Do you like "opening day"?

[ant]

Here in PA we just had our opening day of trout season on Saturday. So come Saturday morning the local trout streams are packed with people trying to take their limits on trout. I couldn't believe how many times I saw 6-7 people fishing the same pools. Even saw a group using powerbait trying to get every trout in the pool!:ranting3:

I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on this; if it's beneficial or not. It seems to me a waste because once opening day hits the streams are fished out within a day or so. They do restock but they list when they are restocking so everyone waits and you have the same situation all season long.

I just wonder if there is not a better alternative so the fish have a better chance at making it in the wild longer and give all fisherman a better time at the sport.

 

[Ard]

ant,

I grew up in Pa. and ever since I discovered Fly Fish only Heritage waters I never had another opening day.

You can fish year round there, Slate, Cedar, Spring, Letort, to name a few and all Delayed Harvest waters are open year round.

I have two words that may help you, (Wild Trout) if you would like some tips on finding them PM me and tell me where you live, maybe I can help.

Ard

 

[Davo]

Yes I do like opening day. However here in Wy. the weather does not always cooperate. Miss this year again!! But the good news is this week looks to be shaping up perfectly!!

 

[Frank Whiton]

I can remember many opening days in California but once I figured out a few things about catching trout I stopped going. In those days opening day was May first and a lot of the high Sierras streams were still under a lot of snow. I found a month later was a much better time to fish. The water levels were down and the opening day guys had went on to other things.

I have found that if you can hike, you can find water to fish with out pressure. I also found that on waters where fish are harder to catch you won't find as many fishermen. I use to go up into the high Sierras on Friday night and get ready for the next morning. I would pack in for half a day and fish that evening, fish the next morning and then pack out again. If I ever saw any one it would be a pack train packing in a party. A great in my life.

Frank

 

[Rip Tide]

I voted yes even though I could live without it.
Opening day is a springtime holiday is the truest sense and many casual anglers look forward to spending the time with family and friends in the great outdoors.
Good for them and I can handle the added pressure because I know that the majority of these 'anglers' will be gone after two weekends at the most, leaving the streams to us hard-cores
The fact is that the state makes a bundle of money selling licenses to these 'opening day anglers' and that helps the program and hopefully keeps fees down for the rest of us.

 

[ant]

Good point Rip.

It just irks me to see guys grab as many as they can just because they can.

But on the plus side, after seeing the guys with the powerbait I stomped off to the other side of the park and find a nice little hole all to my self that seems out of the way enough that not too many people will bother it. :grin:

 

[Jimmie]

I voted "yes" because I like the concept not necessarily fishing opening day. Got to admit that I used to get excited about a new season.
When I lived on a river I use to walk down to the river on opening day to to see what was going on (never took my rod). I was always amazed at some places guys were able to get. The crowds were usually gone in just a few weeks.

 

[MoscaPescador]

I am a capitalist pig at heart. Opening day makes for a great ploy to bring customers into the shop.

Seriously, I like it. Opening day gives people goals to strive for. During the off season, fly fishermen work hard to tie up flies to fill their boxes. Some take the time to head out to the local parks to practice their casting skills. I know some who enjoy the off season just to trash talk their fishing buddies. When the season starts, it is put up or shut up. Opening day is a ritual. We have all been there.

I see the valid points of the mad rushes to very accessible fishing holes. It can be disheartening to get to a spot to find someone fishing it. Depending on where one goes to fish, a crowd can be there.

Do I fish on opening day? Sometimes. It is more of a social event for me. Whether I get some serious fishing time in is irrelevant. This season (as of today), I have 22 fishing days marked on my calendar. I have had plenty of opportunities for my fly fishing fix. And I know that I will have plenty more.

MP

 

[Bigfly]

I haven't gone out on an opener, (on purpose) in many years. On the East side of the Sierras, it feels like the land grab race of the past. As Frank said, a little effort, and thought, can get you to a place where no one else stands on the water with you (if that's what you want).
As MP suggested, we who fish year round don't really give it a thought.
I do think it's nice the fish can take a break for the winter, in some places. I think the Little Truckee (for example), would benefit from a rest, because of intense angling pressure, and low flows.
As a kid, I used to feel like a pressure cooker, as we approached the opener. To those who waited all winter to fish, I say enjoy!

Jim

 

[Walter1023]

I like opening day as a way to get potential future fly rodders in the door - especially kids. It causes alot of hoopla....newspapers that would otherwise never mention trout fishing print the story etc etc. Kids and adults get excited ...The "masses" at least get an introduction to trout fishing. Some ( maybe most) will never pass the point of simply following the stocking truck, bagging their limit,or more, and quitting once fishing is no longer like shooting fish in a barrell..and what a sad loss for them. Others will gradually become so enamored that their journey leads them to ones similar to most of us - and for that reason alone I'm a huge fan. I avoid opening day like the plague. I like nothing better than fishing either a wild trout stream...or one that hasn't been stocked yet and has only holdovers. But I didn't always have this outlook..and hopefully due to opening day - others will be given the good fortune - as we have - to become addicted to the greatest sport in the world.

