1/8-ounce heads seem to do quite well. Some favorites include the gold pumpkin and silver ghost Mister Mino, the Turbo in watermelon/chartreuse, white/red gill and green pumpkin, and Fat Tube in white, pumpkin candy, watermelon candy and watermelon seed, all from Mister Twister.

The same offerings also work on the lake’s largemouth, but often require a slower retrieve, and in different locations. To get started, try Paugus Bay, Alton Bay and the shorelines and islands of Moultonboro Bay, which are prime locations. This is especially true of the islands and shallow coves in the Lees Mills area.

State- or town-owned public boat- launch facilities will be found near each of these areas and provide easy access. A list of these sites, as well as lake depth maps, will be found on the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department web site at www.wildlife.state.nh.us.

Caution should be taken when navigating and fishing these shallow and often rock and boulder-strewn areas. Winnipesuakee’s offers good visibility so take advantage of it.

Also keep in mind that until May 14 there is a two-bass daily limit, but no length limit, and starting May 15 to June 15 all bass must be released. Artificial lures and flies are the rule during this period as well.

igh spring waters don't have to be all about deep-water nymph fishing. Spring hatches are common, and hungry trout — like this handsome cutthroat caught by the author — can often be coaxed up with big attractor patterns. Photo by Patrick Meitin.

Every spring I experience a familiar sensation — acute cabin fever compounded by a gnawing angst to get out and enjoy my first fly-fishing of the season. In my northern Idaho and western Montana haunts I’m deeply impressed by the patience of most fishermen, content to wait prime days following runoff. I’m not so enduring. Like a little kid awaiting Christmas morning and its bountiful gifts, I want to go fishing right now! This even as local sages assure me I’ll enjoy little success, accomplishing little more than wearing out my casting arm and risking drowning.

I’ve never been one to cave to conventional wisdom. I go fishing anyway, wading wild, turbulent currents, donning clumsy neoprene against icy waters, slinging mostly missile-like weighted nymphs and split-shot. But you know what? I catch fish — experiencing not the typical 50-fish days of prime summer months, but enjoying action enough I keep going back for more. And you know what else? I essentially have these high spring waters all to myself. A stubborn nature has taught me a few things about high-water fishing, so that I now look to these periods as excellent opportunities to catch trophy trout.

DEPTH CHARGING
During the very worst of it, following those first warming days of spring that loosen high-country snowpack and disgorge fouling sediment into larger rivers, fly-fishing involves mostly deep-water nymphing. The biggest mistake anglers make is believing trout are off their feed and therefore uncatchable. Yet, like the impatient angler himself, trout seem anxious to get festivities under way. They’re hungry after a long winter of inactivity (all trout) and spring spawning (rainbows and cutthroat). They’ll certainly eat, just not the delicate tidbits ruling the fly-fisherman’s world during summer.

I owe most of my early-season success to the rough and tumble stonefly nymphs. These are big, unruly patterns filled with fuse wire that strike like a bullet with even a moment’s hesitation in casting stroke. They are further complicated by split-shot and disruptive strike indicators buoyant enough to keep heavy payloads riding rough currents while also revealing subtle takes inherent to colder water.

I can’t say with certainty if ugly stonefly patterns work due to match-the-hatch imitation, or simply because of their more readily visible dimensions (standard-issue nymph patterns such as Hare’s Ears, Zug-Bugs and Prince Nymphs can also prove killing in #10 to #8). Regardless, they work.

Later in the season, while working around an ongoing hatch, the stone patterns I present prove highly realistic, while my high-water offerings are essentially throw-away flies. I heed no recipe; my spring patterns are a chenille-based combination of Bitch Creek/Montana Nymph — always with rubber legs — and mostly tied with attention-grabbing highlights in chartreuse, orange or yellow. Still, black’s always the basis of a productive turbid-water stone. I tie them “simple” because they work, and because in this type of bottom-bouncing fishing I might sacrifice a dozen flies a day and it hurts less than losing the intricate incarnations.

Rigging up is simple: A stout 9-foot leader in about 8-pound test (trout aren’t line-shy now, and the extra tensile strength aids in dislodging snagged flies), rigged with a dropper about a foot above point, and two to four BB-sized split-shot (depending on water depth and speed) above, which seems to result in fewer tangles. For strike indicators I make my own puff bobbers from polypropylene yarn (treated with dry-fly dope), tied double the size of summer indicators, or use an inch-diameter salmon corker wedged in place with a piece of toothpick.

The point fly is always a stone, normally from #4 to #2, the dropper holding an egg pattern (#12 chartreuse; its function is mostly to bring attention to the stone pattern), or one of the aforementioned nymphs. I sling this mess from my rocket-launching Wild Water 10-foot 6-weight rod.