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Scott McGill
2014-04-13 11:54:16

Spring Power Fishing


It really is beginning to feel like spring, even up north in the polar vortex demolition path. It was a long harsh winter in north western Ontario but the sun is shining, the ice is melting, and the creeks are flowing. As I wrap up exams and pack up my gear and get ready for the move back to southern Ontario I can't help but get excited about some of my favourite early spring fishing opportunities. As a young lad it was spring that brought the first opportunity to hop on a bicycle and go hit my favourite road side ditches and creeks, or wander through the forest with my German Sheppard to seek out new undercuts, pools, and down trees that held one of my favourite fish “ the Brook Trout. Albeit my tactics have changed since I was younger, they have probably been most influenced by my other spring passion “ Panfish! I developed a love (and taste) for these little buggers during my time at Fleming College in Lindsay. Friends and I would hit the backs of reed filled coves when we were able to get on the water, and when there wasn't a boat to hop in we would congregate on the many marinas that boasted perfect docks and boat slips. As temperatures warm in the spring sun, panfish including Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, and Crappie will group up in these areas and attack baits like it's going out of style! Many people employ the classic micro soft baits under slip floats, although this is only half the battle when it comes to filling your live well. For Brook Trout I fish the same micro plastics just not a slip float, I pitch the micro plastics into under cuts or drift them through pools on a semi-slack line. Micro tubes are my favourite and Imperium Baits has a new line of these known as the Fly Weight Micro Tubes and trust me these little scrapers are up to the challenge! For the best action and the most bites make sure you fish these baits on 6lb test or smaller. The other half of the battle I was referring to is power fishing. Yes, I am employing another "bass tactic to catch other species. Micro crank baits are a ton of fun to fish and I had some killer days last fall fishing them in northern BC for all kinds of species. The H3F Hornet and IT3F Tiny crankbaits from Salmo are perfect for these applications. The Hornet especially has great deflection as you work it through and over cover. While fishing it in rivers I could smash it off rocks and rip up sand and gravel, then as I would pause it and let it float up past the cover it would get absolutely inhaled by Bull Trout, Rainbows, and Arctic Grayling. This tactic can be used to cover water in your favourite panfish areas as well as in your favourite creeks for Brookies! Both species are aggressive and regularly feast on small minnows so I guarantee you they won't have a problem jacking your Salmo Hornets and Tiny's. Make sure you use the proper gear and specifically micro-braid or 6lb or less mono or fluorocarbon so you can launch these small baits when you need to. Power fishing is a great way to locate those pods of Bluegill and Crappies, once you find them you can slow down with an Imperium Fly Weight micro tube and pick them apart. In all honesty you could probably just keep catching them on the Salmo crankbaits until they stop biting, then make the switch to plastics and clean up the area. For stocked Brook Trout lakes where you are more likely to get into Brook Trout and Rainbows that exceed the 1-1.5lb mark I like to cover water using small suspending jerkbaits like a 6SP Sting from Salmo. Make sure you experiment with your pause lengths as I have found this to be critical when fishing Brook Trout with jerkbaits, especially in colder water. You may think that because of the cold water they aren't willing to chase a minnow or that you need to pick up a fly rod “ no way. I have had to painstakingly make a slow jerk (more like a pull) then leave the bait suspending for up to 10 seconds. They may not seem like a long time but if you have fished a jerkbait you know it can be hard to slow down this much. After 10 seconds of it just sitting there, all of a sudden the line will jump and you set hook on a scrappy cold water Brookie! If you really want to put the odds in your favour don't forget about scent. BioEdge fishing products make a wide range of scents that can suit any of these baits and any of these situations. Try combing these three tactics into an all out assault on your favourite spring species and I guarantee you will catch more fish and have a lot of fun doing it.
1 anglers like this post
Apr 14, 2014 14/04/14
David W. Reid
Good read Scott, the Salmos and Imperium Baits are a great one, two punch in the spring and year long presentations
Apr 13, 2014 13/04/14
Gervais Corriveau
You,are going to have a blast with the Salmo Frisky.!!
Apr 13, 2014 13/04/14
James Hill
Man am I excited for spring! Been waiting for a loooong time!!!
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