Being opening day of trout season, I had expected to have the river largely to myself. Well, that was wrong. It looked like a summer day; multiple vehicles with boat trailers at the popular ramp where I started. Lots of shore fishermen, jet boats and even yaks.
WEATHER: Windy. Very warm, probably upper 70s, partly cloudy.
WATER: 5.1' at the Newport gage. Water temp was 56 degrees; slight stain, significant wind chop. Discolored along banks due to frequent waves from motorboats.
INSECTS/BAIT ACTIVITY: Nothing of note.
Fished close to or from shore at a few of my favorite pre-spawn spots with little to show for it. Had to work hard for a single fish. Tough day. I had expected much more action with the rapid rise in temps recently.
On a side note: Holman Lake is largely drained down right now. There were folks fishing in the remaining pool. Some nice, new fish habitat structures are underway. You can see all the structure in the upper lake as it is dry. If you're a Holman regular, it's a good time to get to know the lake's structure, but I wouldn't bother fishing there any time soon.
Anyway, it was a glorious day to be outside but the bass in the Juniata did not cooperate for me as they usually do in April.
WEATHER: Windy. Very warm, probably upper 70s, partly cloudy.
WATER: 5.1' at the Newport gage. Water temp was 56 degrees; slight stain, significant wind chop. Discolored along banks due to frequent waves from motorboats.
INSECTS/BAIT ACTIVITY: Nothing of note.
Fished close to or from shore at a few of my favorite pre-spawn spots with little to show for it. Had to work hard for a single fish. Tough day. I had expected much more action with the rapid rise in temps recently.
On a side note: Holman Lake is largely drained down right now. There were folks fishing in the remaining pool. Some nice, new fish habitat structures are underway. You can see all the structure in the upper lake as it is dry. If you're a Holman regular, it's a good time to get to know the lake's structure, but I wouldn't bother fishing there any time soon.
Anyway, it was a glorious day to be outside but the bass in the Juniata did not cooperate for me as they usually do in April.
