Northern Trails

April Fishing Options

By Gord Ellis

April is an odd month for the angler in northwestern Ontario. It is the tail end of winter, yet there is the promise of spring in the air. Some Aprils are more like winter, with cold temperatures and ice still hanging on. Other Aprils are warm and springlike, with open lakes and rivers beckoning you long before normal. In April, the angler needs to be flexible and smart. Here is a look at some ice and open water angling options during the fourth month of the year. I will say right up front that safety is paramount in April if you want to ice fish. Use common sense. If the ice is punky, black, pulling away from the shore or overly wet, you should avoid it. Stay clear of currents. Don’t take chances. Yet in years when it is cold, early to mid-April ice can be hard as rock. Wear a pfd or floater snowmobile suit and never fish alone.

Pike

One of the top fish to catch in April is pike. The longer days trigger pike to move into bays and river mouths and they are the first fish to spawn. If it is a cold late winter, you can have a field day catching pike through the ice. They will greedily take a herring or sucker minnow that is suspended under a tip up. The pike are usually in 10 feet of water or less and are ornery.

If the ice has gone out early, or there is fishable open water, you can still target pike from shore or boat. A dead herring suspended under a large float is a deadly presentation. Use just enough weight to cock the float and get the bait hanging off bottom. Another great technique is to throw 4- or 5-inch rubber worms or shads. Texas-rig the plastic with a single #1 or #2 worm hook. Some of the real super tanker sized pike caught each year are taken in the period when pike are just about to spawn and the females are egg-laden. Make sure you take a pic and then let these big fish go.

Stocked Speckled Trout

There are literally dozens of lakes throughout northwestern Ontario that are stocked with speckled trout. They provide year-round action, so you can pursue them through the ice or open water in April. There have been months I started on the ice and ended casting shorelines. The transition can be that quick. Ice fishing for late winter brookies is generally done close to