There is many spring rituals and in the fishing fraternity it is the run of the rainbow trout. It's only after a long cold winter that the ritual of spring trout fishing heightens. If you're not an avid ice angler, then the old rod and reel has been packed away since last fall and it's just itchin' to get back into the world of water sports.
For me, the spring trout run is deeply embedded in my gut. Since as far back as I can remember, my Dad took me north to the Golden Triangle of Ontario in order to do battles with the Rainbows as they entered the rivers to spawn. We never missed a year together in pursuit of the spring ritual and it was only until his passing that I found myself lacking the enthusiasm to do the jaunt myself.
Well, as I right this article, we are in the midst of a February thaw and my attentions are turned toward the calender. I am searching my shift schedules throughout the month of April to see when I could make that trek north that I've missed for a couple years.
Most streams in Ontario open for trout fishing the last Saturday in April. Many stream mouths are open all year long. The great lakes themselves are open all year long except for a couple of areas that are closed to protect struggling populations.
When Dad took me north in my younger years, we always went for the opener of stream fishing. It meant that we would stand shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others anglers vying for a special spot on the stream banks. We looked to rivers such as the Sydenham in Owen Sound and often fished right into Harrison Park. Other rivers included the Beaver in Thornbury which was the best entertainment around. If the fish weren't hitting, often the fisherman were... sometimes each other! What a zoo that place was. Often our weekend would be rounded out with a trip to small tributaries of the Saugeen in search of Brook Trout. Those creeks were less crowded and often on private land.
The Saugeen offers about 5 miles of year round open fishing and smart anglers try to miss opening day. The Beaver in Thornbury also offers year round fishing at the mouth while Georgian Bay is open year round as well.
The Saugeen in Southampton is an excellent choice. Not only is there plenty of room to fish, there is plenty of fish and a variety of waters. Denny's Dam attracts a lot of attention and is the limit of pre-season open water. Fish that enter the river will often work their way to the dam and stage there until oxygen rich run off water begins flowing with spring rains and thaws. The fish then seek the ladders to transverse the dam. When they enter the ladder system, they are often intercepted by a giant cage net. The cage is manually raised by the MNR or members of the Sydenham Sportsmen Association and the fish counted before release. This is also when eggs may be taken from fish for local hatcheries. There is a board at Denny's Dam indicating how many fish have been lifted over the dam via the ladder cage. It is usually my first stop so that I can get a good indication of were the fish are in their migration cycle. If many fish have been lifted, I will try my luck nearer the dam and usually in the faster runs of river between the deeper pools. If not many fish have been lifted, I usually go downstream nearer the mouth and fish the deeper pools for the trout.
There are a variety of ways to fish for river Rainbows. My favourite is to drift spawn bags made of salmon eggs or trout eggs. If the waters are clean and clear, I make my spawn sacks no larger than a the size of a dime. Often times I will only use one single egg on a small number 14 hook. If the water is tainted or stained I will try a larger egg sack and even make some florescent coloured ones. You can die eggs any colour you wish or use a few pieces of coloured Styrofoam in your sack. With just enough split shot to get my offering to the bottom, I drift it through the deeper pools striking at anything that may be a hit from a fish.
There are times that I use a float to keep depth control of the drifting spawn. If a number of anglers are fishing the same pool, it makes it a little easier for everyone to see where the other guy is drifting. This stops the possibility of tangling into someone else. If there are many large boulders on the bottom and I continually snag up a drift set, I will switch to a float system that is adjusted to stay nearly on bottom. For beginners, a float system is often preferred over a straight drift set. The straight drift set does take some time to master.
On the south side of the Saugeen, the bank is quite high. I usually stand on the high bank with a good set of Polaroids on and spot the fish before I head to the river. It's like cheating or something but it works great. It really ticks off the guys who have been fishing for an hour or so and you get into a battle with a Bow shortly after you arrive. There is also a bit of conservation minded plot to spotting the fish as well. I've watched females make their Redd (nests) and the males do their thing. It's great education and I didn't try to catch them until they were done reproducing their species.
A variation of the above is to use a nightcrawler. Hook the crawler once or twice through the head and drift it by quarter casting it into the current. Many times, the big bows will strike at something a little different if many anglers are fishing the same waters with spawn. Give it a try!
There's a few notes on drift fishing and wading that will increase your success. When you wade into the waters, you become part of the fishes world. If you stand in one spot long enough (and the fish are in the river) you will actually see fish (trout or suckers) swimming past your legs. I've had many fish actually brush up against me. You don't have to make long casts for drifting. Sometimes the fish may be closer than you think. Actually, longer casts result in less fish caught, There is so much stretch in some mono lines that you can't get a good hook set when a fish strikes. The first time that fish goes air born, he's gone!
Never approach a potential fishing spot from upstream. The fish are facing forward into the current and may see you coming. Even if the don't spook, you will likely kick up a lot of sediment that will travel into the same are you wish to fish in. It will take a few minutes to clear up. Try fishing from shore at first, if you can before wading out into the water. You may find out that you don't have to freeze your legs to catch fish!
Aside from the drifting technique which I usually use most often, I will at times quarter cast a spinner into the current and let it drift through a hole or riffle while slowly reeling it in. I can't say my success has been great with lures in rivers for trout but then again 99% of my time I spend drifting spawn or crawlers. But I have seen many seasoned anglers catch some big lovely Bows with small spinners. Depth control is of the utmost with hard lures in moving waters. You can't fish them too high off bottom or the fish just won't take it. If you add too many split shot to the line, you will end up snagged in the rocks. After you loose half a dozen $5 spinners, you might loose your patience.
Drifting spawn is the best of the best ways to tag into a spring Bow. Drifting is effective anywhere in Ontario and Canada. I have successfully drifted for Bows in nearly all major rivers in Ontario including warm water discharges at Hydro Generating Plants.
