Winter Trout Fishing

Trout Fishing in Winter When is Trout season? Is it from May to October? Is it all year round? Lots of anglers think about trout fi...

Trout Fishing in Winter

When is Trout season? Is it from May to October? Is it all year round? Lots of anglers think about trout fishing as a summer-months activity. But I'd say it depends on which angler you ask. Trout eat all year round; When we fish for them is up to us. Some anglers in Oregon forget about trout and target Steelhead all winter. But I'm here to tell you that trout fishing can be fun any month of the year!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy wet-wading on long summer days and fishing big dries. Who doesn't?! But I also enjoy bundling up and hitting the river for some winter trout fishing. 

First things first; make sure the water you're fishing is in fact open to angling in the winter months. Here in Oregon, many of our fisheries close for the winter.  But a few rivers stay open all year round. Lack of daylight is an issue in winter (here in Oregon, anyway), so I try to hit the water early, even if it's bitter cold. I also try to drive down any mountain passes before dark. I plan on driving at least "the sketchy section" in the daylight, but that's my personal preference.

One perk of trout fishing in the winter is less angler pressure. It's nice finding solitude easily, but it's even nicer that the fish see fewer flies in the winter. So I find them to be less spooky, and more likely to eat what you're drifting. Additionally, the amount of (real) insect life in the river is usually lower than in summer months, so fish are arguably more willing to eat.

Set yourself up for success by dressing appropriately: I like to wear two pairs of wool socks, with toe warmers in between. I wear a face mask and wool hat. I like the Glacier Gloves flip mitt to keep my hands and fingers warm. I wear long underwear and The Redington I/O Fleece pants, under my waders. Always pack a rain jacket.

For me, it's the little things that count in the winter: Like a thermos of hot coffee, or getting my boots toasty on the shotgun floor of the truck while driving to the river. I keep a small camping stove in the truck.  A second( or third) cup of coffee in the late morning can go a really long ways. A stove is also nice for hot lunch options.  Soup is really nice when its cold...

Some trout flies I like during the winter include:
Beadhead Atomic Pheasant Tail,
Beadhead CDC Pheasant Tail,
Tungsten Beadhead Flashback Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail,
Beadhead Biot Bug, Holy Grail Tungsten,
Beadhead Hare's Ear Silicone Legs,
Tungsten Beadhead Pat's Rubber Legs,
Beadhead Two Bit Hookers,
Beadhead Cadalac Pheasant Tails, 
Beadhead Micro Stones.

I realize I just listed a bunch of nymphs. If you're an angler that prefers fishing dry flies, winter trout fishing might not be for you. I find myself euro nymphing a lot, and yes, fishing strike indicators. Personally, I like nymphing. It might not be the most enjoyable tactic, or the most aesthetic, but nymphing is a great way put some fish in the net!  Plus, I kinda like roll-casting, and keeping my bugs IN the water as much as possible, or "soaked".

I don't fully forget about dry flies during winter.  I usually keep a dry fly box on me, to be ready for fish looking up. It's usually a quick hour of top water action, if any at all. So as soon as I see that first rise or two, I'm breaking down my nymph rig, and getting ready to switch to dry flies for a while. BWO's are a safe bet here in Oregon for a midday hatch. I also keep some October Caddis around, because they seem to show up randomly throughout the winter, and I'll jump on any chance to fish a big dry.

Winter steelheading is fun, but they're elusive! The low success rate of netting steelhead, has giving me a new appreciation for trout fishing. I love getting out, and feeling a tug, even if it's not the Wild Buck Steelhead I've been dreaming of.

Over my weekend, I jumped in my truck and headed to Central Oregon for some trout fishing. I fished two spring-fed rivers, and our local tailwater. The spring-fed waters were pretty slow, but still fun. The fish were there, but they were playing hard-to-get. I nymphed most of the day, but a midday hatch had me frantically fishing/switching dry flies. I saw some Blue Wings coming off the water, so I tried all kinds of BWO patterns. It was about 45 minutes of rise after rise; but all I got was rejected. I was fishing slow, glassy water, so I was using 6x tippet, and I wonder now if even 6x was too big. I think I'll carry some 7x, next time I head out there (That was the first time I ever felt like I needed 7x)

I did have a couple of eats, but both were on a size 18 zebra midge: One fish broke off almost instantly (Perhaps my knots are to blame), and the other ran around for 15 seconds before he wiggled free. The fish were holding in really slow water, so they had the luxury of seeing their food really well; thus all the looks, with no eats. Just watching fish swim around and behave, is interesting enough for me. My interest in watching them sometimes makes me guilty of not moving enough, or standing too close to the fish.

Since fishing was kinda slow on the spring-fed rivers, I stopped at our local tailwater for some "less-technical" fishing, and boy was I glad I did: I happened to find a bucket that was holding a bunch of Rainbows. My flies were getting chewed up, but still catching fish! I think I just got lucky and found some fish that hadn't seen pressure in a while. The temperature got close to 50, which made the fish a bit more active, midday.

I encourage you to hit the water this winter. Tis' the season, to be freezing! Enjoy the peace and quiet. And most of all, enjoy the time spent outdoors! 

Nikolai Sposato
-Did you catch my drift?