The change of seasons can be an especially challenging time to find fish. This is even more true for new anglers. Beginners and experts alike have had the last 6 months to become accustomed to summer and fall conditions, which sometimes do not differ all that much. Winter fishing for trout is often very different from the summer and fall conditions that we all love. It comes with its own challenges, but can become an extremely rewarding time of year when we and the fish get our winter bearings.
Winter in most places is synonymous with one word: cold. In some places it means snow, some places wind, but in the valley here it typically means rain. Winter rains affect every aspect of fly fishing, most notably because the creeks, streams, and rivers where we fish collect much of this rain that falls in the valley. Excess rain makes its way down the draws in our Cascades, eventually hitting a small creek, a larger tributary, then into a river that will reach the valley floor. In this way, conditions from day to day can change depending on rainfall. Heavy rain can cause rivers to rapidly rise and become off color with sediment. When rivers rise to the point that they are un-fishable we refer to them as being “blown out”. Conditions like this can also be dangerous, so please use caution if you venture out in high water. As temperatures and precipitation constantly fluctuate throughout the winter, insect and fish behavior follows.
Insect hatches are generally not as consisitent as in the summer time. When the weather is in the right window, we can see extremely prolific hatches of Baetis sp. mayflies. These are also commonly referred to as: Blue Winged Olives, BWOs, Olives, Blue Wings, or by their family name Baetidae. These small olive bodied mayflies love hatching on overcast days, generally the hatch begins mid day. Blue Wings generally prefer to hatch along “glides” of relatively calm water. This ensures a more successful emergence as mayflies have to let their wings dry on the water’s surface before flying away. This means when the river is rushing faster, and there is more turbulent water, that there is less desirable space for them to make a successful emergence. Generally, timing a great BWO hatch means finding an overcast day, that doesn’t happen to land after several days of torrential downpours. Especially cold weather in the low 30s is also a bit too cold for them to hatch in massive numbers, however I have seen it in past years, finding olives and winter stones on the snowy banks.
Winter Stoneflies are another insect that hatches in the winter. These are extremely small stoneflies of the Nemoura family. They are sometimes referred to as forest flies or little black stones, and can actually tolerate being frozen. Generally these show up later in the winter in January and February. Unfortunately the dry fly eat for these bugs is far less than the BWOs, almost nonexistent in comparison. They do however make a fantastic searching nymph. As large quantities of these nymphs move into the shallows to hatch, trout do get especially keyed in on these small black stoneflies. Here is an especially productive winter searching pattern for winter stones.
Fish behavior heavily follows insect hatch behavior. It is also influenced by two other factors: temperature & flows. Temperature directly influences a trout’s metabolism. Cold weather slows trouts metabolism significantly and they are focused on conserving energy. This means that when trout are not actively feeding, you need to practically hit them on the nose with your nymphs to elicit any response. Times of feeding during the warmer parts of the day, or during an active hatch is a different story. Lots of activity is packed into a smaller time window, so being in the right place at the right time is crucial. After the window has passed trout will again default to their sluggish disposition that they will not shake until late winter/ early spring. Like humans, fish are also slow to rise on cold mornings, most of their activity will be isolated to the warmest parts of the day.
Especially high flows displace fish. This can be understood again through a trout’s slowing metabolism. A trout’s tendency to conserve calories in the winter means they will hold in ares that require very little physical effort. Trout may leave these areas to enter a feeding lane for a short window, but generally will hold in slower water. This means behind rocks, snags, deep pools, long glides, and they will not be sitting right on a seam, rather they will be unusually far from it compared to the summer. As rivers swell and approach “blown out” conditions fish find a respite from fast currents unusually close to the bank. In high water you can catch fish right at your feet on the bank, so start close and progressively probe deeper and deeper. Generally, finding where fish stack up will reward you with several fish that may investigate your nymph offerings. When you locate where fish hold in sections of river you are familiar with, it is important to learn when they most actively feed based on current conditions and return then.
High water not only corrals fish into more calm water, it also displaces smaller trout, baitfish, and sculpins. Especially old, large fish have seen this for years and know high water means displaced T-bone steaks. These fish can be awoken from their slumber for large meals, only to return to their calm lie after inhaling a small fish frantically darting downstream. The same can be held for larger nymphs such as slamonflies, gold stones, and worms that end up in the river after rains causing high water.
Because a trout’s metabolism slows in the winter, after they feed they re-enter their winter trance and can’t be bothered. In the summer, trout have to constantly feed as it is their growing season and they physically are more active. After a trout feeds heavily during a short winter hatch or after eating up a large baitfish, fish do not have to feed frequently as other times in the year as those calories go much further in the winter.
