Back in February, after a quick warm up, I wrote that spring came early. What was I thinking? Fast forward to mid-April and we are still waiting for spring to arrive. Snow and cold continue to harass much of the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. The only people happy about the weather are steelhead fishermen, as the season may extend into early May. River temperatures are only in the mid-40’s. Compare this to last year when the water was already hitting the mid-50’s. And, after a big rain event last weekend the rivers probably got the last big push of fresh chrome, almost assuring good catch rates for the next two weeks. I may take one more shot at some chrome, but I can’t wait to shed some layers and go after my favorite species….smallmouth bass.
Eager to take a topwater popper and a hard fighter make smallies my favorite species to target.
(Click on image for larger view.)
Last year at this time I was already getting into some smallies, and while there are random catches they really haven’t turned on yet. The lake run has begun to trickle in, but a nice bump in temperatures, along with a warm rain, would help get the smallies up the river. I can’t get the thought of wet wading and throwing poppers out of my head. I keep telling myself that those warm mornings are right around the corner. I just wish Mother Nature would hurry up!
Go out and fool a fish!
