April Showers Us With Great Fishing
By Chris Jenkins

April is one of those months that remind me just how great it is to be alive. The days are longer and the sun is stronger. To be honest, all I can think about is fishing. For the last five months I have anxiously awaited the arrival of the spawn. This month offers us a variety of species that are ready and willing to our baits at the offering, and all you have to do is show up.

Typically our larger rivers are chock full of striper that are making that annual run to do their business. I can remember many days of dropping the anchor at Fletcher’s boat house on the Potomac River and catching fifty plus stripers using cut herring. That was ten years ago, and I don’t know if Fletchers is still there, but I would venture to say that the stripers will show up in full force.

Before that happens though, take advantage of the perch and herring that blitz the rivers in an attempt to sow their seeds. The catfish will be lurking below to inhale all the casualties that fail to complete the gauntlet, and will be fatter than a tick on a dog’s ear. I would venture to say that the James River will surrender a blue cat that will top one hundred pounds this year, and Chris Eberwien of Eberwien’s Guide Service is a prime candidate to bait that hook.

Despite the potpourri of mouths to feed, I find myself stalking the largemouth bass every spring. I have bass on the brain 365 days a year, but April has special meaning to those that pursue a trophy. Big bass are elusive and only make a shallow appearance once a year to spawn. How shallow depends on the water clarity, and I know that “giants” are very reluctant to leave the comforts and safety of their haunts. Two years ago I saw several large bass bedding in twelve to fourteen feet of water. With gin clear water this can be done, but with most of our lakes and rivers, a three-foot visibility is the norm. Sight fishing can be very frustrating and time consuming, but the rewards can be very sweet. Most anglers will continue to pound the shore line every weekend from now until November, but thinking outside the box can have you cheesing in a photo with the fish of a life time.

That is how I have stumbled onto many nice fish, including the discovery of those fish spawning in twelve feet of water. Last year I went out with Alex Pirowski night fishing in April. We ended up lipping a dozen fish up to eight pounds that night by doing something different, and you can bet we will try it again this spring. If night fishing is not your cup of tea and sight fishing is not an option, use your imagination. I have caught more than one trophy in water that looked like chocolate milk, and I did it by using my “minds eye”. I know that bass prefer to spawn on a hard or sandy bottom. I know that they prefer to have their bed beside a solid object or vegetation so there is less area to protect against predators. (Back against the wall) So I will find a cove or protected area that meets some if not all of the requirements, and imagine where I would bed if I were a bass. I will start searching with a Booyah ½ oz. spinnerbait with Colorado blades. If I can see cover in the water like a tree or stump, I will pitch a Yum Wooly Hawgtail or tube all around that baby until I have hit every nook and cranny. A wake bait like a Bomber Balsa Model B will draw some gnarly strikes as well. Bass have a tendency to short strike or slash at wake baits and spinnerbaits when they are on beds, but they give away their location by doing so. That’s when I flip my creature bait or Yum Dinger right back to them. A lot of your bites will be very subtle, and you may just see the line move, so pay close attention to what’s going on.

If you are fishing a body of water that has the potential to produce a trophy, make sure your gear is right if opportunity comes knocking. I flip and pitch fifty pound Berkley Stealth Braid in stained to dingy water. Most of the time I will use an arms length of forty-pound Vanish fluorocarbon as a leader just to give me an added advantage. If the water is clear, I will skip the braid and just spool with twenty-pound Berkley Vanish. I use seven-foot medium heavy to heavy power ST. Croix rods to seal the deal. You are only setting yourself up to be disappointed if you are not prepared.

Switching gears to a bass of a different color, May 1st I will finally get to fish the New River. I have always wanted to do a float trip on the New, but time flies when you’re drinking rum. As chance may have it, I made the call at the right time and Dr. Mike Smith had an opening at his famous Greasy Creek Outfitters. I have not set the hook on a solid small jaw in about seventy-two full moons. (Six years) That was the last time I was at the Susquehanna River, and unfortunately nothing local has since compared.

Greasy Creek Outfitters and the New River are nothing short of top notch, and this will be a real treat for me. In the mean time I will stay focused on my beloved largemouth and spend as much time on the water as possible. The sequence that leads up to the spawn can keep you busy all month. So enjoy it while it lasts and remember a picture is worth a thousand words.

If you want to talk fishing or are interested in a shot at a trophy, send me an e-mail sowbelly.hunter@yahoo.com Also, check out www.greasycreekoutfitters.com