Jump start the fishing season

As the temperatures warm and the creeks start opening up, thoughts turn to fishing for many. While the king salmon season won't get started for at least a month, there are plenty of opportunities to fish for trout and grayling in the next few weeks.

Rainbow trout migrate from the upper portions of creeks into the larger tributaries, such as the Susitna River, for the winter.

Early in the spring, you can often have good luck fishing the mouths of these creeks, as the rainbows make their way back up the stream, where they stay for the summer, waiting for the salmon to arrive and provide them with meal after meal of eggs and flesh.

Grayling are popular in the early spring as well, as they'll feed on just about anything presented to them. They are a cold-water species by nature, and are active feeders in the colder spring months, making them ideal for anglers looking to get an early-season trip into their summer of fishing.

"I love fishing for grayling because you can catch them all day long and not get bored," said Wasilla angler Mike Utney. "Plus, they are a perfect fish for kids. If you take a kid king salmon fishing, they get bored so easily because it can be all day before they get a strike. With grayling, once you find some fish, you can be there all day and the kids can have fun with them."

Once the lakes finally do open up, expect some hot and heavy fishing for the first couple of weeks. Often, right after ice out and just before ice up in the fall are the two best times of the year to go after lake trout and northern pike. The Nancy Lakes system boasts some enormous northern pike, which can be targeted close to the shoreline during the early spring.

"That three-week period in between ice fishing and summer fishing is the worst," Utney said. "Because it's all a waiting game. Once the ice goes out, me and my boy try to get out as much as we can, because it's the best time to be out in the lakes. By the middle of the summer, the fish are back in deep in all the lakes around here."

So what should you use when you go fishing early in the spring? The answer lies in procrastination, for a change -- you can get away with using the same tackle and same flies you used in the fall, so if you haven't even cleaned out your gear from then, you're still in luck.

For fly fishing, flesh flies are effective early in the season, as are pale beads and the usual assortment of dry flies for grayling, such as the Adams and mosquito flies. You may also want to try alevin and smolt patterns for rainbows, as trout feed on the fry of the salmon migrating out to saltwater to begin their maturation. If you aren't fly fishing, try small spinners.

"You don't need your entire fly box for a trip this early," Utney's fishing partner, Anchorage's Tommie Frenzliek, explained. "By the time you get through five or six different patterns, you're freezing cold and you'd rather be at home in the warm, wondering why you thought April was a good time to go fishing in Alaska. I blame it on the [Great Alaska] Sportsman Show -- you know, you go to the show so you obviously should be fishing? I'll wait until its warm out."

Utney's son, however, sees it differently.

"I don't care how cold it is or even if we catch anything or not, it's still fun," 12-year-old Mack Utney said.

When asked what the best part of spring fishing is, Mack Utney had a measured response.

"It means school is almost over," he said with a sly grin.

If you haven't been ice fishing this winter, remember that with a new season means a new fishing license -- make sure you buy yours before heading out for that first trip of the season.

Also, make sure you have plenty of life jackets for everyone in your canoe or boat -- you should always wear a life jacket anyway, and in the spring, cold water can lead to hypothermia quickly.