April

[MuskieBait]

The Trent-Severn isn't really GTA...it's about 2 hours away and it's more Kawartha.

There isn't much around GTA by the definition of GTA...but there are opportunities in the Golden Horseshoe area...places like Hamilton Harbour, the Grand from Dunnville to Port Maitland and the Welland River. Those three are closer than the Trent-Severn.

There are lots of opportunities in April...

White Sucker run in many of the tributaries including ones in Toronto such as Humber and Don...and all the east tribs.

Carp fishing for pre-spawn fish in Lake Ontario or any of the smaller ponds that have carp.

Crappie and Yellow Perch fishing in the shallows after ice out (you may need a boat or kayak in some areas on Lake Simcoe...but Orillia should be possible from shore...and many smaller lakes have them too).

Channel Catfish and Freshwater Drum at Dunnville and other rivers.

Bowfin in the shallows...but when the water is cold, they are much more difficult since their metabolism is very slow...but I caught them in April in the past...and definitely seen them in April.

In some years with better river conditions you can find spawning Redhorse in April in many larger rivers. They are there even when the water is high and muddy...just that the conditions are challenging to fish for them.

Along the same line, you can find Mooneye by mid- to late-April if the river conditions are decent enough to fish for them.

In some years with a warmer spring you can already find Brown Bullheads on their spawning nests in shallow water.

In some years with a very warm spring you can also find spawning run of White Perch in the Hamilton Harbour or Welland Canal.

And if you are going to drive 2 hours to fish on the Trent-Severn, you can drive 2 hours north and still have safe ice to fish in early April. If it wasn't for the slush, we could still icefish all the way into 3rd week of April on lakes 3 hours drive away...24+ inches of ice takes a while to melt.

You just have to think outside of the box and target fish outside of trout, bass, pike, muskie and walleye...and there are a lot of opportunities...but if you are not interested in those species...well...we'll be fishing and having some great action while you can continue to wait for Trout Opener, Walleye/Pike Opener, Muskie Opener and Bass Opener.

In truth, I don't even have enough time to explore half of those options on any given April...there are more opportunities than you can even partake.