Scouting for a sunny day
Even after the longest and best fishing or hunting season, an angler or hunter will sometimes find their desire for adventure irritatingly unfulfilled at the beginning of the winter ‘offseason.’ For most of us, gear maintenance and journaling leave something to be desired in the winter months, and it pays to have an activity aside from fishing reel and firearm cleaning that scratches the unrelenting ‘itch’ called wanderlust.
If you’re wondering why it might be worthwhile to spend some of your offseason ‘scouting’ for the next fishing or hunting season, take a minute to reflect on the past year, and ask yourself this: what exactly was it that flashed through my head last season, as I rushed frantically to my favourite spot, hoping to maximize the daylight and fishing time that (as usual) seemed all too limited? Did I forget to pinpoint the hidden shoal that I resolved to fish in 2020? Or, did I neglect to pre-tie the tapered dry fly leaders that I just hate having to prepare on the side of a trout stream? Even if these queries brought nothing quickly to mind, your in-season fishing and hunting can probably benefit lots from some simple and leisurely ‘groundwork.’
I think it’s safe to assume that after a year in relative isolation, even the least tech savvy of us have developed some computer skills. Compared to anglers and hunters from 30, 20, and even 10 years ago, modern outdoorsmen possess very advanced technological abilities, and have access to some remarkable digital resources. The pros and cons of technological innovation in hunting and fishing are subjects of intense debate, due in part to the association of social media and smartphones with crowding at what were once considered ‘secret’ spots.
There are, however, many ways for anglers and hunters to use technology to enhance their experience without diluting, or in some other way compromising their enjoyment of it. Despite their many advantages, fish finders are prohibitively expensive. And yet, virtually everyone can access google maps on their smartphone, and build a sophisticated fishing or hunting database using its most basic features. High-resolution satellite imagery can be used to locate potential access points such as boat launches and trailheads, underwater structures in lakes, and deep wintering holes in trout streams. Contour maps, and even specialized fishing charts, can be accessed for free on the internet, and used to pinpoint invisible underwater features. Precious time that might be wasted looking for the right spot in the coming season can be saved, if you’re willing to conduct some ‘remote’ scouting this offseason.
If virtual scouting doesn’t satisfy you, then it’s time to move on to the real thing. Although fish and game don’t necessarily ‘winter over’ in the same areas that they use for feeding and reproduction, their offseason locations and behaviour provide some insight on where they’ll be found during the season. For example, if you locate a group of roosting turkeys in February, it becomes much easier to guess their location in late April—just pinpoint the nearest intersections of turkey food and water! Add these prospects as map pins on your smartphone, and you’ll have saved yourself the trouble of trying to do everything at once on the night before turkey opener. And, more importantly, keep this information to yourself!
Anglers looking for insight on winter survival and fish populations in different streams, rivers, and lakes, can learn lots by paying each spot a visit when spring or fall water temperatures reach a specific point that induces spawning. At this point, members of the preferred species become more visible, although it is typically illegal—and generally unethical—to fish for them at these times. The sight of many bass ‘beds’ along a lake shoreline, or many trout ‘redds’ in a stream, however, tell you that many mature adults are likely to be found nearby after the spawn has finished, and the season commences. If you count ten redds in a short stretch of Stream A, and just three redds in a long stretch of Stream B, your decision to spend opening day at the former spot will have become much more intuitive.
In most of eastern Canada, coldwater fish activity begins to stir in mid to late March, and the movements of spring birds and mammals increase steadily as temperatures warm further in April. The formal openings of fishing and hunting season can be known with certainty, although the behaviour of fish and game at that time are conversely unpredictable—for this reason, some pre-season scouting is often worth the effort. When I’m unable to go fishing I go for a walk, so that when I finally can go fishing, I know just where to start.