Game & Fish West

ON THE CHEW

Temperature. Light penetration. Water clarity. Wind. In spring, the most successful anglers fishing trout lakes pay attention to these factors. Over the course of a week or even a day, the variables change, affecting where and how trout and their prey interact. Trout go where the water temperature suits their metabolism, and they search out those areas of the lake where light penetration has kick-started bug life in the shallows.

Just as critical, these anglers pay attention to where they find feeding fish—and where they don’t. Throughout the day, as light and temperature conditions change, fish may migrate to one part of the lake or another, moving up and down in the water column. The trick is to find the feeders, stay with them and make the transitions when the trout move. To do this, anglers have to be flexible enough to know when to change

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