Fishing does not end with the onset of hunting season. Even if you live in the Northern reaches of the United States there are still trout t...
Fishing does not end with the onset of hunting season. Even if you live in the Northern reaches of the United States there are still trout to be had. Surely a quick jaunt down south is a welcome respite, from Georgia to Arizona trout fishing is going strong all winter long, but don't dismiss nearby waters either if your address is due North.
If you have a tailwater nearby consider yourself blessed. Tailwaters are those stretches of river downstream from a dam. They are a blessing for trout as their consistent flows and temperatures allow trout to be active when other rivers freeze up, heat up or dry up. Easily the most important winter trout food is the midge, sometimes they make up 22% of a trout's annual diet, and those percentages spike in the winter. While the air is too frigid for our friends the caddisfly and mayflies, the midge will hatch year around.
Many cringe at the thought of microscopic flies tying them onto extra fine tippet, with freezing hands, but it doesn't need to be frustrating. Two things are absolutely necessary, plenty of warm layers, and a thermos of coffee, for your hands if nothing else.
Try rigging up before leaving the house or at least the car. In winter you generally do not need to go seriously small. Size 18 ought to be small enough, favorite sub-surface patterns are the BH Zebra Midge and the Disco Midge, you can also run a dropper with a dry fly midge. However, I find most hook-ups are going to occur relatively deep in the water column. A double nymph rigging with a small split shot about a foot up from the top fly is a good bet.
Fishing the slow water, tailouts or deep pockets are the first places to try. Cast a bit upstream of the desired water to allow extra time for the small patterns to sink. Fish in the winter even in tailwaters tend to be a bit sluggish, so a gentle hook set is all that is needed. Besides that will save your light tippet from snapping. Strike Indicators will greatly aid with detecting.
Occasionally you will see some surface dimpling. Midges rise from the bottom, and our vulnerable to being taken all the way to the surface. Parasol midges are a great pattern for those back eddies that are showing repeated surface activity. Hanging just in the surface film, where the emerging midge will face resistance this pattern can result in some great winter frenzied activity.
Do plan your days, find a sunny spot, and cast those midges, it will improve your cabin fever.
If you have a tailwater nearby consider yourself blessed. Tailwaters are those stretches of river downstream from a dam. They are a blessing for trout as their consistent flows and temperatures allow trout to be active when other rivers freeze up, heat up or dry up. Easily the most important winter trout food is the midge, sometimes they make up 22% of a trout's annual diet, and those percentages spike in the winter. While the air is too frigid for our friends the caddisfly and mayflies, the midge will hatch year around.
Many cringe at the thought of microscopic flies tying them onto extra fine tippet, with freezing hands, but it doesn't need to be frustrating. Two things are absolutely necessary, plenty of warm layers, and a thermos of coffee, for your hands if nothing else.
Try rigging up before leaving the house or at least the car. In winter you generally do not need to go seriously small. Size 18 ought to be small enough, favorite sub-surface patterns are the BH Zebra Midge and the Disco Midge, you can also run a dropper with a dry fly midge. However, I find most hook-ups are going to occur relatively deep in the water column. A double nymph rigging with a small split shot about a foot up from the top fly is a good bet.
Fishing the slow water, tailouts or deep pockets are the first places to try. Cast a bit upstream of the desired water to allow extra time for the small patterns to sink. Fish in the winter even in tailwaters tend to be a bit sluggish, so a gentle hook set is all that is needed. Besides that will save your light tippet from snapping. Strike Indicators will greatly aid with detecting.
Occasionally you will see some surface dimpling. Midges rise from the bottom, and our vulnerable to being taken all the way to the surface. Parasol midges are a great pattern for those back eddies that are showing repeated surface activity. Hanging just in the surface film, where the emerging midge will face resistance this pattern can result in some great winter frenzied activity.
Do plan your days, find a sunny spot, and cast those midges, it will improve your cabin fever.
