Guest Blogger: Joe Dellaria, Woodbury MN

This blog is intended for those who have to contend with snow and ice when they want to go stream trout fishing in the winter. Winter flyfishing introduces numerous new variables into the formula for your success on the water. This blog seeks to serve as a primer to help those who have thought about giving this a try, but haven’t gotten over the hump to do it. Many of the ideas will also work whenever you are facing very low and clear water fishing conditions.

One of the more significant variables is what you wear. If you are cold, you are miserable, and fishing is not much fun. I addressed this in some detail in a recent blog “There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather: Part I. Fly Fishing in Cold Weather Conditions.” Please see that if you need some clothing recommendations.

Assuming you are clothed properly, here are some of the more important variables that will be covered in this three-part series: 

Part I. 

• A Common Myth
• Time of Day

Part 2. 

• Snow, Ice, and Safety
• Glare 
• Water Conditions 
  • o Low and clear 
  • o Low runoff, turbid but fishable
  • o High runoff, unfishable

Part 3. 

• Productive Techniques

In Part 1 we will address the Common Myth and Time of Day. The remainder of the list will be addressed in Parts 2 and 3.

As I work through these variables, it is good to remember they are generalizations. As any fisherman knows, there are always exceptions. With this caveat in mind let’s dive into the list.

Many claim that since the water is colder (usually 35-the low 40s °F) the fish are lethargic so it is best to fish in deeper and slower water. My experience has been that actively feeding fish are often in very similar places as in warmer water fishing. Since the water is usually lower and clearer, fish are actually in about the same depths but those places are displaced from warmer water locations where the water is higher. A rule of thumb that has worked for me is to fish where I can’t clearly see the bottom. Where that occurs is a combination of water depth, whether there are surface disturbances (i.e. riffles or turbulent current), and the amount of ambient light. One of my previous blogs, “Water Visibility: A Major Key to Successful Stream Fishing,” discusses the interplay between these factors in detail. 

I have tracked all my outing for over 10 years. The data shows that my success rate is much more variable in the “Early Season” from January to around mid-April when the water temperatures reach the mid- to upper-40s. Having said that, I have had numerous winter outings with 15 or more fish in the “Early Season”; outings like this aren’t as common during winter but they do occur. As a for instance, I had a 15 fish outing in late January this year with most of the fish coming in a 1-1 ½ hour window where the water temperature was 35 °F. The fish were very active due to a midge hatch and were in 15-24” of water with moderate current. The bottom line is it is best to be on the water when fish are biting – so spin the dial and fish when you can. Sooner or later, you will hit one of these better days.

In contrast to a high-numbers day, you can run into days where it feels like somebody went through the river with a vacuum cleaner and removed all the fish. On days like these you don’t get many takes or they are half-hearted attempts (I like to call them “swing-and-a-miss” takes) that result in the hook just ticking the fish’s mouth. You will feel a little resistance and then nothing. If you watch, you can usually see a flash as the fish’s head momentarily turns towards your rod as the hook catches briefly on their lips. In addition, few if any fish are seen or flushed as you wade. 

These days can be frustrating and certainly disappointing but I would encourage you to hang in there. Five days after my 15 fish outing, I was facing one of these days. I had only one fish after 2 ½ hours of fishing. The outing began with high blue skies and light winds which made matters worse with the low and clear water. I nearly quit after no hits in one of my most productive stretches but decided to persevere. I still had no more fish a half hour later but was at the tail of one of my best spots for size and numbers. Clouds had moved in and the wind was creating mini-ripples on the water surface – things were looking up as clouds and surface disturbances can increase activity as the fish feel more comfortable feeding as their predators can’t see them as well. 

There was a rise in the middle of the run so I cast a parachute Adams with a modified Gray Hares Ear nymph dropper slightly upstream of the rise. A fish came up and nudged the dry fly with its nose, I tried to set the hook to no avail. Apparently, the dropper caught on the back of the fish as it turned and pulled the dry under. I set the hook again – nothing. A second cast slightly upstream of the first and a couple of twitches later (I jostle my rod tip which moves the flies 4-8” inches causing the nymph to rise and fall like an injured minnow) the dry disappeared and I set the hook. My rod doubled over and I immediately felt the typical head shake of a larger fish. A few minutes later I slid my net under a 19 ½” brown! Ten minutes later I landed a fat 13” brown. A fairly disastrous outing had been transformed into an outstanding outing in a matter of 10 minutes! Then everything shut down and nothing happened for the next half hour. That was the end of the activity. But with a 19 ½” brown in hand who cares – it had paid to persevere.

On sunny days the water temperature can rise 2-3 degrees by mid-afternoon. This seemingly small change usually leads to more active fish which tends to increase fishing success. I generally try to be on the water by around noon, plus or minus an hour or so, and fish until 4-5 p.m. Most often the fish will tell you when the day is over – all of a sudden, the fish will stop taking the flies. You can be doing fairly well getting 2-4 fish/hour and all of a sudden – nothing! I always persist a little past this to ensure things are really over. As a fisherman I am an optimist. I always think if they are biting, they will continue to bite and if they are not, they will soon!

Remember, the number of daylight hours is smaller in winter (especially as you are fishing further from the equator). There is usually a spurt of activity before the sun hits the horizon and it is good to be on the water then. If it is cloudy, the spurt of action will occur earlier as the activity seems to be associated with the amount of ambient light which changes with the amount of cloud cover.

As always, if you can only fish earlier in the day, go for it. There’s always an exception and only those who are on the water will get to enjoy it!

In the Part 2 blog we will look at: Snow, Ice, and Safety, Glare; and Water Conditions.