This week’s warm weather provides a great opportunity to go fishing

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m pretty sure that we have not seen the end of winter yet. Please don’t shoot the messenger. We are going to see some more freezing cold days, and we shouldn’t be surprised to see some snow falling again. That said, we are in the middle of some beautiful weather and that means let’s go fishing.

I guarantee that if the forecast holds true, I’ll be on the banks of a local pond every day for the next few days until the weather reverses. I implore you to get out and throw a few casts. It will change your mood for the better. A half-hour of fishing will chase the winter blues away like nothing else will.

You don’t have to plan a long excursion. Just go out and loosen up your casting arm in advance of great weather and longer trips. This is a great time to get your techniques ready for spring fishing. It’s also a good time to check out some of your equipment and make sure that nothing is broken.

If you find broken equipment, you have plenty of time to get it repaired or replaced before the days come when you want to be on the water for extended hours. You know, this is the perfect time to take your reels into the shop for maintenance or to have them respooled with fresh line. I’m as guilty as the next guy of waiting until the repair center is backed up for a month. Then I skip having the work done and seeing my equipment go south due to my procrastination. Bad move.

I am planning on catching my first fish of the season while many people are going to be reading this column. Thursday weather is supposed to be perfect, and Friday and Saturday look even better.

I don’t plan on being picky. I’ll be happy to reel in any swimming creature that elects to take a bite at whatever I have tied in my line. Bluegills and largemouth bass are most prevalent in local waterways. I’m good with either.

If I had to catch a fish to keep myself from starving (talk about pressure). I’d use a Mepp’s Spinner. I’d select one in the smaller sizes, like a No. 1 at best. For color, I prefer a silver blade and I like the ones that come dressed with a little bunch of squirrel tail in white. If I was a fish, I know I’d be dining on one right now.

Remember that the fish are looking to eat small meals right now, and both the fish and their prey are still in the winter doldrums and are not swimming fast yet. Your lures need to be retrieved very slowly because the predators are not in the mood to be chasing aggressively.

Shallow water is the place to be right now. I shake my head when I see shore fishermen trying to cast out to the middle of a lake. They’re not there, folks. Place your casts perpendicular to the shoreline.

Fish are looking for their meals in the warmest water that they can find. The north sides of waterways warm up quicker than any other side, so fish these areas first. This is not a hard and fast rule but a pretty darned good one to try. Dark bottoms attract sunlight quicker than light, sandy bottoms, so they warm faster too.

Objects attract sunlight, too, so make sure you check out trees and logs in the water. Heck, don’t forget to try a cast at an old shopping cart that some goofball pushed into a pond. It’s a good location. Let me know how you did and don’t forget to share your pictures.

• Daily Herald Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley can be reached at sarfishing@yahoo.com.