This may seem weird, a little masochistic really, but I actually enjoy fly fishing in the winter. The river isn’t crowded. The entomology is easy. The bald eagles are soaring here in the western Rockies. Best of all, the fish are hungry. You just have to know how to approach them. And besides, who needs feeling in their toes really?
Here are a few ideas for making the most of your next winter fly fishing trip:
- Pick the right river. This one is crucial in the winter months. I really enjoy fishing the Provo River, Green River, and many of the other fantastic winter waters in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The key is that all of these are either tailwaters or spring creeks. Because of the hydrology unique to tailwaters and spring creeks, these streams maintain water temperatures high enough to keep fish actively feeding all winter. Choose wisely, otherwise you may just be out for the scenery, and nobody wants that, right?
- Go light or go home. Fish that see a lot of anglers and winter fish in low clear water seem more hesitant to take flies on heavy tippet. My personal opinion on this is that it has more to do with maintaining an indiscernible drift than the visibility of the leader. Whatever the reason, this has been shown on the water. One of my favorite rivers gets tons of pressure all year, even in the winter. The browns are very selective. Especially in the winter, going to 7X mono tippet or 6X flourocarbon tippet seems to increase takes significantly.
- Midge it. Winter entomology in tailwaters is pretty easy. Most of the diet of winter fish is made up of small midge larvae. I like simple thin thread midges, rubber midges, or my favorite, the ghost midge. There are a few other flies I use, sowbugs, scuds, and tiny mayflies, but the midges get fished first.
- Soften up a bit. Since I use light tippet and small flies in the winter, I like to use a medium action rod that protects light tippet. My preferred rods are a 9′ 3-weight, 9′ 4-weight or 10′ 4-weight. The shock absorption of these rods is amazing. You can even muscle fish a bit when you need to do so.
Most important of all these things is just to get out there this winter. Now, that said, I have a 20 degree rule. Admittedly, this is a bit wimpy, but that’s my personal threshold. Call me a pansy, I don’t care. Do it in the comments. Fine. I’m getting older and I just don’t enjoy it when it’s colder than that. I’d rather tie flies at that point, so I do.
Hope to see you on the water this winter.
Jake