Holdover trout in lakes/res

[Rickhem]

I'm a long, long way from being as technically efficient as some here, but as has been mentioned before, trolling surface lures early in the season is effective, but it's a game of covering lots of water. Early season on Ontario, I've caught lots of big browns trolling jointed Rapalas, and those work in Jersey lakes too right after ice-out. Another effective technique is flutter spoons, again fished on flat-lines, and again, covering lots of water is key, but with flutter spoons, you go painfully slow. When trolling, the fish hook themselves. I've not done much trolling in warmer weather, so I'll leave that to those that have.
Once the lakes stratify, we've drifted herring in and just above the thermocline with success. This was way back when all I had was an old Lowrance green box flasher, and I really didn't know how to use it well to locate fish. Still, since most lakes I've checked have had the thermocline be about 15 to 18 feet, just set your herring at 12 to 18 feet (we used small egg sinkers on the main line, then a leader of ~18", and we staggered the depth of our baits) and wait them out. I also hooked them through a nostril, and used small circles. We also used Strike Guards and after a fish takes the bait, it's just a matter of reeling after that. When the drift is fast, remember to let out more line, and it's almost like live-bait trolling. When you find the fish (or they find you) it'll he busy for a while, but it is mostly a waiting game when drifting.

And don't write off smaller impoundments. Sheppard Lake has a good population of hold-overs and I've caught nice trout out of Barbour's Pond in Garrett Mountain a week before they closed the lake for stocking in the spring. It's nice to not have anyone else fishing these little bodies of water with you too.