Well, that’s a pic of yours truly somewhere in the ‘90s for proof you can catch fish in the cold. That did not happen last week with having to reschedule two trips and taking one out on the coldest windy day of the week. I think the fish were sitting by a fire somewhere as we wished we were.
We did find 57° water up the War Eagle arm on Beaver Lake. These last two cold fronts proved me wrong on staying warm after April 15. Looks like one more light one and the spawn will be in full swing for stripers and white bass. I would love to see a real spring shower that starts and ends with a south wind, not a north.
Speaking of April 15, snagging season for spoonbill is now open below Beaver Dam. They need water to get there, so it’s best when they’re generating. Even if you don’t fish it’s a sight to see these big fish that push over 100 pounds. If you’re out for a drive, walk down below the dam and look in that little cove of soft water to your left to see what’s tied up there. If you see an older gentleman there, talk with him and I bet you can hear stories of fishing these waters before the dams were here. When it was a big old river.
Fisherman love to share, but the best I ever met were our older snaggers who were the best about handing someone their pole and saying give it a try. If you do, make sure you have a license, trout stamp and read the regulations.
Well, I guess I will end this saying spring is here again after this weekend. Go upstream looking for whites and stripers. Also check the flats where the sun is shinning, you should find some bass there, also.
Start looking for the crappie getting closer to the shoreline brush. The temps will only go one way now and so far the only fish I know of that have spawned are the walleye that are moving back here closer to Beaver and the flats at Holiday Island.