Is The Spring Of The Year The Best Time For Trout Fishing?

When I was learning how to fish for trout in Central Pennsylvania almost 30 years ago (good God the time really flies by) it was widely accepted that the spring of the year was the best time to fish for trout.  After all, the spring is when the season started and coincided with the fish and game department stocking the lakes and rivers with literal truckloads of trout.  So, I accepted the unwritten rule of the spring being the best time of the year to fish for trout and have lived by that moniker for most of my fishing career.

And while this idea isn't necessarily untrue, I have since learned that for me and my fishing sensibilities, the fall has proven to be more productive when fishing for trout, especially when you are referring to large trout, which I define as trout that reach the 18 inch mark or longer. In any case, in many area's of the country, especially the Northeast United States, the spring of the year is a great time of the year for trout fishing, there's no doubt about it.

Nowadays I live in the western United States (Northwest Montana to be exact) and the spring is no doubt a great time of the year for trout fishing with one small caveat if you like to fish for spring trout in small rivers and streams like I do. Here in the west, if you want to have a successful outing trout fishing the small rivers and streams that I like you need to hit the water early.  That means going trout fishing from mid March until late April, which is to say early spring.

And, just as you would probably imagine, this early spring trout fishing can be quite productive here in the Sweater United Sates.  Right up until the point that the waters become to high and muddy due to snow melt in the mountains to drift fish effectively, which as you may or may not have gleaned is my preferred method when it comes to trout fishing?  So, is the spring of the year the best time of the year for trout fishing?  It sure can be and depending on the area that you live and fish and the method that use when you are out fishing for spring trout.