Winter Fishing ..

Stagger_Lee

Stagger_Lee

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Mar 22, 2012
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Trying to put some a couple of dates on my Jan calendar to try and get out a few times. If one considers that we have a normal cold winter which are the most productive h2o's on the east side of the state?

Usual suspects like Valley, LL, etc?

An adventurous Brookie expedition worth it considering I realize it isn't brookie season?

Last winter I went with the common popular nymphs & WB .. is that the way to go only or are any fly's and/or dry's on the menu?

Thanks much
 
I love brookie adventures in the snow. The silence of the woods when its snowing is almost startling. Just don't expect the same action in the winter. Brookies can still be had, though. Weighted buggers, slow and deep. Make the meal worth their time.

If you fish a spring creek, bring some BWOs, though. I don't know about Valley or the LL, but I've fished spring creeks in south central PA that have had BWO hatches.

I'm planning on going out in the snow tomorrow. Can't wait!
 
The_Sasquatch wrote:
I'm planning on going out in the snow tomorrow. Can't wait!
Click to expand...

The same thought crossed my mind, provided it's not too windy. Did we have the same idea you think?

Agree with Squatch on the Winter fishing. Brookie freestone fishing is generally slow, but they can be caught...small, weighted Buggers dead drifted is the technique I use. Concentrate on the big, deep, slow holes. Skip the faster water you'd normally target with dries in warmer weather and use the extra hiking to keep warm. I actually like exploring Brookie streams in the Winter because it's easier to move around with less brush. If it looks like it's worth returning in better conditions, I will. If not, I'll explore elsewhere come Spring time.

Limestoners (LL and Valley included) will provide a more consistent fish catching opportunity than freestoners. Nymphing is the game in the Winter, but BWO's are always a possibility, so bring a few.
 
Stagger -

If you fish the LL, tie a stimulator as an indicator instead of using a thingamabobber or other float.
You may get a surprise! Particularly when you fish the edges close to the opposite shoreline.
 
Agree .. Last year I did most of my winter fishing on VC and the LL. In Jan, one of the few times we had snow, I hit 2 (couldn’t find access on 2 others) small streams near Shawnee Mt and it was very beautiful and very peaceful … didn’t catch any fish but enjoyed it none the less. Per dry’s seems BWO have been mentioned a few times for the winter but I have also heard/read Para adams … if nothing is hatching will you possibly still get interest in a dry?



///Edit .. just read Dave and tandem may be the trick :cool:
 
Swattie87 wrote:
The_Sasquatch wrote:
I'm planning on going out in the snow tomorrow. Can't wait!
Click to expand...

The same thought crossed my mind, provided it's not too windy. Did we have the same idea you think?

Agree with Squatch on the Winter fishing. Brookie freestone fishing is generally slow, but they can be caught...small, weighted Buggers dead drifted is the technique I use. Concentrate on the big, deep, slow holes. Skip the faster water you'd normally target with dries in warmer weather and use the extra hiking to keep warm. I actually like exploring Brookie streams in the Winter because it's easier to move around with less brush. If it looks like it's worth returning in better conditions, I will. If not, I'll explore elsewhere come Spring time.

Limestoners (LL and Valley included) will provide a more consistent fish catching opportunity than freestoners. Nymphing is the game in the Winter, but BWO's are always a possibility, so bring a few.
Click to expand...

Don't know what your idea was, but I'm gonna explore the higher stretches of H.C. on the boyscout property. I know we tried it last winter with no luck, but we never went that high. I'd like to see the water up there when it's cold. Caught a lot of brownies up there this summer, I'm curious as to how they do in the winter.
 
I wimped out and stayed in and played with the puppy!
 
It only started to snow here in the past half hour. So much for "snow will develop around daybreak and could be heavy at times, up to 2 in./hour". I fired up the snowblower last night, for the first time in two years, anticipating I'd be using it. Should have gone fishing..

Stag - the way that I look at fishing in the winter is it is a beautiful time to be outside. If there is snow (either actively falling, or on the ground), it adds a whole new dynamic to being on the stream or in the woods. The fish are just a bonus. It's definitely tougher, but I've had days where I've dredged double digits of browns from small freestone streams. I always go out with an expectation of catching fish, no matter the time of year, but I have realistic expectations for winter fishing, meaning I'm satisfied with one or two. I like a small bugger as my primary fly on small freestoners, as I haven't found the fish will move too much for anything but you can dunk a bugger down beside the rock they're living under, and they'll wander out and suck it in.
 
I was thinking of going out but the secondary roads are just a mess around here. I know.... Wa,wa,wa. Perhaps tomorrow. I have a different style indicator I'm itching to try. Two of them actually, but the one is earmarked for a friend.
 
What's that indicator ?
 
This one:
http://www.performanceflies.com/category-s/340.htm
I saw it on Kevin's site and thought it looked interesting. But I didn't know how large the beads were, got to check them out at the tying show and the beads are really small so I picked one up to try.
 
Wusses. I was out there on Saturday. I hooked into something BIG on H.C. I was using 4x tippet, and it snapped my tippet. Not at the knot either....It was either a big sucker (thank God it broke me off), or a big holdover bow. I never got a good look at it.
 
CROAK.
 
The_Sasquatch wrote:
Wusses. I was out there on Saturday. I hooked into something BIG on H.C. I was using 4x tippet, and it snapped my tippet. Not at the knot either....It was either a big sucker (thank God it broke me off), or a big holdover bow. I never got a good look at it.
Click to expand...

Probably was a chub ;-)
 
Lord have mercy if I hooked into a chub that snaps 4x!

I'm quite curious as to what it was. I saw a large shadow under the water, but just for a split second. Long enough for me to think, "this is quite larger than what I normally catch!" Next thing I know, SNAP!
 
Any shot it was a big Brown?
 
Why not? I just don't give myself that much credit haha!
 
Winter fishing can be productive. Generally, fish midday on the limestoners. Brookie trips are always worth it :), but the fishing isn't nearly as good on them in the winter. You can still get a few, as was said, deep and slow.
 
I have had great success with large Bead Head Prince nymphs this time of year.
 
Black beadhead wollybugger. Cast upstream, let it drift towards you.
 
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