FISHERMAN'S CALENDAR
SO—season opens (or opened); SC—season closes (or closed).
C—clear water; D—water dirty or roily; M—water muddy.
N—water at normal height; SH—slightly high; H—high; VH—very high; L—low; R—rising; F—falling.
WT50—water temperature 50°.
FG—fishing good; FF—fishing fair; FP—fishing poor; OVG—outlook very good; OG—outlook good; OF—outlook fair; OP—outlook poor
TROUT: NEW MEXICO: Streams now open continue M as snow water runs off. Upper Rio Grande first rate for rainbows and big browns, with hardware scoring heavily but flies taking some fish. FF at Bluewater and Clayton lakes. All streams and lakes well stocked for general SO May 1. OG.
PENNSYLVANIA: Northern tier and Allegheny forest streams SH, C, warming up after dismal opener. Small black May fly coming off in Potter County. Spring and Spruce creeks, Centre County N, touch milky, with salmon eggs and crane fly larvae only consistent producers until recent warm spell. Quill Gordons coming off limestoned water of Spruce, so dry flies should be productive there shortly. Harrisburg onlooker says dandy 26-inch, 6-pound 9-ounce rainbow was caught on worm in Yellow Breeches near Bowmansdale by Bill Kohler, Mechanicsburg. Governor George M. Leader was blanked opening day at Manada Creek. His Excellency snarled line, lamented: "The only thing I caught was the beginning of a cold." Muddy Creek, York County FF, with wet flies; a few trout feeding on surface. Royal Coachman taking brookies on Powell's Creek. Streams still H and WT45-50, but OG when they become L.
OREGON: OG for SO April 27 for 300,000 anxious anglers. Siletz, Siuslaw and Smith rivers will be favorites for boat fishermen trolling spinners and worms for coastal cutthroats, as will Tahkenitch, Siltcoos, Mercer and Tenmile lakes. Deschutes and Metolius rivers expected to be most populous waters for fly-and spin-fishermen. Rivers dropping presently and, barring extreme warmth and heavy rains, OG.
IDAHO: OG but continued rain could ruin fishing. Upper Snake came into own with single eggs and night crawlers rewarding anglers. Middle Fork of Salmon still yielding cutthroats on bait. Main Salmon FG, especially where feeders enter river.
CALIFORNIA: General SO April 27, with Crowley Lake, Owens River and June Lake loop promising to supply finest fishing on east slope of Sierra. If weather remains good, Upper Owens and Hot Creek should produce for flies. Snow pack 45% of average, so most lakes under 8,000 feet ought to be ice-free.
WASHINGTON: Season's largest to date, claims Bellingham observer, is 21-pound, 37-inch Mackinaw or lake trout taken from Deer Lake, Stevens County on nickel spoon fished some two feet off bottom by Jim McFarlane, Spokane. As expected, state's top lakes are Blue and Park, Grant County; Lawrence, Thurston County; Bay, Pierce County; Skagit's Clear, Sixteen, Erie, Pass, Hart and Cranberry. Traffic jam of boats still-fishing weekday evenings greatly favor single eggs flavored with cheese and sugar-cured eggs which gradually dissolve. Lake Whatcom trollers, working surface with long wobbler spoons, taking early-season cutts to 5 pounds or more. Sleeper is San Juan Island's lightly fished Egg Lake.
MONTANA: FVG on Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, with flies, lures and bait all proving effective. Carl Indendi, Livingston, took 8-pound 2-ounce rainbow on gray nymph out of Yellowstone. OG on these rivers until high water starts about May 15. General SO May 26.
WISCONSIN: Lower reaches of Brule H, M, but spy claims probable state record for Ted Hill, Herbster, who caught 13-pound 8-ounce rainbow in Cranberry River on salmon eggs.