 

[Brewmaster]

I avoid opening day like the seven plagues of Hell! Too many people, no manners, lots of drunks, horrible language in front of men, women and kids. On another forum several people stated that they packed the Jaegermeister before they even bothered to load a fishing rod!

Usually the first trip I make to any state park after an opening day, I spend at least a couple of hours picking up trash and debris from around and in the river. It doesn't matter which park/river I go to - they all get trashed on opening day! With state budgets cut to the bone, there are few (if any) state empoyees available to pick up after all the slobs have departed.

You could not pay me enough to attend a Missouri trout opener in one of the state parks. If I go anywhere it will be to one of the smallest trout streams where there is at least some semblance of tranquility. :thumbsup:

 

[HuronRiverDan]

I'm not a fan of opening days; although I can see the advantages they offer. Money for the local fly shops, extra fishing licenses the state sells, the introduction to new fisherfolks... The negatives I see for the most part the crowds, and the attitudes you run into. Since I retired I have my own personal Opening Days, usually the Monday after; I like them much better.

Dan

 

[hunter1]

I use to live next to a creek that stocked in maryland. Before the season would start nonsportsman bums would be down there taking fish out form the pool right under the bridge. they would show up right after the stocking was done. I would call mddnr or best i would run them off at night from my property, They lost there appatite for stocked trout? when miss remi 870 spoke first. Thats why I hate oppening day, brings out the nonsportsmen.

 

[von behr]

I've always headed up to the Eastern Sierra about a month after the opener and spend the weekdays leading up to Memorial Day weekend fishing when there are few people around. I'm driving home when the hordes are just arriving for the long weekend.

Many of the lakes still have ice on them through mid May, and sometimes later. I've also found that I would rather fish in places where there is less pressure. Several of the rivers and streams in that area are open year 'round with restrictions (barbless, catch-and-release only), which I don't mind. When it's cold, there are fewer people, and you can fish anytime.

I have to agree with Frank. It has always fascinated me that so many people go up to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the summer, and the prospect of finding solitude seems elusive at best. However, if you hike in just a few miles, solitude is available with not too much effort. Most people still don't deviate very far from main roads and campgrounds.

I once backpacked into the Hoover Wilderness (just outside Yosemite) in August. I spent five days exploring, but was never further than 5-10 miles from the hordes. I saw maybe two or three people in five days. Small effort...big pay off.

Cheers,

-VB

 

[951tightline]

I have stopped going to the opening day just because the streams I go to are WAY to pressured, they are just as good later in the season. I stick to my local creeks for a couple weeks.

Tight Lines
Scott

 

[nickj]

Here in Free America we don't have an opening day. We fish all year long. Another reason to love living in Colorado.

 

[stenacron]

Growing up in southeast PA I always liked the "tradition" of opening day, but hated the closed season (and the crowds). Once the PA Fish Commission split the opening day into two regions it pretty much killed the tradition (and doubled the crowds).

Since moving to Utah - no closed seasons, no scheduled fleets of stocking trucks, no opening day - I can honestly say that I prefer it this way.

 

[gatortransplant]

Since the thread has been resurrected, figured I'd drop my own impression... the majority of waters I fish don't close. Opening Day was good for one particular reason:

Opening day facial hair! It's like No-Shave November meets Civil War Formal, and may have been the result of losing a bet at the bar in Roscoe the night before... The rest of the day was full of consistent but generally snobby risers and a hook bent straight by a hard-fighting fish which I never had the pleasure of seeing! That and a few bucketfuls of rain and proof that the Orvis Pro Guide jacket does a pretty darn good job of keeping water out.

 

[05harleyrider]

Opening day, no way! I might think about it if you could eliminate the drunks, or those wishing to haverest fish at the wrong time. Or those thinking somone else will pick up their trash. (Basic yuppie fishers the world is here to surve me type of attitude. Bull Shi_ type, dig me I bought a $70 shirt to come out today! I stoped hutting for these types of people.)

Give me a cold, wet, raining, ice freezing in the guides type of day. Where me and or a fishing bud can be out with the stream to ourself. Enjoying nature and the fish. Have fished a day before in the above described conditions without a bite and had a wonderful time just being out enjoing nature.

 

[benjohnson41]

I can't vote one way or another. The sole purpose of "opening day" is for economical purposes. I don't benefit from it in any way, so I won't vote "yes", but at the same time, it does drum up business for my buddies at the local shops for a little while. Honestly though, I think it would be more beneficial to keep the hatchery supported and DH streams open and stocked regularly except during the hotter months (where applicable) and close the Wild fisheries during spawning season. That would allow trout fishermen an option to still fish the stocked waters during spawning months, while allowing the wild trout to spawn without being harassed (especially here in the GSMNP where our native brook trout population is on a steady decline). The shops wouldn't get the April "boom" of customers, but I think it would lead to more steady business throughout the year and better angling opportunities for everyone.