New guy checking in, first time fall/winter fly fishing

BrooksAndHooks

BrooksAndHooks

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Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
401
Well I picked up fly fishing earlier this year, and fished throughout the summer and fall, learning the basics and building my collection of flies. I've been doing browns and brooks almost exclusively the past 4 months, and have only fished stocked streams twice in that time. Hitting up a class A stream tomorrow, one of my favorites, but my first time there in the snow. I have a decent selection of nymphs and some streamers, but no midges, stone flys, etc yet. There is a mix of native brook and and few wild browns sprinkled in. I have had good luck in the past at this stream, so hoping for a good day tomorrow. If you have any tips of suggestions on fishing this time of year, or any good resources, let them know. I'll report back and let you know how it goes!

Thanks!

Ryan
 
Ryan

Welcome to the Jungle!

There will be more experienced people who will chime in, but I'll say of you have a variety of nymphs with you you should be okay. If you have something that worked in the warmer weather, give it a try.

Fish a little slower than in warmer weather and you may find the takes a little more subtle than in warmer months.

Be sure to dress in layers, have an extra pair of gloves and a "Dunk Bag". (Also known as dry clothing and a towel, just in case you take a dive.)

As I said, there a better fisher people than me and I'm sure you will hear from them.

Enjoy the day!
 
Thanks for the tips. That pretty much summarizes what I have read from orvis and field and stream and a few other places.
 
Welcome aboard. GG
 
Thanks again for the tips guys. I had an awesome day, actually. Temps were just above freezing here and it was definitely a new experience. I caught 2 smaller brookies around 4 and 6 inches, and one larger brook in the 10-11 range I think. I also caught a nice brown around 13" All native/wild. I opted to fish the section above the class A instead, which is not classified at all except as a stream supporting wild trout by the PAFBC/PASDA. I missed 1 hit, missed a hook set on one smaller trout, and missed a hook set on a very large brown at the end of the day. That was pretty dissapointing, but catching the 3rd largest brown I've caught in this stream and possibly the biggest native brook I've ever landed made it a great day. Fished pheasant tail which didn't do much for me, a prince nymph in a 12, which I caught the brown and one brook one, and a very small olive wooly which got me the last 2 brooks and the big brown hit on. Was out for about 5 hours and stayed pretty warm. I can post some pictures later on. Definitely want to get back out again soon after today.
 
When the water temp drops to near freezing,it's a good time to find honey holes.These are places where warmer water enters the stream..could be springs,or short side streams coming from springs--find them and enjoy some of the best catching of the year as fish tend to stack up in there..usually not too picky..out west I used bushy nymphs like wooly worms in tandem fished dead drift wet style.Sometimes you could get fifty,sixty or more fish in a hundred yard stretch as they will hunker down in the warmer water.
These were usually slower,deeper stretches but if no spots like that often as not the better fishing would be in tail outs or heads of pools with light reflective bottoms and relatively shallow.
 
That is some good advice. There are no spring streams feeding this section but I know where a few are lower down. I will definitely be checking those spots out next time I visit this stream.
 
BrooksAndHooks wrote:
That is some good advice. There are no spring streams feeding this section but I know where a few are lower down. I will definitely be checking those spots out next time I visit this stream.
Click to expand...

Good luck with your Winter time quest. Welcome to the forum. I have met some really good people here. Lots of fun, lots of knowledge.

GenCon
 
San Juan worms. GG
 
I will check those out. This forum definitely seems like a helpful resource with a lot of good people. I have read threads here numerous times over the past year while searching topics, so figured I should join. Here are the two biggest guys.

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Trying to figure out this photo posting thing.
 
Welcome.

Don't look past dry flies on some streams in the winter (dry dropper). I had brookies hitting dries on a 37* day last January.
 
Sweet I will have to try that out next time, I have some hopper variants and only a few other drys right now.
 
Try midge emergers all winter on those SCPA limestoners.
 
Beadhead princes work well year around.
 
Thats what I caught 3 of the fish on, a beadhead prince. I ordered some zebra midges I think, and going to start tying some stuff in a week or two now that I have time. Gota finish out rifle season although deer have been pretty scarce this year in the area.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I just got a new pair of redington crosswater chests and really like what I've seen so far. I had a cheap pair of frogg togg hips that I had been fishing in before but they dry rotted, pretty fast too. I had just got them as a gift because I outgrew the set I had before (gained some weight, lol). These new ones are pretty sexy though. Need to go try some boots out now to finish the combo off. Think I am going to go with another felt and maybe put some of the spikes in them.
 
Depending where you fish, vibram soles might be a better choice if you deal with aquatic hitchhikers.
 
BrookieChaser wrote:
Depending where you fish, vibram soles might be a better choice if you deal with aquatic hitchhikers.
Click to expand...

...and snow.
 
I'll look into it. I'm gona check out the boot selection at field and stream tomorrow. I fish all over, a lot of small brookie streams and mostly limestone stuff. snow, ice, rocks, moss, mud. Any recommendations on a good boot?

We are hitting up a nice FF only section stream on monday so hopefully I'll have good luck with my limit fly selection. Hoping to get a hatch since it will be warm, and I will be learning from 2 more experienced guys so that's good news.
 
We fished Yellow Creek today. Water was low and crystal clear, so spooking fish was a big issue. Pulled out two nice rainbows on an egg pattern. Was a pretty slow day. Missed something big in one of the deep pools. Spooked quite a few big browns. Was interesting to finally fly fish a big limestoner after fishing so many smaller free stone and mixed type streams.
 
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