Plan key to successfull Opening Day: Norwich Bulletin

The anglers who had the most success in their endeavors had a specific target species in mind and a plan of some sort to find that species and help get one or more to eat their offerings.

• Species?: The majority of anglers will be targeting trout on the season opener, though there will also be a fair number of people after bass, pike or panfish. This time of year there's a fair amount of interest in good eating panfish, such as white perch, yellow perch and calico bass (black crappie).
• Stripers or winter flounder are the two major choices available in coastal rivers and along the shoreline in the saltwater. This weekend the majority of fishermen will be on the lakes and streams throughout the state looking to with draw their share of the trout that have been stocked for this occasion.
• When?: This is a no brainer. Saturday is opening day of the trout season, which officially starts at 6 a.m. not a minute before or risk being busted. Many groups of anglers have their traditional fishing spots and will be there long before legal fishing time to file their claim. The earlier the better on the first day due to all the commotion and pressure put on fish during the first few hours of the season.
• I seldom compete in the trout fishing madness any more. It's more fun for to watch the craziness and take a few photos. Later in the morning my kids and I get together and go somewhere there are no crowds. We usually targeting largemouth bass, pike or perch in the Connecticut River or stripers in the Thames..
• Where to go?: This is trickier, because it must take into consideration not only the species being sought, but water temps, water conditions and the predicted weather. Weather and water levels in streams can be a major factor to consider for opening day. This year, after coming off such a long stretch of miserable, cold, rainy action-killing weather conditions may be difficult. The single mitigating factor is the possibility for increasing air temperatures and actually some warming rays from the sun predicted for this weekend.
  
• Trout fishermen have a choice between fishing a stream or lake. If there has been a few days without any more monsoon-like rains prior to the season opener and the writing of these words, stream levels will drop. Places I looked at midweek were fishable, but expect them to still remain high. It is a good idea to scout your fishing places prior to the season opener to avert any surprises. Lakes or ponds will be a more stable environment in which to fish, while streams will be more challenging due to high water and heavy stream flows.
• The key to fishing streams will be getting lures or baits down to that layer of slower moving water right on the bottom. Expect to sacrifice some hooks and lures in order get them down to the bottom and along the sides of streams, where the trout will be hiding from the strong water flows above. Under the conditions, stream fishermen will be facing it is wise to fish parallel to the banks.
• Where?: As of April 21, roughly 400,000 trout will be in place and waiting for the opening day crowds. The breakdown by species is 69,000 brookies and 205,800 brown trout (10 to 11 inches average length), 5,600 brown trout (12-inch average), 1,400 tiger trout (a brook trout hybrid with tiger-like markings on their sides that are 10 to 12 inches), 95,900 rainbows (10-12 inch average), 20,000 rainbows (12- to 14-inch average) and 1,750 surplus brood stock fish ranging from three to 10 pounds).
  
• Some additional two- to eight-pound Seeforellen strain brown trout were stocked into 12 lakes and ponds across the state. Locally this list includes Crystal Lake in Ellington, Beach Pond in Voluntown, and Mashapaug Lake in Union. Those lucky anglers who happen to hook one of these excess brood stock fish, which are 20 inches or more in length, are the people who win the local opening day big-trout contests.
• The DEP publishes stocking reports every year that show exactly where all the fish are stocked. This sort of information does not mean too much when determining where to go fishing, because the numbers of fish stocked in each place are essentially based on the same formula, which includes the amount of surface area of a given lake, or shoreline of a stream that is available to fish and how heavily it is fished, with trout parks and places like that receiving slightly denser stocking rates than other places. But remember where the statewide regulations call for a five-trout per day limit, trout parks have a two-trout per day limit in order to spread the catch out among more anglers.
• There are two good sources of reference information to use. Combine the newly released "Stream and Lake Map of New England" available at the Norwich Bulletin as a means of locating fishable waters you may want to visit with the 2007 Connecticut Anglers Guide. One has all the fishing holes, the other is a source of information for lake and stream specific regulations here in Connecticut.
• How?: To catch trout there are three basic options: bait, lures or flies.
• Opening-day choices for trout baits include classic worms, meal worms, small shiners and hellgrammites for anglers who are willing to do the work to catch a few prior to the season opener by turning over stones in a stream. Berkley Power Baits are very popular and productive artificial baits that work as well or even better than live bait for trout.
• Lures should always be small -- less than three inches in total length -- preferably around two inches in length. Classic, popular spoons include Al's Goldfish, Kastmasters, Dare Devils, Phoebe, Mooslook Wobblers and other metal lures. Roostertail and Aglia Spinners by Mepps, or hard "Rapala-like" bodied spinners by Blue Fox are proven trout catchers.
• Small swimming lures that look just like minnows such as tiny Rapala's, Pin's Minnows by Yozuri and other small natural looking hard baits are also early season killers. However, bear in mind trout are primarily insectivorous, though they do eat small fish and other things when the opportunity arises. Serious trout fishermen should buy a fly rod, some flies and learn how to "match the hatch," so they can catch trout throughout the season.
• Early in the season, for two to a few weeks after the season opener, spoons, spinners, small swimming plugs or soft plastics work well for trout in both lakes and streams. However, as water temperatures warm the stocked fish begin to feed on natural sources of food -- primarily insect hatches -- so they become more difficult to hook. There is a time when a well-presented fly will even outfish a worm or live shiner.
• Combine all of the available information to make a plan that includes your prior experience, tips from local tackle shops, scouting the places you plan to fish, a look at the weather. (Bob Sampson, Norwich Bulletin).