Spring fishing or as I like to call it *The Awakening* must be some of the best but challenging angling for me. It can seem easy at times with multiple catches and then the lake can go dead with no sign of where or what the fish are doing, that’s what makes it the best in my opinion. I’m pretty keen when it comes to carp fishing and have a very understanding wife, so I tend to do two nights a week minimum and I fish all year round. 

Spring has to be up there when it comes to the best season on a lake, you get to watch everything wake up (including some anglers) and if you have the time, you can get one step ahead of the crowds as they rise from their winter slumber. From the early buds and blossom to watching mother duck and her ducklings work alongside the margins, it really is a wonderful time to be on the bank.

This April I have had my local club lake open back up and I wasted no time in getting down the pond to have a real go. I find during spring it is all about daylight hours, the longer the light levels the more the fish react and the better chance to bag a few.

Spring fishing for me has 3 key points and I use these when fishing during these months.

Watercraft

The big one! Spend time walking the lake and finding the fish, they will be active with shows in the spring, whether it be shifting lice and leeches or grubbing for new fresh bloodworm the fish do tend to give themselves away in spring after a dormant winter.

What are they doing? Watch them, are they feeding or clattering out trying to shift lice? This will determine the tactics when fishing for them.

Remain mobile if you can, this will all depend on angling pressure but be ready to up sticks and move onto the fish, as when showing the fish are more prone to let their guard down.

Zigs can be deadly in spring, keep an eye on the fish, are they cruising or feeding? You can have multiple catches on zigs if applied right. Once you have found the depth and colour, change all rods to match as this will get you more bites.

21lb Linear caught on a zig cast to fish alongside an island, black foam soaked in Brace mix Liquid after 10 mins in the swim.

Less is more/Bait

There really is no need to “fill it in” no matter how warm it may seem, my opinion early spring is bright singles, small bags and zigs cast on to showing fish will get you more bites.

That’s not to say if you wanted to get an area going little and often wont work, this is a killer tactic in the spring if application is right. If this is your tactic then stick to the same area so the fish learn to find bait here.

The fish will be moving more so will need to replace energy reserves but they also are at their most vulnerable so a nice bright hook bait cast in the direction of the showing fish will do the business on most occasions I have found.

25lb mirror caught after moving onto showing fish using a white cork ball pop up rolled by Dave Mallin Products.

Weather

Look on those weather apps, any sudden change in wind direction pushing into certain banks will 9 times out of 10 push the fish to these areas in Spring. They follow wind direction on most lakes but during spring I have always found fish on a new wind, no matter the direction. This can vary depending on depth of water, but I have always followed a new spring wind and found fish to be had on them.

Just recently during the freak April snow showers I found fish on a NE wind with sideways snow flurries and managed to get a bite when my normal instincts told me to head to the back of the wind.

Always check these windward banks as the fish, if they’re there, will show themselves.

28lb Common Caught moving onto showing fish on a new Westerly wind in April.

I follow these 3 key points when fishing in spring including this year and have had some great results with 15 fish landed in 9 nights during the month of April.

I’m not pretending to be an expert in spring fishing, I’m purely advising that for me using these key points has put fish on the bank. Needless to say, these are wild creatures and they will react how they want to react so keep them eyes peeled and hopefully you will put a fish or 3 on the bank this spring.

Happy Hunting,

CF

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22lb common caught after observing where the fish turned up the morning before, I then made sure I was set up and ready the next night for when they arrived again.