OCONTO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – Anglers took notice of high water this past weekend for the 2019 inland sport-fishing season opener.
Especially those that took to streams in search of trout.
The section of the North Branch of the Oconto River near Mountain has a swirling current and continues to move right along.
“They’re running and they’re running fast,” says Mark Soletske, owner of Mighty Fine Sports Shop & Fireworks in Lakewood. “Because of all that rain and then we did have that snow last week.”
While some other areas, such as a popular trout stream north of Lakewood called McCaslin Brook, are flowing faster than normal too.
“The trout are definitely here,” says Soletske.
“It’s just not your typical early opener, May fishing.”
And the fast conditions are posing some potential dangers to even the experienced fishermen.
“For the guys that have trout fished before, they know how important footing is,” he explains. “And when you have current, you don’t always have such good footing.”
And in some deeper areas, like the Oconto River, there are a lot of rocks.
“You just got to be careful,” he says. “It’s a time of year for waders, because this water is still very, very cold.”
Soletske adds that the high river levels are similar to a season ago, which has some fishermen relying on past experiences and old tricks.
“I did hear some of the guys say well, I fished it last year. It took me a couple days to find them. I found them last year, and they’re right where they were last year at this time,” he explains.
As of Monday, Soletske says water levels are starting to recede, but it could take two to three weeks before the river returns to normal.
