Mar 24, 2018 4 min read

I realize it is still March and the weather is typical for this time of the year. Well, much like Hawaii, it is consistent. It is consistently terrible.

Still, my thoughts turn to fishing. I like to crappie fish and I like to trout fish. Come to think of it, there is hardly a fish that I don’t like to find on the end of my line. For now, to be honest, I find myself day dreaming about the trout and the crappie.

In a normal year, I would have caught crappie by now but this seems like an abnormal spring, hardly conducive to fishing. First it is cold, then it rains and then back to cold. Remember Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day? Well that is us as we wake up each morning to the same terrible weather day after day. But we can find some relief by checking the creel or bag that holds our fishing paraphernalia.

Just the other day someone asked me what size hook I use when fishing for trout. That is easy. I use either a size 8 or a size 6 in normal fishing conditions. In extremely clear water, I sometimes use a smaller hook. The person asking said his problem was that last year he lost a lot of fish as the hook came out. Would an 8 hold better than a 6 or is the reverse true? I can’t say. It depends on a few things, I think. There are days when the fish are half-hearted about striking the bait or lure and they hit either a bit wary or not hungry for your bait. These fish are often just barely hooked and get loose. That is little more than a “George-ism” because who can truly say what a fish thinks? But the same could be said about trout that chase and tap my spinner and don’t get hooked. To be honest, when bait-fishing I like a size 8 the best and it is what I find myself using more than any other size.

When I’m spinning a medium to small stream, I like to use a spinner in the 1/8 ounce range. I like to carry a variety of colors and I never go fishing with only one favorite spinner. After all, some of them are still decorating streamside trees and bushes. Many trips to a trout stream finds me leaving 3 spinners either lost in the stream or in a low tree branch I hadn’t seen. My advice is take enough bait or lures so as not to end the day early. Then, of course, you might have other days when you won’t lose a thing, but if you don’t go prepared you know inevitably it will happen.

Part of the reason for the lost lures is that, I have learned, one must get the lure close to the cover to attract a big trout to it. This means fishing close to the lure grabber! There are times when the trout rises from its hiding place and it follows the spinner without hitting it. If the fish persists on teasing the angler, just change to a hook and a worm. Or better still, switch poles to a pre-rigged bait pole. Drift the bait to the spot you have located with the spinner and he probably will take it. The artificial has located the trout and the live bait has attracted it to the hook.

There are a few special conditions to be considered when fishing for trout. When fishing one of those small clear streams that hold a population of native brook trout, the most important thing is to approach the water without being spotted. Remember, if you can see the trout it can see you. These little brookies will disappear when spotting a person or shadow on the water. More than once I have approached a small trout stream on my hands and knees. Also, watch what you wear. Neutral colors that blend into the background cover work best.

I think I am like so many of my readers this week. I am watching the snow fall and thinking of fishing.