Reading the Water/Structure

At the beginning of the season, snow can still be found on some east-facing slopes and some lakes to the north are still ice-covered. But the fish are there and present a true challenge. It's cold enough to reduce the feeding activity of brook trout. There will be very little insect activity on the water other than midges and a few early brown stoneflies. The brook trout will have taken shelter in the deep holes where the current can flow over them, or to the side of the stream in the flooded shoreline. In each case, they will not move far to take the bait.

Lakes, ponds, and headwater streams are the best bets in this situation. Check the weather for the two or three weeks before the season opens. If it has been cold, wet, and snowing, look for a small lake with gravel bars and ridges for fish. Records show that early in the season most fish are taken between 11 a.m. and three p.m. by anglers who assess the situation and choose their fishing spot accordingly.

Brook trout become harder to locate in lakes and ponds as the water warms and sunlight intensifies. An angler with a fish depth finder is at a decided advantage. The choice becomes not one of where to fish but rather of how to fish. The best tool for finding fish in a lake, if no fish finder is available, is a temperature probe. This instrument will tell you the depth at which trout will find their optimum water temperature -- 57° F. (14° C) to 65° F. (18° C).

Small trout are active all day and can be found in exposed positions in mid-river. The larger trout have taken the best feeding lanes -- those which bring food and provide a measure of protection. The feeding lane is in reality an instream chute down which food items are delivered to the waiting fish. It is usually to the side of a faster current of water. The trout will select a spot which enables it to take the food with minimum expenditure of energy on its part. This lane may only be four inches wide, but the brook trout only needs to move its fins slightly to take an insect drifting towards it. (Figure 8-4.)

There are many books on the market which talk about fishing the structure if you wish to catch bass or walleye. The emphasis is on knowing and working the reefs, bars, submerged logs, rocks, trees, and anything else which might provide food and shelter for fish. The same instructions apply to stream fishing.

To catch fish, work your lure or fly around the structures which exist naturally in the flow. In still water, like a lake, fish move around the structure as light moves during the day. In moving streams, the fish position themselves according to the flow of the current. The angler must learn to read structure in the current as much as, if not more than, in a lake.

In headwater brooks which may not be as wide as a sidewalk, the usual structure consists of undercut banks with overhanging vegetation, sweepers which are logs or trees lying into the current, and instream rocks.

Small brooks join and become medium-sized streams. It is here in river-system headwaters that brook trout fishing is most popular. Perhaps as wide as a city street, these waters provide a variety of structure for protection and food. Since they are wider, the angler can put his casting skills to work and use a greater variety of lures and bait. (Figure 8-5.)

Read the water! Learn which current can hide a fish. Know how a fish hides behind, under, or alongside structures in the stream. It will lead to success!

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