Well, I can report that the catching was a bust. The fishing was still quite enjoyable. I fished Tuesday and Wednesday evening, between 6 and 8/8:30. Tuesday, the air temperature was in the mid-20s when I started and Wednesday, I took an air temperature of 9 degrees (!). I took a water temperature of 38 degrees Wednesday and that air/water temperature differential created the most intense fog that came rolling off the stream. It remains a fact that I have never caught a fish at night when the mists roll off the water, whether the air temp is 9, 32, or 50.
Although I am generally not an advocate of the idea that a moon at night is bad, for these two nights, I don't think the moon did me any favors. A waxing gibbous moon, plus ten inches of fresh, powdery snow lights up the night like a soft spotlight. You're no longer a shadow moving in shadows. You're a shadow moving against a white backdrop, which provides about as stark a contrast as you can get.
I've stepped out of my car in the parking lot on Spring and heard the music of fish splashing in the stream at night as late as December, but there was no splashing these two evenings. I threw a mouse the first night but with zero surface activity and not a hint of interest, I switched over to a big black Crafty Sculpin. I had what might have been a bump towards the end of my outing, but that was it for Tuesday.
Wednesday was far colder and I almost immediately ran into guide icing issues. Tuesday, I could get about a dozen casts in before needing to dunk the rod. Wednesday, it was only three or four and the guides would freeze solid. I also had two things happen to me that I don't recall ever happening before. The first was that in addition to the guides freezing up, I had a solid coating of ice form on the rod as well. The second was the result of me being unable to find my left hand neoprene glove Wednesday night. So I opted for a wool glove with a fliptop mitten. I quickly found this to be a major pain and difficulty for stripping line, so I removed the glove. By about 7:15, every time I would touch my reel with my bare left hand, my hand would freeze to the reel for a few seconds. Since the reel was aluminum, my body warmth would eventually melt the frozen connection, but it made me think of flag poles and kids freezing their tongues to them during the cold at recess. Anyway, I eventually packed it in Wednesday night.
I wouldn't say the fish were completely inactive either. I've had nights where after I'm done fishing, I hit the water with a spotlight to locate the fish, and the fish are just holding on the bottom. Hit them with the light and they just don't move. That was not the case Tuesday night and to a lesser degree on Wednesday night. The suckers kind of just levitated and moseyed here and there when the light would hit them. The trout would go spastic and dart all over the place, including leaping out of the water in an instance or two.
Despite no catching, all was not lost. I had a net gain of flies, finding a pretty nice articulated streamer that someone lost, in about three feet of water. I resisted the urge to dunk my hand in to grab it. And it's really peaceful and quiet on winter nights, with the snow reflecting the moon and pale, cold starlight. The icy fog was pretty cool too.
