Tips for Beginners: March & April

The beginning of the season is an excellent time to gain confidence. The fish will usually follow one of a limited number of feeding patterns, so the choices you must make are between a few simple options.

Generally the water is cold – it will be this year! – and the larger the lake, the longer it is before it warms enough for the trout to feed really vigorously. In sheltered, small lakes, like those at Larkwood, fish will rest in a very shallow surface layer of warmed water. This makes it easy to put your fly too deep, underneath the fish.

Generally however expect to find the fish lying close to the bottom in relatively shallow water. As in sheltered lakes, the surface water warms first but wind pushes it onto the downwind bank. It cannot pile up, so recirculates as undertows, well-defined currents that run back upwind beneath the surface – look in ‘Reservoir Trout Bank Angler's Guide' for more information. Find the undertows and with few exceptions you have found the trout at this time of year.

Learn to find undertows, or other warmed water movements, and learn to cast against the wind – it really is not difficult. You can then be confident you will find fish.
In cold water, an inducement usually pays off. Lures based on black & green, white & green or black & orange, and variations of Damsel Nymphs very often attract takes. Relatively small sized lures made from good mobile material (marabou, etc) are quite easy to cast and can be fished quite slowly with good success on many occasions.

If you prefer to ‘match the hatch', the early hatches from lakes are very largely of midges, whose hatching pupae are imitated by the numerous ‘buzzer nymph' patterns. Fishing buzzers is easy. Use a floating fly line and as long a leader as you can comfortable manage. Aim to fish the nymph(s) slowly, or slower! On a long leader with little movement they will usually sink to the bottom. When you find how long before they touch bottom, leave them to do so, then move them slowly just to keep them swimming. As the water warms through April, then the trout will rise in the water when plenty of midges hatch and you need not take such care to get the nymph(s) down.

Alternatively, and especially with lures, a slow-sinking fly line may give better results. Again, look in ‘Reservoir Trout Bank Angler's Guide' for advice on controlling depth with sinking lines. The ability to vary and find the best combination of Depth and Speed for your fly is a key skill for fly fishing.