Made the trek down to Lake Ontario to get the boat wet for the first time of 2010. Last year was my previous earliest date to have it in the water at March 27th, needless to say with the unreal weather we’ve had it made the 19th very do-able!
Brown Trout in the skinny water on light line and small planer boards was the gameplan. I use the Mini-Church boards. They are awesome at keeping baits away from the boat and track great for such a small board. I do make one adjustment to them as seen in the pic below. I swap out the thumbscrew they provide and replace it with a Nyloc nut. No fear of that screw backing off ever again which I have seen in the past with that provided thumbscrew.
For baits, I tend to always run 2 blades (spoons) and 2 minnow baits. Here’s an assortment of baits that I’ve done well with at this time of year. Being that we are working skinny water (under 10 feet of water) smaller cranks work well. With 2 blades and 2 cranks the fish will tell you what they want that day.
The key to being successful I’ve found at this time of year is two things. Finding the warmest water you can, even a degree or two can really make all the difference. The warmer water typically holds the majority of the baitfish hence the trout being right there with them! Also, you want to be in coloured water. Mudlines, green or stained water are key to locating fish. Paying attention to these two things will no doubt put more fish over the gunnel.
When we launched we found the water temp at 39 degrees. We hit our fish today in 41 degree water. It was a small pocket of warm water off of a creek mouth. Today’s wind really wreaked havoc on us, early on we nearly pulled the plug as it was getting real lumpy. This quick video gives you an idea what was thrown our way.
We fought it until mid-day and prevailed landing cookie cutter Browns. Blades were the ticket!
Around the noon hour the outer board fell back hard. I was on it and immediately felt weight, this was no cookie cutter! The fish stayed down the whole way in and when it presented itself my eyes nearly popped out of my head! A giant pink bar and rosy red cheek meant only one thing.
What a freakin fish! Personal Best Rainbow for me. Let 2010 open water season begin!
