Long before trout season became a date on the Wisconsin calendar, early New Glarus settlers were already leaning on local streams for food. Historical accounts describe the colony’s first settlers surviving in part by fishing nearby waters, a reminder that springtime fishing has deep roots here.

That tradition begins earlier this year. Wisconsin’s general inland trout season for streams, springs and spring ponds opens at 5 a.m. this Saturday moving the traditional harvest opener from the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in April. The season runs from April 4 through Oct. 15 this year.