Early May is Trout Time

This year has been different almost hot in March, low water in April and now cool and wet in May. The upside has been some of the best trout fishing I have experienced in many years. The Saint George River is still higher than I really like for comfortable wading. It did provide both brook and brown trout on my most recent trip there. A few mayflies had started to emerge but the fish were not feeding on the surface. Rather I had luck on streamer flies again.

The best fishing has been on the ponds. One of my fondest memories took place on a local pond many years ago with a client who has since passed away. We had been on a popular lake all day with no luck, I suggested that we stop and look at a small pond on the way back to his hotel. When we looked out on the little pond trout were rising everywhere. We spent the evening casting to and landing many many fish. We did not land one that took a fly after a dropped cast rising right through coils of fly line on the surface and clearing the water with the fly clearly in his jaw but no way to tighten the line. We stayed until it was too dark to see and were very late for supper.

Those times are here for the next few weeks as water temperatures and cloudy weather keep the trout on the pond surface. I enjoyed a similar evening on a pond this week paddling the canoe to rising pods of willing trout and sometimes following the little school for a distance and catching several before they disappeared.

Needless to say it is time for trout fishing, get out there.