March Beginnings

Except for die-hard ice fishermen, most sportsmen didn't have much to do this winter, especially after the six inches of snow in late January compacted into a thick sheet of ice. This made walking in the woods dangerous, and most sportsmen were not foolish enough to risk bad falls on the ice. A couple of guys who had trail cameras set out told me that deer fared pretty well for the most part. Unfortunately, so did coyotes.

Now that March has begun and meteorological spring has arrived (according to TV weather forecasters), sportsmen can start shaking off the shack nasties. Sportsmen can head for the woods to listen for the gobbles of wild toms. It is always interesting to find who claims to have heard gobbling first. I did not hear of anyone claiming to hear the birds gobbling on Valentine's Day this year, as has occurred during other springs.

Fishermen will be getting out to some of their favorite places on the water. As the ice melts on area lakes, bass fishermen will probably hit a few of their early-season hot spots. Many will use jigs to stir up a little action. As the water warms up, guys who like to fish moving water for bass will be out fishing as well. These stream fishermen often use relatively large crankbaits to attract bass at this time.

We trout fishermen have some options for pre-season trout fishing, too. Although stocked trout streams are off limits till opening day (April 2), quite a few waters are open to fishing during March. Many of these are specially regulated streams located throughout the state, and they are restricted to catch-and-release fishing. These include Delayed-Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) stream sections as well as Catch-and-Release Fly Fishing Only (CRFFO) stream sections. You can find lists of these in the pamphlet that accompanies your fishing license when you buy it. If you purchase your license online, you can find these streams by hunting them up on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's website. There are several streams open to any method of trout fishing, including Spring Creek and the Little Juniata River.

Pre-season trout fishermen can enjoy success by using various baits, lures, and flies. We fly-fishermen will mainly drop weighted nymphs into deeper pockets and runs but are really hoping to locate hatches of blue-winged olive mayflies so we can fish with dry flies.

March may not be the ideal month for outdoorsmen, but its gradually improving weather provides opportunities for sportsmen to enjoy some of their favorite activities.