By Luke Campbell:
With Spring officially in gear, we checked in with some of the U.S. guides in our Fisher Guiding network about what to start catching or look forward to around their home waters. Read on for a sampling of reports from experts on the water, and if you’re interested in a different location, head to FisherGuiding.com to search for guides around you or in an area you want to visit. Any guide listed can be messaged for more information about trips and peak dates. We hope you’re as excited as us for fishing to continue heating up, and guides are looking forward to hearing from you to start planning your trips!
Key West, Florida:
Overall, the outlook for this Spring is really positive and I’m looking forward to it. Pretty much everything in Key West is open and the island has been really busy recently. Fishing has been awesome since the storm. There are plenty of blackfin tuna offshore, and some sailfish are starting to show up. In the backcountry, the tarpon season is shaping up to be great. We already had tarpon arrive and when the weather has been warm enough, they have been eating well. – Capt. Jamie Connell, Flying Fish Charters
Catskills, New York:
Catskills, New York:The season for trout in New York opens April 1st, and this year, Catskills businesses are partnering together on events to bring fishers to the area with Catskills Trout Tales. Here’s a preview from Todd Spire, Esopus Creel Guide Service: “For many, there is a particular beauty in being first on the water as the trout begin to think of spring that is well worth cold fingers and toes. It is a particularly beautiful time in these mountains, full of quiet beauty. Historically, when the season opened, creeks such as the Esopus would be lined with hundreds of hopeful anglers. We’re not sure they caught too much that day, but it was an event not to be missed. With Catskills Trout Tales, we’re hoping to bring back the tradition of a grand fishing season opening day.” Be on the lookout for more news about Catskills Trout Tales on the Fisher Guiding blog, and book dates now to fish the beginning of the season.
Northwoods Wisconsin:
The fishing this Spring looks to be great. It should be a real late ice-out which tends to put the fish into a very active spawning pattern around our opener on May 5th. We’ve had a lot of snow this winter, so hopefully the flowages and reservoirs should be at peak water levels. I’m looking forward to a very busy summer as the Governor’s walleye initiative stocking program seems to be working. Our walleye populations have been on the rise the past few years. – Bruce Gruening, Bruce Gruening Guide Service
Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho:
I am super excited about our Spring fishery this year. Right now, we are chasing trophy Walleye on the Snake River and will be doing that for the next couple months. We will also be doing some oversized sturgeon fishing in Hells Canyon. We will start fishing spring c
hinook in late April or early May on the Columbia starting around the Drano Lake area, and we will finish up in late May on Idaho’s Clearwater River. After that, we will chase more walleye, sturgeon and smallies until mid June, then I will head to Lake Roosevelt for keeper sturgeon and walleye. I am super pumped about this fishery. I fished it last year with tremendous success and can’t wait to go back! I expect the next three months to be a barn burner for multiple species. FISH ON! – Adam Hocking, Steel Dreams Fishing Guide Service
San Diego, California:
San Diego Bay is on fire right now for all the different species: bass, bonefish, halibut and all the bay sharks. This is kid wonderland and the whole family can have a blast. If you’re looking for a calm water charter, come enjoy the beautiful San Diego Bay because this is the trip for you.
The offshore fishing continues with limit style fishing for nice-sized rock cod, long cod, and yellowtail. We have been fishing south of Point Loma in 200’ to 300’ for the rockfish with dropper loop rigs and 2 hook canyon rigs with sardines and squid. The yellowtail popped up in big numbers a few days and it was all yo-yo iron and surface iron type fishing; we had limits two different days. The last two weeks I’ve been booked solid and most days was limit style fishing. If you want to experience this stuff, it’s time to get on the calendar! – Capt. Alan Clowers, Any Minute Fishing Charter
Colorado’s Front Range:
It has been an early Spring in Colorado’s Front Range. The unseasonably mild winter led to some consistent fishing throughout the months of January and February. Across the state, Rainbow trout are currently spawning, so be sure to watch out for redds and leave paired up fish alone. As tempting as it can be to cast at these fish, it can be detrimental to the long-term productivity of the river. We are still below average on snowpack for 2018, so runoff should not be too intense this year.
But, we really could use some more snow to keep those rivers running high in August and September! Fishing should just continue to improve over the next few weeks as Blue Wing Olives start to hatch and fish move into the riffles to feed! – Danny Frank, Colorado Trout Hunters
Luke Campbell is Co-Founder and CMO of Fisher Guiding, the modern platform for booking fishing trips. Discover, book, and review trips with guides around the world, or sign up today for free as a guide to list your trips and reach more anglers.