Trout Season Opening

This Saturday, April 3rd, is the opening of trout season for our area. With predicted gorgeous weather and the holiday weekend, expect the streams to be packed. If you know of any hidden holes that may not get stocked as well as the big well-know holes, they may be your best bet.

Also, these past few rainstorms dumped about 3-5 inches of rain depending on your section onto already saturated ground, so expect the creeks to be extremely high! Consider a possible change in your presentations to adapt to this. If you weren't planning on using natural bait-then switch. Sight fishing is going to be out of the question in most streams and creeks, but not so much in the lakes. Your best bet for this Saturday and Sunday is to add extra split shots to keep the bait close to the bottom and use the smelliest stuff you can find.

Use these tips to be successful this weekend:

• Us natural baits such as corn, cheese, and bread
• Keep your bait at the bottom as much as possible
• Fish structure in fast currents- fish will be hanging behind these and waiting for the food to come to them
• Consider using Powerbait if all else fails
• Stay away from lures unless the water is calm and shallow
• Avoid the crowds that this weekend is sure to attract due to weather and the holiday
  

Help the PFBC stock

Now that the regular trout season is closed, the PFBC is beginning their stocking for the 2010 season. If you want to be part of the action, visit their website to view the stocking schedule. Helping out insures that: you know how many are going into which holes, you know how big they are, and most importantly that they will be more spread out in the creek.

When it's only the PFBC Officers, trout tend to be stocked near bridges and pull-offs only, because they have many stops and don't have the time to spread the fish out. The more help there is, the more likely fish will be stocked in different holes and therefore not get fished out right away. Stocking is a lot more fun than many believe, and it never feels like work.

Visit the PFBC stocking schedule for dates and locations.

Fishing isn't over yet!

This may be the worst time of the year for fishermen. Lakes are frozen over still and trout season ended on February 28th. But there are some sections open for fly-fishing and artificial lures, such as the section near Shedder Road and a stretch in Valley Forge Park, as well as a few delayed harvest sections. Visit this link and make sure you select Chester County for a list of all Delayed Harvest sections in our area. Due to the snow, the original stocking dates were delayed, so these spots have been stocked as recently as March 1st. Take advantage of them before everyone else does!

Put a damper on Backlash

Sick and tired or bird nests in your baitcaster? Here's a tip from BassMasters that should help:

• Spool new braid on your reel
• In your back yard or somewhere off the water, cast as far as you can
• While the line is out, take a small strip of plastic tape and place it over your spool
• This will prevent your line from back-lashing past that point and will reduce the size and complexity of your next bird nest
  

Winter Bass Techniques

Here's some techniques to use for catching those sluggish winter bass for the serious fisherman whose willing to brave the weather.

• Use a flat-sided crankbait (with or without lip) that has a tight wobble and can reach deep depths. Bass are mostly going to be deep right now where the baitfish are hanging out.
  
• Fish submerged creek beds or old roads, fishing at the drop-offs on the edges.
• Try using soft plastic worms that will stand upright with a proper weight at the head, and let that bait fall to the deep parts of the lake. Let it sit there for a few seconds and then bounce and drag it towards you. The bite will most likely come on the pauses. Zoom Flukes with a jig-head also work well for this.
• If the water's cloudy or dirty from rain, use a dark colored large jig. The dark color will create a better silhouette and will actually be more visible than yellows or other bright colors.