Stillwater Guide Adison Rook details his strategies for winter stillwater preparations. Check out his previous post on local stillwater opportunities.
The peak of fall stillwater action is over for this season here in the Pacific Northwest. We had a pretty good fall season, with a typical boom bust cycle on our venues. That’s typical for fall fishing, and you take what you can get.
We can choose when we go, but we can’t choose the weather! With the season at its end, those dedicated to stillwater fly fishing look at the coming winter and can’t wait for spring. Some tie flies and wait for spring. But there is work we can do to hone our stillwater game this winter. Let’s talk about a few options we have while we wait for more favorable conditions next spring. I encourage anyone new to stillwater to PRACTICE CASTING! Even if it’s just a 20-minute session on a local field, you stand to gain a ton from practice. And don’t just go if it’s nice outside, go in the rain, go in the wind. You don’t need great distance when indicator fishing, but sinking lines often require distance casting. The longer you can cast, the more fish you present to.
If you live in the valley, your familiar with the annual drawdown of our local reservoirs. Often this makes launching a boat impossible. The ramps get slick with mud and can be sketchy. But you can still run” recon” at these reservoirs. In years past I’ve walked the reservoir bottom and located fishy features I can fish during full pool. These might be flats, rock rip rap, channels, drop offs, etc.. Becoming familiar with these features has increased my success substantially during full pool.
If you can, go fishing! Conditions are far from prime, but sometimes you’d be surprised how good the fishing can be, especially when the rivers are blown out. You can get familiar with new lines, flies and techniques during winter stillwater fishing. Maybe you got a new boat, or float tube, or line. Maybe you have some new patterns you want to develop confidence in. Even though our local reservoirs are at low pool, you can still fish from the bank.
You can iron out your new float tube, boat, flies or lines at one of our many natural coastal lakes. I encourage you to go down to the caddis fly this winter and start getting ready for spring season NOW! Talk to the shop and get that float tube, or personal watercraft you’ve been checking out, and get familiar with it this winter. Get a new fly line you haven’t used and put in some reps on it before the spring equinox rolls around. Pick out some new flies, or patterns to tie and get them ready for spring. The folks at the shop have everything you need to improve your stillwater game this winter. If you put in the work now, you’ll be ready to go when the stars align next spring.
Adison Rook
