Opening Day of Trout Season 2013

Opening day of Trout season was yesterday, and like most years it was pretty good weather.  I talked a good friend of mine into hitting the water with me.  We got to the gunpowder river around 6:30 am which was sunrise.  Finally, found a place to fish shortly after that.  We really only fished one hole, one of my favorites, fished from about 6:45 until 9.  I must say trout fishing is one of my favorite things to do, whether you are using spinners, flies, or good old Powerbait on opening day it is a lot of fun! Anyone can do it, and mostly everyone catches something.

This year was no different, well other than WHERE is Spring??????  We dressed fairly warm but man it was cold. Water was very cold, probably high 30's guessing of course.  Pretty sure I lost most feeling in my hands for a good 30 minutes.  Once we stopped fishing around 9 it took a good walk and some heat from the car for me to regain use of my fingers. Good thing I didn't loose a hook I would never have been able to re- tie.   Spring please come soon!

It didn't take long, my second cast I caught a fall fish also known as creek chub (Pictured Below), not what I was looking for and of course I returned it to the water.

Two casts later, my fourth cast I caught my first rainbow trout.  Probably about 12 inches long.  The next two hours were a lot of fun in total I caught 7 rainbow trout, which is pictured below, however, I apologize I did not get any pictures from this fishing trip of even pictures of the fish we kept due to the fact my phone with camera was under waders and how cold my hands were!  I also lost several more fish and of course had a ton of missed bites! sneaky trout!  My friend ended up catching 2 or 3 and lost a couple as well.  Overall, for fishing for a little over 2 hours not a bad day.  Between the two of us we kept 6 of the rainbow trout that were between 12 and 14 inches.

My last catch of the day was probably my most interesting, right as we were deciding it was just too cold and we needed to go warm up I hooked one last fish, as I was reeling in the fish I realized this wasn't a rainbow trout or a fall fish but rather a palomino trout (pictured below).  These are somewhat new to Maryland waters as I believe they have only been stocking them in central Maryland for a couple of years in small numbers.  I caught one of these many years ago in PA, but never caught one in Maryland while fishing.  They sure are bright and fight a little harder, at least I think he did.  But upon reeling him in I saw I had a perfect lip hook and he was only about 10 inches long so I decided to let him go for someone else to catch.  Pretty fish and something different to add to my list of fish I have caught this year.  Plan to keep track of just what I catch this year and will be sharing throughout fishing season!

From now on I will try to get my own pictures of the fish I catch to share in my posts!

Did anyone else get out yesterday or today for that matter for opening weekend of trout season?  How did you do?  Have any stories or pictures to share? we would love to see or hear about your experience!

2 Responses

  1. Brian
    I got out this past weekend on Saturday morning and again on Monday morning with my son. I fished the Little Gunpowder and got to my spot at 4am. I agree with your weather report...felt more like January bow hunting. My hands were frozen and I even had some ice in my rod tip. On Saturday I caught 5 and kept 4, I threw one of the rainbows back hoping to catch a golden trout but that never happened. On Monday, I went back to the same spot with my 5 year old son and we managed to catch another rainbow. Had a blast. I'm hoping to head out a few more times this season, schedule permitting.
    • admin
      Brain, 4am you were serious about wanting that spot! Then again I was lazy not getting out until 6:30, some people were already leaving with their limit by 7 the way it looked. Glad to hear you caught some fish and had a good trip. I plan to try to head out again this weekend or next week. Then again of course around the second opening! Keep me posted on how you make out and would love to see some pictures! Good luck!
  2. [...] at the top of the list.   This season I have already been trout fishing several times including my opening day experience.  Just yesterday with the arrival of warm weather I went to a non-stocked stream that has native [...]

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