Get Ready for Open Water!
Get Ready For Open Water!
By Mike Frisch
I must admit that March can be a bit of a trying time for this angler. I love being on the ice during this time chasing crappies and bluegills, but sunnier, warm spring days also have me longing for the first spring “boat” trips of the year too. Unfortunately, those trips are probably a few weeks off yet. Nevertheless, there are some things I try to do every year during March to help ensure that I am ready when the first open-water fishing opportunity presents itself.
Tackle preparation
Being a multi-species angler who fishes walleyes, panfish, and large & smallmouth bass has its challenges when it comes to having the right gear and, just as importantly, keeping it organized. Not only do I separate my tackle by species, but I also separate it by lure type within a species. That means lots of tackle boxes and, by season’s end, often many “less than tidy” tackle boxes!
Now is the time of year when I go through each box, reorganize it, and re-stock it with needed lures and components. I would much rather take the time to do this now, than to be rushed to get it done when open-water starts appearing. Or, worse yet, to be on the season’s first walleye fishing trip and find that my favorite crankbait from last year, the one that I just lost to a hungry northern pike, is also the only one I had!
Rod/Reel/Line preparation
Getting tackle organized and re-stocked are good tasks to complete now. Other jobs I like to do now involve my rods and reels. Now is a good time to clean and lubricate reels if you didn’t get that done last fall. Plus, I also pull all the line from my reels and respool with fresh line before the season starts. Fresh line has less line memory and is usually more manageable. And, respooling with new fishing line greatly decreases the odds of a nicked or weakened spot in the line that could cause the first fish of the season to break off!
Another task that can reduce the chances of a lost fish, is inspecting each rod and it’s individual line guides for broken or chipped guides. More than one trophy fish swam back to the depths because the fishing line contacted the sharp edge of a damaged line guide.
Incidentally, if a new rod or two is in your plans, now is a great time for that purchase before retailer inventories get “picked over” which happened last year. Last spring, I wrote of the new Lew’s Speed Stick walleye rods that I was excited to use after sampling some the previous fall. This year, Lew’s has introduced a line of bass technique specific rods designed by top tournament angler Kevin Van Dam. The KVD series features premium IM8 graphite rod blanks and quality components. And, like the walleye rods, the bass rods come at very affordable price points too.
Trip Planning
Organizing and purchasing new tackle and rod/reel/line preparation are good tasks to complete. Another thing that I do during March is to review some of the “fishing notes” I kept from previous seasons. I realize not every angler keeps records, but now is a good time to reflect back on last season, and previous seasons, in an effort to plan productive trips for this season.
For instance, last year in March I realized that I had missed out on one of my favorite spring bites the prior year – walleyes fished using spot-tail shiners – because of other commitments and fishing plans. I made a point to save a couple days for the spring “shiner bite” last May and was rewarded with some good fishing action!
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Good open-water fishing action is still a bit in the future. Now is a good time, however, to prepare for the coming season. In fact, taking care of some of the tasks from above now, should help guarantee that you’ll be more ready to capitalize on the first opportunities when open-water appears!
And, as always, remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure.
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series. Visit www.fishingthemidwest.com to see all things Fishing the Midwest.
Photo – The author with a Crater Jig walleye. Completing the tasks detailed in this story can help ensure that the season’s first big fish makes it in the boat!