MICHIGAN: OG for regular SO April 27, with water abnormally L on Lower Peninsula. OVG for limit hauls of rainbows in Lakes Pickerel, Blue, Starvation, Twins, Louise, and Glen. OP/F for spawners in Manistee, Au Gres, Au Sable, Betsy, Boardman and Platte. OVG for browns in Au Sable and Pere Marquette. OF for Upper Peninsula, with streams running H and SD from spring freshets, heavy snow packs on backwater swamps. Back roads drying but critical in many areas. FG along Lake Superior watershed in special early-opening streams, but OP on favored waters such as Big Huron due to lamprey weirs being energized.
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Weather warming fast, so OVG. Mohun Lake on Vancouver Island has been fishing well to fly and troll and is a good bet. Some fly hatches reported on streams, and a few trout coming in. OG now, OVG for May 10.
MINNESOTA: OG for rainbows on 23 north shore streams as ice is out. Best action is nearest Duluth, particularly on Knife. Spring run continues unabated, reports purling operative.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Brooktrout SO April 22. Best results will be found in small streams and ponds of southern state. Waters north of White Mountains still iced in.
NEW YORK: FG on West Branch of Ausable on bait and spinning tackle, artificial nymphs. Wet flies currently effective in Beaverkill and Willowemoc, the latter more L than N and extremely wadeable; WT50. Schoharie agent contends that that watercourse could provide best early-season fishing in half decade. Early Brown Stone wets have been top producers; WT50s. FF/G on Esopus and feeders, with uniformly sunny weather and a few scattered hatches rousing hopes. Several limits of wild browns reported on Chichester and Woodland Valley streams, with fish feeding heavily on caddis and small stone flies. Esopus H but F gradually; WT38-42.
CHANNEL BASS: NORTH CAROLINA: FVG in all sectors of Outer Banks, Oregon Inlet, Cape Hatteras, Hatteras Inlet, Ocracoke Island; OVG for remainder of season. Patricia Daves, Grosse Isle, Mich., brought to gaff 57-pounder while trolling in Oregon Inlet.
COBIA: MISSISSIPPI: Season launched off Gulf Coast last week, with first catches a trifle later than usual. Expectations of fish running up to 70, 80 pounds from now on throughout summer.
FLORIDA: Ling appearing off St. Petersburg's Gulf beaches in record numbers, mixed in with schools of king mackerel. Dr. Harold Porterfield, Tampa optometrist, boated 62-pounder on 30-pound-test monofilament. Cobia have proved tackle-busters in Egmont Channel area, and wary skippers have changed to tarpon gear to handle the stout attacks of these swift runners.
PACIFIC SALMON: CALIFORNIA: Experimental aerial stocking of 200,000 fingerling kokanee two years back in Lake Arrowhead began to pay dividends last week as limits of 10-inchers were taken by trouters. Best bait: worms behind trolled spinners with rubber band between line and leader to take up shock of strike without ripping hook out of tender-mouthed fish. During calm periods, schools of chinooks off Farrallones provided limits. Monterey Bay and Sacramento River picking up after lull.
BLACK BASS: CALIFORNIA: Official opening of new Santa Margarita Lake near San Luis Obispo lured 3,000 anglers. Top fish was 7½-pound largemouth taken by E. Whitney, Seaside. Shasta Lake still hot, but Clear Lake slowing down. FG on Colorado River near Blythe, Havasu Lake and Lakes Henshaw, Sherwood and Irvine in southern state.
WEAKFISH: LOUISIANA: Spring run in Lake Pontchartrain has begun in earnest, with catches of 15 to 98 speckles reported, largest weighing up to 5 pounds. Casting, trolling and still-fishing all have brought results. OG.
LANDLOCKED SALMON: NEW HAMPSHIRE: FVG; in fact, Manchester agent claims best in past six or eight years. Smelt run has coincided with an early ice-out in major salmon section, Lake Winnipesaukee and other area waters. High winds have roughened water, and fish are feeding near surface. Catches are good-sized, most being 4 to 5 pounds. OG at Merrymeeting, Winnisquam, Newfound, Squam, Sunapee, central lakes region.
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