Early mornings and the last couple of hours before dark are often very good times to fish lakes during the ice-off period. It takes fish time to get accustomed to the brighter daytime light after spending months in the dark, and thus are often more active in lower light conditions. Plan one of your fishing days to stay for the evening bite. It may become a regular routine during the early fishing season. Again, watch for the signs of moving fish which increase as light levels wane. Use patterns that have some flash or make noise when retrieved through the water. Palmer-hackled patterns like Woolly Buggers, bead-head leeches, bead-head scuds, and rubber-legged boatman and backswimmers are all good choices. Fan-cast each area that you fish. There may be a small group of fish concentrated over a tiny piece of real estate that aren’t willing to wander too far in search of food. If there is no action or interest after 15 to 20 minutes, move on to another part of the shoal or another part of the lake.
