By Aaron Kephart
This has been one of the weirdest late winter/early spring periods I can remember, in terms of weather patterns. I actually fished a few days in February in shorts and flip flops, but then had to break out the thermals, hot hands, and heater buddy again.
I watched water temperatures in one creek arm go from 37 degrees, to 66 degrees, back down to 44 degrees in the span of 3 weeks. Luckily, April is traditionally the month where everything levels back out (not to mention herring should be spawning in shallow water), and is probably my single favorite month of the year to fish for multiple species on our Murphy area lakes. With that in mind, I thought I would do a brief species-by-species breakdown in terms of what to expect this month.
Walleye, Crappie, & Trout
We have been catching a good number of big walleye as they make their late winter/early spring spawning run. By the time this goes to publication these fish will be done with this annual ritual and will be setting up on the main lake, feeding primarily on the herring spawn. April and May are my two favorite months to pursue this super elusive, but exceptionally tasty, fish. The crappie bite will also improve dramatically with the rising water levels and temperatures, coupled with the clearing water. The big brown trout should also be pursuing the shallow herring and become more accessible.
Smallmouth, Largemouth, and Spotted Bass
The smallmouth and largemouth will be thinking about spawning early in the month, and will be looking for a last big meal before they go on the beds. This can be an absolutely fantastic time to catch a big one (we have caught largemouth to 9 pounds and smallmouth to 6 pounds, recently).
As a side note, my guide service is 100 percent catch and release on largemouth and smallmouth (we have very few good smallmouth fisheries left, and I want to do my part to preserve the ones we have), so if you are interested in a meat trip please let me know in advance so we can focus on another species. Spotted bass tend to spawn a bit later, and April is definitely my favorite month to target them. There is nothing quite like catching 30 or 40 big, hard fighting prespawn spots in a morning of fishing, and it is a definite possibility this month.
Stripers and Hybrids
The stripers and hybrids, traditionally speaking, will be shallow and hungry this month. Last April was the best I have seen for topwater stripers, and this April should be just as good, depending on the weather. We can also pick up numbers later in the day on herring. The interesting thing about them in April and May is that we not only catch a lot of stripers by specifically targeting them, but we also tend to pick up quite a few as a bycatch while pursuing other species (especially walleye).
If you are interested in pursuing any of the species mentioned above on one of our beautiful Murphy area lakes, or have questions about any other species, please give me a call at 865-466-1345. I look forward to hearing from you!
Aaron Kephart is the Owner of Mountain Lakes Guide Service. To book a guided trip on one of the Murphy area mountain lakes, contact him by phone at 865-466-1345 or by email at mtnlakesguide@outlook.com Check out his website at http://www.mtnlakesguideservice.com and catch him on facebook@mountainlakesguideservice
