My wife, Garnet, and I drove to Martha Lake in the afternoon and found several people fishing and around seven parties with established campsites.

One group had motor homes set up circle formation, which helped shield them from the wind. Another group of three or four was in another area, but more exposed.

It didn't matter as all anglers seemed to be having fun. One angler found a spot just over a high bank and, therefore, out of the wind a bit. He said he fishes the lake near the concrete handicapped platform later in the year and has had great luck in past years. Garnet and I are planning to follow his lead, although on this day, he had not caught a fish after fishing for an hour.

Wind was a factor during the March 1 opener last Thursday, but most anglers seemed pleased. Fish and Wildlife recorded the wind speed around 12 mph at noon, but when we were there, in the early afternoon, it had to be blowing considerably stronger.

So how did anglers fair during the opening day?

Chad Jackson, area fish biologist for Grant and Adams counties filed the following report about the results:

The 2012 March First opener was one of the best in recent times for anglers fishing the production waters, such as Upper Caliche, Martha, Burke, and Quincy Lakes. 

The quality waters, such as Lenice, Nunnally, Lenore, and Dusty Lakes, saw very low effort and poor catch rates early in the day. Anglers who participated in the opener were greeted with mostly sunny skies, mild winds and good to excellent harvest rates. 

Air temperatures were chilly in the morning ranging from 28 to 32 degrees. The wind began to pick up in the 10- to 12-mph range at around noon. Overall, harvest rates in the production waters were good to excellent ranging from 2.7 and 4.3 trout per angler. 

Angler effort was significantly lower, at 50 to 70 percent, than observed the past two years, but winter conditions on the west side and pass likely altered angler plans. Suspect several anglers are waiting until the weekend to fish the production and quality waters. 

Summaries of the opening day lakes:

Upper Caliche Lake: Upper Caliche Lake was the best producer on the opener with harvest rates of 4.3 trout per angler. This rate is up significantly from 2010, when the harvest rate was less than one trout per angler. Trout quality was good with sizes ranging from 11.5 to 13 inches. Fishing should continue to be good over the next couple of months. 

Quincy and Burke lakes:  Both Quincy and Burke Lakes fished very well and very similar on the opener with harvest rates of 3.0 and 2.9 trout per angler, respectively.

Yearling trout size was good ranging in size from 12 to 14 inches. Of interest to anglers, nearly 40 percent of trout checked in the creel at both lakes were carryovers ranging in size from 16 to 20 inches. 

Fishing on both lakes should be good to excellent over the next two to three months for yearling and carryover trout. Trout will continue to grow during the spring. 

Martha Lake: Martha Lake productively was slightly down from last year, but still produced well with a harvest rate of 2.7 trout per angler.

Trout quality was good with sizes ranging from 12 to 14 inches. Fishing should be good through the remainder of March.

Lenice and Nunnally lakes: Fishing was very slow at Lenice Lake due to cold air temperatures, around 29 degrees, and strong winds, at 15 to 20 mph sustained, out of the west.

There were white caps on the lake surface during the entire creel survey.

Effort was lower than observed last year with a peak angler count during the creel survey of 14 boats or pontoons with 18 anglers at 10 a.m.

Only one fish was observed caught-and-released. Water temperature was 42 to 43degrees. Fishing will likely pick up once the wind dies down. No anglers were observed at Nunnally Lake on the opener.   

Dennis note: I visited with an angler camping at Potholes State Park on March 1, who had fished Nunnally. He reports catching one fish, but gave up because the wind made fishing near impossible.

Dusty Lake: Only four anglers were observed fishing Dusty Lake on the opener.  One angler was interviewed and caught rainbow trout of 12 to 14 inches.

Lake Lenore: No anglers were observed fishing Lake Lenore on opening day.  Currently, the lake is 100 percent ice free and fishable.

Dennis note: Low angler turnout on opening day means the fishing should continue to be good for at least the next month.

On sunny and warmer days, hopefully without wind, gather the family, make a lunch, take plenty of clothing and enjoy a day on the water.