April 2006 Almanac
This Month: Springtime…and the Fishin’ Ain’t Easy…Yet!
This writer happens to love April 1 and has fished every opening day throughout his life, even when it used to be April 15…not April 1.
Opening day is seldom a lonely endeavor, either. Wind-driven snow can fly parallel to the ground, rain can fall in sheets or the temperature can plummet to zero, but on April Fool’s Day, Maine anglers crowd name fishing holes.
Open water is at a premium on opening day, but by month’s end, black flies swarm and alder leaves are the size of a mouse’s ear — sure signs that the bite is on.
In the bottom half of the state, ice-out mania erupts as soon as ponds and lakes clear of ice, and salmonid fishing gets as good as it gets all year.