Educate me on winter fishing

[Jimbot]

I live in the dirty SE. My trick in the winter is wastewater treatment plants....water comes out warm, clean, and high in oxygen....killer fishing.

Oh and cheap stocking foot neoprenes....youll be like a sausage....a toasty sausage.

 

[ryansheehan]

sgrim wrote:
On freezing tips & guides ... I have used, with marginal success, a heavy application of fly floatant paste to smear around on the guide and slow the accumulation of ice. Use something like Cortland Dab. The thick stuff. It's not foolproof and will require reapplication but it's better than nothing.

Chapstick is cheaper, fox that looks like a creek chub to me :-D

 

[troutfanatic]

I see a lot of good advice here. One thing I would add. If you get days that are extraordinarily warm for the time of year, high 40s and up, it pays to have a few BWOs of various stages (emerger, dry, spinner and even a soft hackle). keep em small, 16 is about the biggest I'd fish.

Two years ago I fished a stocked stream in Allegheny county on Xmas Eve. It was 54 degrees. I was doing a small black stone nymph under a random foam pattern (more as an indicator than a fly). I wasn't having much luck. Around 3pm a hatch started and the trout were sluggishly slurping the emergers. I switched to a BWO and ended up finishing the day with upwards of 30 fish.

Another trick I use is, I tie girdle bugs. I tie them on a size 10-12 2xl streamer hook and wrap them with a sparkle chenile that looks similar to peacock herl. I add a lead wrap and a bead head, and I make the rubber legs very long. Initially I fish it under an indicator, if not action, I high stick it. If that doesn't work, I switch to stripping it very slow and jerky like a streamer. One of those three is a winner most every time I do a winter trip.

Last Saturday I was fishing in 25 degree temps in VA with the water in the mid 40s. Fish were slugish as all hell. I was fishing a green bunny sculpin with a helmet and that did the trick on a couple of nice wild browns.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

 

[shakey]

sometimes when fishing in the winter, you have to stop fly fishing ,and use beadhead nymphs,like copper johns or even brassies.

 

[Kevin82]

Thanks for the info on the guides, I was thinking vasoline, but thought it would gum/freeze up. I always have the chapstick in my pocket this time of year, Ill apply it next time before I start fishing.
The best tip I can think to give is get some of the reusable handwarmers, they last best when kept in a pocket close to yur body, before and after use. They dont last as long as the throw away ones, but hell you can just boil them and use em again...

 

[ryansheehan]

It not the size of the kype but how you use it! Nice fish!

 

[ryansheehan]

shakey wrote:
sometimes when fishing in the winter, you have to stop fly fishing ,and use beadhead nymphs,like copper johns or even brassies.

Sometimes I stop fly fishing in the spring, summer, fall and use beadhead nymphs.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

shakey- hardly anybody really fly fishes anymore...you better get with the program.

ryan- that was one of the sneaky spotted suckers i was talkin about. they hide in with the regular suckers.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

sandfly wrote:
leave the mountain brookies to spring they are having a ruff enough time of it. insects are gone. (burrowed) not much in baitfish. lots of ice and cold water.

Good thoughts here. Stick to spring cricks I think.

 

[ryansheehan]

Tailwaters too. Winter is my favorite tine to fish.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Right. Good call.

 

[afishinado]

nomad_archer wrote:

Dave_W wrote:
Nomad,
If you're able to travel to central PA, particularly Centre or Cumberland Counties, you have the famous limestone streams. They don't freeze (or freeze very little under very cold conditions) and often fish well in winter as the water temps are much warmer.

If it isn't brutally cold, mountain wild trout streams can fish okay in winter as well. In my experience, wild brook trout can be quite active in winter, even when there is ice on the creeks. Sometimes these streams are all but inaccessible due to deep snow in mountain draws and ravines. Snowshoes can help, but streamside brush and rhododendron can defeat snowshoes. It's just better to wait for the snow to melt before hitting mountain brookie streams.

Dave,
I do have the ability to travel somewhat around 2ish hours one way for a day trip may be a good soft max of travel time. I cant travel more than an hour this week but as we get farther into the winter I will be able to travel. I am not familiar with Centre or Cumberland counties at all. I don't even know where to start when planning a trip up there. Which streams, decent access, wading that is on the easier side as I dont want accidentally to go swimming in the winter.

Spring Creek Centre County

Tulpehocken Berks County

Yellow Breeches Cumberland County

 

[nomad_archer]

ryansheehan wrote:

shakey wrote:
sometimes when fishing in the winter, you have to stop fly fishing ,and use beadhead nymphs,like copper johns or even brassies.

Sometimes I stop fly fishing in the spring, summer, fall and use beadhead nymphs.

what's fly fishing? Usually beadhead nymphs and streamers spring, summer, fall, why not winter.

 

[nomad_archer]

Thanks Afishinado. I want to get to both the breeches and spring creek. They will need to wait until later in the winter as I suspect my waders are questionable and will be getting replaced sometime next month.

 

[Dave_W]

nomad_archer wrote:

ryansheehan wrote:

shakey wrote:
sometimes when fishing in the winter, you have to stop fly fishing ,and use beadhead nymphs,like copper johns or even brassies.

Sometimes I stop fly fishing in the spring, summer, fall and use beadhead nymphs.

what's fly fishing? Usually beadhead nymphs and streamers spring, summer, fall, why not winter.

Nomad,
They're kidding around - don't take 'em literally.

 

[nomad_archer]

Dave_W wrote:

nomad_archer wrote:

ryansheehan wrote:

shakey wrote:
sometimes when fishing in the winter, you have to stop fly fishing ,and use beadhead nymphs,like copper johns or even brassies.

Sometimes I stop fly fishing in the spring, summer, fall and use beadhead nymphs.

what's fly fishing? Usually beadhead nymphs and streamers spring, summer, fall, why not winter.

Nomad,
They're kidding around - don't take 'em literally.

I know - I was just getting in on a bit of the sarcasm.

 

[BradFromPotter]

The_Sasquatch wrote:

sandfly wrote:
leave the mountain brookies to spring they are having a ruff enough time of it. insects are gone. (burrowed) not much in baitfish. lots of ice and cold water.

Good thoughts here. Stick to spring cricks I think.

Nothing wrong with fishing for brookies in the winter...if you find open water.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Brad up in your neck of the woods, that's a big "if"! Down here it's a little easier. Either way, my favorite "local" brookie stream is limestone influenced so it's usually open and flowing.

But it's still freaking cold out.

 

[dc410]

nomad,

Check your PM