Knapp: When tradition gives way to new experiences, joys when fishing
Adages are interesting, both in application and origin.
Some are biblical, such as “a thorn in the side” from 2 Corinthians. Or “flash in the pan,” when only the gunpowder of a flintlock's flash pan ignites.
One that comes to mind now is “when one door opens, another closes.” Commonly attributed to Alexander Graham Bell, the saying recognizes when one opportunity ceases, oftentimes another is created.
The closing of a door occurred for me last summer when I sold our Clarion County camp. Built by my father and uncle, and having been in the family longer than me, it was a tough decision. But the reality of necessary reconstruction — impractical at this point in my life — won out over sentimentality.
No longer saddled with escalating maintenance costs, and having openings in my schedule that had once been filled with “going to camp,” it became practical to spend extended periods of time visiting favored, but comparatively distant, fishing waters.
An open door.
As such, weeklong visits to Pymatuning Lake during the fall months started what I hope will become a tradition throughout the open water seasons. A glance at my calendar shows upcoming week-long sojourns slated for both April and May.
Since I’ll primarily be targeting walleyes, past experience during the period after ice-out suggests a variety of tactics could be productive.
Looking at last year’s records, I see I caught walleyes on glide jigs — Acme Hyper Rattles and similar lures — during mid-April. But following a mild winter, last spring was not a typical one. It’s likely the offshore spots where I caught walleyes then might be vacant during the same time frame this spring given the cold winter patterns that currently persist.
An early spring seems doubtful.
A more plausible prediction is walleyes will still be in the near-shore shallows, coming off the spring’s spawn. Light jigs pitched near shallow gravel points and flats might work. During the evening hours, casting or trolling minnow baits could be the answer.
In years past, I’ve found walleyes during middle to late April out in the depths, in main lake basins where they succumbed to crankbaits trolled on leadcore line to reach the 20-foot-plus depths. These were large walleyes, either post spawn females that quickly vacated the shallows to the food-rich depths, or perhaps fish that didn’t spawn that year. At any rate, it’s something I’ll consider if the shallows and mid-depths don’t produce.
Planning trips, experiencing them in the mind’s eye, is an enjoyable part of the whole experience. It is for me at least, and I suspect for many of you, as well.
Things never go as planned, but that’s fine. As great as it is to revisit past experiences in an effort to relive them, it’s even more gratifying to encounter new ones.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle
