Fishing in April: What's Biting
The species with the strongest bite in April across the lakes in our guide, how to fish each one and where to go.
Crappie
At 50-60F, crappie move from deeper brush to shallow coves, bushes and docks in 3-10 ft. Small jigs or minnows below a float find them. Fish early in the day.
Try: 1/32-1/16 oz jigs with soft plastic bodies, Live minnows, Small spinners.
Walleye
After ice-out, walleye gather near tributaries and rock and gravel shorelines at 40-50F in 3-12 ft. They feed best at dusk and into the night. Jig-and-minnow, stick baits and slow crankbaits work well.
Try: Jig with minnow, Nightcrawler harness on a bottom bouncer, Crankbaits.
Rainbow / Brown Trout
In spring, lakes at 45-55F bring trout to shallows and inlets, 3-15 ft. Small spoons, spinners and PowerBait draw strikes. Browns often feed at low light.
Try: Small spoons, Inline spinners, PowerBait.
Full Rainbow / Brown Trout guide →
White Bass / Wiper / Striped Bass
At 50-58F, white bass run up rivers and tributaries to spawn. Wipers and stripers also move to shallow flats. Small jigs, spinners and minnows in current are great.
Try: White jigs and curly tails, Spoons and slabs, Inline spinners.
Full White Bass / Wiper / Striped Bass guide →
Lake Trout
Right after ice-out, with water around 38-45F, lake trout feed in shallow water near rocky shores, 10-40 ft. Casting spoons or trolling is productive.
Try: Jigging spoons, Tube jigs, Cut bait.
Largemouth Bass
As water climbs from the high 40s into the 50s, bass slide out of deep winter spots and stage on points and channel edges in 5-15 ft near shallow coves. Warm afternoons push them into the shallows to feed. Slow-rolled spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and lipless cranks find them well.
Try: Plastic worms (Texas, wacky, Carolina), Jigs with craw trailers, Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits.
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