The Great Migration

[Scudly]

Trout are migratory. After spawning, what was once a cozy home would soon be a disaster if they stuck around. The pool could be frozen over and any big trout could be trapped within it. As the chubs and other baitfish migrate for warmer bigger water downstream for the winter, so do trout.

On average, mid-March the fish are making their way back to their summer homes. Lots of challenges on the way too. With the snow melting, water conditions are close to freezing, the water is also turbid with a fast current. The fish must expense large amounts of energy to get back to their former residence.

When the fish finally do arrive for their summering pools, you can guess they have worked up an appetite. I believe mid-March through mid-April is an ideal time to target big brown trout. Just keep in mind water temperature has a lot to do with trout activity, 40 seems to be the magic number. Temperatures under 40 and fish are lethargic and inactive, podded up at the bottoms of deep pools, uninterested in food.

Right now I believe the sun needs to be out long enough to warm the water and turn the fish into feeding. Showing up at dawn to catch that big trout is not the best idea during the catch and release season.

[Watershed]

I think some of this depends on the body of water. There are several trout streams that I fish and can catch size and numbers out of the same pools no matter the season. Sometimes there location in the pool would change but they would still be their. Our first trip in the winter season was a cold 4 below zero degree day. We caught fish in the middle of the pool on the inside seam of the back eddies. The next week we had 10 degrees and sun and the fish were at the front of the pool in the current seam just off of the riffle. This seems to ring true of most places I fish in the driftless area. In the summer we catch fish out of the same pools and they seem to be stacked in the pocket water of the riffles up from the pool. In the winter the trout eat less so we fish smaller flies. In the summer trout eat more and we fish big flies. In our smaller streams I do not think that the migrations are as big. If a stream trout has deep water, spawning habitat and food close by, why would he migrate long distances. I see more of a migration when fishing stealhead and salmon runs. Bottom line is this, get out and fish. There are always catchable fish.