It's time for trout fishing!

MAT-SU — Every swirling eddy and bend in the creek holds the promise of a good fight, of a rainbow trout leaping at the end of the line and the reel singing as the fish races upstream. The water is running cold and clear, and the trout are feisty — it is an angler's paradise.

The summer fishing season has arrived, and for those who enjoy fishing the creeks for trout, there is no time like the present.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, in run-timing charts, lists May and June as two of the best months to go after rainbows. But local guide Ray Blodgett of Fisherman's Choice Charters said he hit the prime time in the Talkeetna River at the end of April.

"We got 80 fish on April 25," Blodgett said. "One was 31 inches long."

Farther south, anglers are catching trout in the lower stretches of Willow and Montana creeks as well as other Susitna drainage streams, according to Fish and Game. In early spring, trout move back into the smaller tributaries of the Big Susitna after having spent the winter in the larger river.

The advantage to the angler comes in part from the shallow water in these smaller streams this time of year, said Dave Rutz, area fishery biologist with the Palmer office of Fish and Game.

"If the creeks are running low, they hold up in the deeper holes . . . they're easier to get to," he said.

Add spawning season into the mix, and the trout are even more likely to be congregated in the larger holes. And spawning doesn't dampen their urge to bite.

"They get kind of aggressive," Rutz said.

Rutz said rainbows are likely to hit a lot of different kinds of lures and flies, but paying attention to the details of the season can increase the odds. This time of year, bits and pieces of last year's salmon carcasses are floating down the creeks, and salmon smolt are heading downstream as well.

"Something that imitates a salmon smolt . . . something with good, silver color and paw marks," Rutz suggested. For those who use spinning rods, the biologist recommended Vibrax or Mepps lures ranging in size from No. 0 to No. 3.

Blodgett says as a guide he prefers spinners for spring trout fishing. But for the diehard fly fisher, smolt and egg patterns are the best bets.

"You can fool them once in a while with an egg-sucking leach," Blodgett said.

Anthony Route, in his book, "Flies for Alaska," also recommends dark orange or cream Glo-Bugs, Battle Creek Specials, purple or black Wooly Buggers and Woolhead Sculpins for spring trout fishing.

Whether it is spinning lures or flies, Blodgett advises anglers to use a barbless single hook to make catch and release more successful. This is a legal requirement in many local streams, including the north fork of the Kashwitna, Willow Creek downstream of the Parks Highway bridge, Montana Creek and Fish Creek in the Talkeetna River drainage. But many devoted anglers release their fish regardless of the regulations.

"Fly fishing is the classiest chess game in town," says Sheridan Anderson in his fly-fishing book "The Curtis Creek Manifesto." "And we must be chivalrous enough to leave the pieces on the board so that others can play."

Another regulation note — all flowing waters inside the "Palmer-Wasilla Zone" are closed to fishing until June 15 to protect spawning trout. A map of the area is included in the Southcentral Alaska sport fishing regulation booklets, available at the Palmer office of Fish and Game and places that sell fishing licenses.

Those who want to go after trout aren't confined to the creeks, however. Fish and Game is busily stocking local lakes and as water conditions improve the fishing is likely to be good. Rutz said while anglers are chomping at the bit to hit the water, the fishing is best four or five days after a lake has been stocked. A list of local stocked lakes is also available at the Palmer office of Fish and Game.

As for Blodgett, his thoughts are already drifting toward the king season. Reports that the salmon have arrived in some portions of the Valley have prompted him to leave behind the trout and go after the monsters.