Just because it’s Winter doesn’t mean you can’t get out and fly fish
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Putting on fishing waders with cars driving past, skies attached to roof racks. It made sense. It’s the middle of winter and down the road is a ski resort. Most anglers prefer to ski this time of year, but I like to wade through deep powder and cast rather than ride someone else’s coat tails.
The challenge is serious, however. Starting the car in the morning with inches of powder on the windshield, the last thought is to stand in the freezing water all to get a glimmer of a fish. But that ode to solitary bliss is one filled with eager trout and a river devoid of humans, for good reason.
Winter fly fishing gives an excuse to sit in a heated car for a little longer than normal. Watch animals thrive without the worry of fellow anglers. Feeling the tips of toes and fingers slowly go numb, with the crunch of snow beneath my feet as I step out of the car.
Breath can be seen while I pull the rod out to assemble, feeding the line through the guides. Grabbing the chapstick and making sure I put some on the guides, so the line doesn’t freeze them shut. The wool socks are difficult to feed into the thin foot liner of my waders, but necessary to maximize time on the water. The boots slip on, but the should straps and belly section of my waders give me grief from the numerous layers of shirts and sweaters to keep my core warm.
The most challenging part of fishing this time of year isn’t the cold, but the weather. A bright sunny day is often the coldest as the pressure gradient is high, letting atmospheric temperatures descend upon the earth. But that doesn’t mean the trout are any less hungry. The weather however, dictates the pattern, and a dropper nymph rig is often the go to for sunny, clear, and cold days.
Choice weather is either overcast or a snow day. Meaning the sun is blocked and the temperature can be controlled. The cloud cover holds the temperature and warms the day, allowing the trout to open their range from an appetite of nymph rigs, to streamers or even dry flies buzzing the surface.
Regardless of the weather, presentation is everything. The trout are as slow moving as you are and despite the need for insects to survive, you must dangle your fly with the utmost of perfection.
Though some hook sets can be with the viciousness of a summer hatch, most are a subtle dip in the indicator. But with each trout brought to hand, the smile’s the same. Handling the fish should be at a minimum, as you can still take in the colors from the shallow water running through their gills.
Nevertheless the day, temperature, or time, the worry of other anglers doesn’t exist. The fish go undisturbed throughout months of darkness. But it’s in these few hours a day where sunlight shines, that the solitude of the driven angler finds not only peace on the river, but a season of fly fishing unlike any other of the year.
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