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An online space for outdoorsmen from CNY and beyond. Tell us about the one you caught or the one that got away.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Anglers look forward to opening of trout season

Trout Season Opens: Nature often plays an April Fool’s joke on anglers and it appears that it might happen again this weekend when the trout season officially opens on April 1. After a couple weeks of beautiful unseasonably warm weather and the local trout streams in great condition had gotten many people excited about the season opener, colder weather returned. The prediction of showers literally put a slight damper on the enthusiasm.

But regardless of what the weather is like on Sunday, a lot of fishermen will be hitting the streams. Trout streams should be in good condition, especially compared to most years.

General advice will still be the same. Fish slowly and deep since trout probably won’t be active and are likely to be holding near bottom cover. Natural baits including worms, nightcrawlers, salted minnow or artificial baits like Power Nuggets should work best.

Those who prefer to use artificial lures will probably rely on flies like Wooly Buggers or Muddler Minnows or spinning lures like Mepps Aglia. These can be worked slowly along bottom cover and rocks. Even if the water is warm, the clear conditions mean that trout will not stray far from bottom cover so you need to put the lures in their face.

Undercut banks or root masses in the stream are typically where trout hide out during the daytime. These can be difficult to fish and you are likely to get snagged or lose some hooks but this is where the fish, especially larger ones, like to hide.

Stream vegetation, except in areas of evergreen thickets is going to be non-existent so anglers will be highly visible to trout. You will need to keep a low profile or use existing cover to break up your background. Consider wearing camouflage or drab colors and fishing upstream so most trout will be facing away from you. These precautions are particularly important on clear days and when fishing smaller streams.

Light line or fluorocarbon leaders will help avoid spooking fish if the water is low and clear. Use a minimum of split shot just to keep your bait bouncing along the bottom with the current.

Currently the forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures in the 50s. Maybe we will be pleasantly surprised with fishing action. But in any case it will be a spring tonic just to get outside and go fishing again.

SHORT CASTS

DISPATCH FISHING FORUM: On March 31, I will be at the Dispatch’s Office at 130 Broad St. discussing fishing from 12 -1 p.m. Feel free to stop in and ask questions about local fishing opportunities, tips on trout fishing or anything that interests you.

CLAYTON TAKE A KID FISHING CONTEST: The 35th annual Take-A-Kid Fishing Contest will be held in Clayton-1000 Islands, NY on Sunday, June 3, 2012. The event is sponsored by the Clayton Fishing Guides Association, in cooperation with the Clayton Chamber of Commerce.

The names of 48 young anglers will be drawn from entries received from the Niagara Frontier to Long Island and the Pennsylvania border to the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The young anglers will fish with one of four members of the Clayton Fishing Guides Association, 24 in the morning and 24 in the afternoon, on Sunday, June 3. The two young anglers catching the largest fish on each of the 8 trips will win top quality fishing rod & reel outfits. Soft drinks for the boats will be furnished compliments of Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Watertown and snacks by Gray's wholesale of Clayton.

Young anglers can enter the drawing by visiting www.1000islands-clayton.com/fishing between April 1 and 16. Entry deadline is midnight April 16.

Postal entries are also allowed. They should be submitted on a post card and include the youngster's name, complete mailing address, telephone number, date of birth, age, the name of the publication they saw the contest announcement in and the name of the outdoor writer who wrote the story. Address postal entries to Take-A-Kid Fishing Contest, 36418 Pelo Rd., Clayton, NY 13624. Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than April 16. Only one entry per person will be allowed. Duplicate entries will result in all entries for that person being discarded.

FUTURE ANGLERS OUTREACH: The Future Anglers Outreach program provides a truly rewarding way to start off the fishing season. Nearly a decade ago one angler realized the damaging potential technology could inflict on the environment. Not from pollution, but from the fact he saw kids playing more video fishing games than actually fishing. These kids are the next generation, and without any interaction with the outdoors who would be left to care about the environment?

Something had to be done, so six years ago a group of friends set out to replace one day of kids on video games for one day fishing. They started what would become the Future Anglers Outreach Program. Since that first day, the program has gathered tremendous support, gained national attention, and has provided hundreds of rods and reels free of charge. Perhaps the greatest success is watching other events starting or adopting similar programs, all with a common goal to provide that first day of fishing memories.

The program differs from derbies in that it offers simple instruction to young anglers and their parents. The one day event’s sole purpose is to give the basic fishing skills to the entire family so fishing can be a successful experience that they will continue to do on a regular basis. All kids receive a rod and reel, bait and tackle to keep free of charge along with food and drinks to all attendees.

This year’s event will be held at Marion Manor Marina, Oneida Lake on Sunday April 29. We need your help with a donation of time to reach our 2012 goal to provide a free day of fishing to 100 area children. Please take the time to consider helping in the following three ways: volunteers, participants, and recruiters.

We need as many avid fisherman as possible to help with the event so we can hopefully we can have one instructor to every child. There are also other tasks involved. If you are the parent or guardian of a child that wants to fish, please sign up. Remember that this is free for kids ages 5 – 12. If you know of a deserving family or child we appreciate you spreading the word and help us finding candidates for this, and future events. For more information or to register contact Ted Dobs at ted@fishny.com.

YOUTH AND WOMEN TURKEY HUNTS: Many youngsters or women want to join in the excitement of turkey hunting but have not had the opportunity or do not have family members to teach them. To help correct this situation the Oneida County Federation of Sportsmen and the Environmental Conservation Officers are teaming up to provide the opportunity.

For those people who sign up there will be different Safety Days of instruction, marksmanship, etc. led by certified hunter safety instructors, along with skilled women mentors who have conducted workshops on turkey hunting. These will be held the weekend before the actual hunt with mentors. Participants will be accompanied by ECOs on their hunt. The Youth Hunt will be on the weekend of April 21-22. The Women’s Day will be in mid season.

Eligible youngsters are ages 12–15, holding a junior hunting license and a turkey permit. Youngsters must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. All normal rules apply. For more information or to register contact Scott Faulkner (829-3588) by April 1.

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