Early Season

[Mapleshade]

I’ve never been able to fish before late April or early May but this year I’m committed to get out by early April. What are good ways to fish early. I enjoy drifting bottom bouncers, casting Weapons and jigging. Also am set up to troll. Appreciate your experience. Thanks!

[DW72]

We've had pretty good luck trolling for them before they get up on the reefs. I see no reason why you couldn't catch some suspended fish by casting or jigging too. They like things a little slower in the cold water.

This sight is really awesome for information sharing. You can always look back to the early posts from the past few years and soak up the info. People are already fishing as I see boats coming and going at Huron. So, maybe there will be some new reports soon. Good luck 🎣

[penalty box]

mapleshade i would say jigging

[itsbob]

If you plan to start fishing early April jigging is the best way to catch drifting.Casting hair jigs is the preferred way.Some tip the jigs with minnows and others don't use any minnows.I recall some posts years past that said the jig bite was best from first light and for a couple hours and turned off.But the fishing in April is heavily influenced by the weather.The shallower waters in the shooting range get muddy with a good wind.You can go many days before you can even get out in April let alone a 3-5 days of stable weather.But if you get a period of stable weather in April, the fishing can be fantastic.
If you plan to troll in April the best way to catch is using crankbaits.The colder the water the slower you need to troll.Early April speed is probably 1.3-1.7 mph and increases as the water warms.Water clarity is critical to catch in.If water too clear the fish avoid because the clear water is colder than the muddy water.If it's too muddy you can't catch well either because the fish can't see the lure.Best color is stained water.Like a greenish hue that you see between the muddy and clear water.Popular cranks lately have been the bandit cranks.Best trolling setup in April is mono line with inline boards.Watch the fishing reports to help you target best speeds,colors and leads as the month progresses.When you start trolling for the day try and cover the water column and with a variety of colors to figure out the bite for that day.I usually start with 120,100,90,80,70,55 leads and a purple,white,blue chrome, chartreuse,gold and another white/green combo colored bandits.

[DW72]

Spot on and perfectly explained by itsbob. I've definitely learned that when the water at the islands and West are muddy and you can't see your prop, you'll wanna go East until you find the green stained water. To me, that's the hard part about fishing early....the weather and water conditions/color. Otherwise, for trolling technique it's pretty much the same. Just at a slower speed.
I do always check and replace my treble hooks as needed at the start of each season. Many times in the cold water the bites are only on the back hook so keep em really sharp.

[itsbob]

Yeah dw72 about missing some fish.With the slower trolling speeds and lathergic fish you don't get solid hook ups.Grab the rod as quickly as possible and put some pressure on that fish to drive the hooks in helps.