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3. Ice-Out Trout

Hey guys its ice-out in my lake, I've been watching the darned thing all month - and this might be the earliest ice-out ever!

Anyway so I'm wanting to hit the rainbows, but I'm not sure where they're holding this time of year.

Star Lake is spring-fed, no inlet, just under 300 acres. I've heard that they're both really shallow and really deep, so someone's mistaken. Any hard evidence?

By the way, don't shoot me but if they're deep I'm going to "Lake Clear and Crawl" for 'em. But can you blame me? Stream season doesn't open for another 11 days!

Three hundred acres is big enough to experience turnover provided it has enough depth. Until that begins (usually a week or two after ice out) the fish will all be on top with the warmer oxygenated water, either in the shallows chasing invertebrates and minnows or out in open water chasing pelagic baitfish like smelt. They can also be found near the mouths of feeders (if there's any inlets) feeding on insect drift or feeding on baitfish staging for their spawning runs.

Once turnover begins, the water can get roily (this can hurt fishing if it gets really turbid) and the lake's temps begin to even out regardless of depth. That's when fish can be anywhere in the water column. The trade off is caddis & midge larvae are swept up and made available in the upwellings so the fish can feed like crazy. This year, it sounds like the thermocline will establish early. It will be important to pay attention to this stratification once it has become established.

Thanks! -I've spent two days trying everything everywhere with no success, maybe my luck will be better after this cold front moves out:)