It’s a love/hate thing, I love active fish and they hate me. Springtime! It’s the perfect storm of processes. A time of year when plant life eagerly and strategically take advantage of the much extended photoperiod and begin to photosynthesize exponentially more; in turn, manufacturing excellent conditions for all things living, especially fish, and even more especially, anglers.
Let’s look at why fish activity increases greatly this time of year. I’m going to keep this simple, because nobody likes confusion. Photoperiod, temperature, nutrients, insects, and oxygen all increase this time of year, and together conform the impetus to which fish benefit immensely.
Photoperiod, the quantity of daylight in a given day, is perhaps the most influential player in the cycle of increased spring synergy. The increased amount of daylight increases the air temperature and begins to melt the snow and ice, transitioning an opaque ice sheet to an eventual translucent one. The sunlight is then able to penetrate the ice and reach aquatic plants, providing the catalyst for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis converts sunlight into chemical energy that is used by all organisms. This energy is a combination of sugars and oxygen.
With the influx of oxygen to a previously oxygen-low environment, aquatic insects suddenly begin to benefit positively and thrive from the increased nutrient loading provided by the newly churning fresh water. Cracks and holes in the ice, shoreline breakup, and snowmelt all increase water flow which dumps essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into the newly emerged aquatic insects’ environment, and into their bodies, producing a lively scene.
You guessed it. Fish will naturally migrate towards these newly oxygen/insect-rich areas (inlets, shallow water, weed beds) and be handsomely rewarded with calories required to induce reproductive growth and processes. Fish now feed intensely, and experienced ice-anglers always know to take advantage of this narrow window before putting their jig-rods and flashers down for the year.