Coldest weather you've fished in

Fishing once during a blizzard on fishing creek and it was around 17 degrees. Hammered fish for a couple hours before tip tops broke off.
 
I have fished in the teens plenty of times, I enjoy winter fishing to a certain degree... If it's below 10 It's really not worth it. We fished today, 15-20 degrees all day, caught 10 or 11 fish in a few hours. Dress warm, bring a change of clothes, and fish with a friend. You don't wana go for a swim alone in weather like that, especially if you are far from your vehicle and spare clothes.
 
Fishing Elk 2yeas back at the jam. Sleet, nasty cold to me.
Wearing shorts today Dave! GG
 
I flyfished for trout in the mid-20's once. I caught fish but I just could not stand the guides and flyline freezing up so much. I never flyfished again in below freezing temps. It has to be in the high 30's or low 40's or I don't go.
 
Salmon River in November with temps in the teens. My friends insisted on waking up at 4 AM to get a "spot" on the stream. We froze our behinds off for 2 hours on the stream only to have guys move in at daybreak within 10'. Guides were constantly icing and I felt like a sucker. I would rather fish a brookie stream all day and not see anyone than do that again. Right or wrong, I slept in and fished at my leisure on some of the more remote spots with more time than anticipated spent at the bar. I traveled 6.5 hours to attend a glorified 1st day in Pennsylvania. No thanks.
 
gulfgreyhound wrote:
Fishing Elk 2yeas back at the jam. Sleet, nasty cold to me.
Wearing shorts today Dave! GG
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About 2 wees ago, I was wearing short sleeves to do some chores around the house and was tempted to change from jeans to shorts.

It got in the 70s.

Yesterday I saw as low as 1F in the valley as I headed off to work. It was more like 7 at the house. But it was a dry cold.

Clear night last night, so it got fairly cold again. Saw as low as 7 on the way to work. But supposed to hit 50 and rain this weekend. Having 2 dogs, I really hate the mud.

Being a fat person, the cold is good because I burn calories without even trying.

Not moving south unless I lose another 50, ... or unless wifey says I must move.;-)

We are investigating our options. I figure I have a few more years to decide (for my wife to decide).

Gonna be tough to give up the farm though.
 
Fished for steel a few years ago in the 0-5 range. that sucked. but caught a bunch of fish.

now days i dont even try to go out if its under 15 degrees. i can dress warm enough to wade with the air temp 15 or more. and i also choose streams accordingly. most of my fishing when its that cold is done on spring creeks, that way i can get my legs and feet in the water (warmer than the air).

also, if your fishing and its below 32-35, do not hold the fish out of the water for more than a second or 2. their gills will freeze very quick and lead to death.
 
February 2014. Pohopoco headwaters. Obviously I couldn't even cast with that amount of ice. I tight lined a wooly bugger for about 25 minutes and then went back to the truck freezing.
 

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Quite a few "salmon river" and quite a few "never agains". LOL.

I'm to the point where I look at water temps rather than air temps. Once it reaches 45-46, I'll consider going. Water climbs to 50-ish, I'm in!

I've been on the Beaverkill fishing a killer Hendrickson hatch on May 1st.....fish boiling everywhere. 30 minutes into the hatch, it snowed so hard you could not see a #12 quill gordon at 20'. Occasionally go brain dead and get talked into crazy winter fishing by one of you crazy forum guys.
 
-15F on the SR. Caught two steelhead, and both of my fishing partners got frostbite on their fingers. We weren't the only ones out fishing either.
And like everyone else has said, won't do that again.
 
I remember once catching a trout on a dry fly in Fisherman's Paradise when the air temp was 9 degrees. I think this was the coldest I've fly fished.

Many of us who are now (well) beyond our twenties... certainly don't have the tolerance for fishing in cold weather we once had. I'm still game to give it a go on occasion but days like today don't lure me outdoors much anymore. It hurt just walking the dog today. :)
 
I too have fished in the Salmon R when it was way too cold, high of about 14F. On this cold trip with a bunch of buddies I hooked up pretty quickly but my reel froze and the steelie was going crazy and soon broke off. Untangling the mess it left was one of the coldest things I ever did.

I have a local stream that stays fishable all winter from spring and hatchery inflow - so it is always mobbed. Therefore, I like to go when it is below 10F to avoid the crowds. However, since it is a 10 minute drive I can fish an hour or so in the afternoon and not get that cold. These days I rig up a collapsible Tenkara rod in the warmth of my living room and go fishing with gloves on. If I break off the fly I just head home because it is too cold to retie a fly on.

I think the best way to stay warm in the winter is to just limit your time. However, when I drive up to the Salmon R I feel I have to fish all day to justify the long drive.
 
I have fished in Single digit weather in my younger days. I don't recommend it. It is a lot like trying to cast a garden hose.
 
A friend and I fished the Salmon River one time when the temp was -18° when we started out, just before daybreak. We fished all day, only going in for lunch when the thermometer read -6°. I remember sitting on the tailgate of my truck in the dark that morning in the Altmar parking lot, taking off my pants to put my long johns on, and thinking that it felt rather cold on my backside....that it was.

 
Coldest was a high in the low 20s and low in the midteens on a spring Creek. Comfort is not usually the problem when the air temp is below freezing. It's the slush and ice floating on the surface and frozen lines and guides preventing a decent presentation. Ive gone out to fish for steelhead when there was so much slush and ice that a 10 foot piece of t14 and a weighted streamer could not sink through all the frozen crap floating on the surface. I've even had nymphs frozen in a small block of ice. Due to these issues I generally will not fish a free stone stream unless it's 32 or warmer for the high. I'll fish a spring fed creek with lows in the teens, the warmer water combats the ice problems discussed above.
 
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