Nymphing is the primary method of catching fish in there winter. Generally, fishing an indicator rig with two flies is the go-to winter rig. It is a great way to probe water and decipher how the trout are responding to current conditions. When water is especially high and off color large, heavy flies are a must. If fish can’t see your flies of if they’re not deep enough, they will not eat them. Here are some shop favorites for high water: Jigged Mega Prince, Jig Wonky Worm, T.J Hooker Nymph, Croston’s JIgged Chenille Worm, Montana Fly Company Jigged Girdle Bug, Tunghead 20 Incher, Jigged Pink Squirrel, Roza’s Colored Water Fly Jig, or a Slush Egg. When there has been a lack of rain and water is clear, using smaller flies is more advantageous. Most nymphs are very small during the winter, minus larger stoneflies with multi-year growing periods. Many of these nymphs on the river bottom were born in the prior summer, so small flies are what fish are keyed into. Here are some small options we like to fish in sizes 14-20: Jigged Duracell Nymph, Weiss’ Possum Anchor Jig, Berry’s PCP Jigged Nymph, Zebra Midge, Dally’s Tailwater Jig, Juju Baetis, Weiss’ CDC Silex, Split Case BWO, Jigged Tungsten Rainbow Warrior, LED Midge, Tungsten Jig TNT Nymph, Roza’s Jigged Pink Pheasant Tail, Roza’s Dark Neon Jig, or an Olsen’s Blowtorch. Below is a fantastic local pattern for a delicate Baetis nymph.
Dry fishing is almost exclusively limited to Blue Wings for a good chunk of time. Do not let this deter you, the hatches can be as prolific as the summer PMD hatch, and you’d think it is the middle of the summer if you saw the fish rising. During these prolific hatches, fishing cripples and emergers is especially advantageous. Here are some favorites: Galloups OG Bent Cripple, Quigley’s Film Critic BWO, Klinkhammer BWO, Morrish’s May Day Blue Winged Olive, Almost Dun or a Baetis Cripple. These flies lower in the surface film and are sometimes hard to see, tagging them behind a more buoyant dun aids in your ability to track your emerger. Here are some duns which represent a fully emerged mayfly drying its wings on the surface: Hatch Matcher Blue Winged Olive, Parachute Extended Body Blue Winged Olive, Tilt Wing Dun BWO, or a Tactical Blue Winged Olive Parachute. One last tactic is to run a soft hackle behind a dun. This rides even lower than a an emerger or cripple, and really requires the more buoyant dry to aid in detecting the take. Here are some soft hackles to run behind a dry: Purple Haze Emerger, Soft Emerger, Drymerger Baetis, or a Spectre Soft Hackle.
Streamer fishing requires heavy flies or a sinking line or tip this time of year. Streamers can be fished in tandem as well, and it is often especially productive. When fishing them in tandem, Generally tagging a smaller, lighter streamer off the back is best. You can even tag one of the soft hackles listed above when swinging and stripping streamers in the winter. Here are some winter staples: Tactical Jig Zonker, Tungsten Thin Mint, Sculpzilla, Krystal Bugger, Bead Head Mini Bugger, Cascade Bugger, Gaviglio’s Minnow Bugger TSB, or Kure’s Squirrel Micro Zonker. Below is a fantastic streamer developed especially for winter fishing.
Sinking Tips or Polyleaders are coated leaders that allow you to convert your floating line into a sink tip line. We especially love the new Scientific Anglers Sonar Leaders which attack quickly and feature an attached tippet ring for quick rigging. Another option would be the Airflow Polyleader Sink Tips. The sink rate varies with conditions but generally sink 2-3+ is what you’re looking for when a heavy fly on a floating line isn’t cutting it. If you are a dedicated streamer fisher a sinking tip line would be a necessary part of your setup. Here are three we like: Sonar Titan Mini Sink Tip, Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Sink Tip Line which has a longer sinking tip, and the RIO Premier 24 foot Sink Tip when you want to get even deeper. Fishing full sinking lines can be challenging in rivers because as you strip with a full sink line, your stripped line sinks in the water next to you. Here are our favorite full sink lines for winter: Sonar Sink 25 Cold, Scientific Anglers Sonar Trout Express Line, or a Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Int/Sink 3/sink 5 Triple Density Sinking Fly Line. These lines will be easier to use in rivers while wading with a stripping basket or tray such as: a low profile Ahrex FlexiStripper Stripping Basket or a bulkier Stripping Basket.
Additional gear that makes winter fishing both more productive and pleasant can be found bel0w. Oros strike indicators are our favorite in the shop. Generally you need at least size medium to suspend the heavy winter nymphs we are fishing with. A wading staff is a great tool to keep you upright in the high flows that come with winter. It also allows you to probe the bottom that you can’t always see in high, off-color water while you’re wading. Here are our favorites: Simms Pro Wading Staff, Simms Wading Staff, Folding Wading Staff, Simms Wading Staff, or the new Fishpond Grass Sticks Wading Staff. If your eyes aren’t what they used to be, the Scientific Anglers Indicator Markers are great for marking your leader to track a small dry, or mark intervals to gauge where your streamer is. Because so much winter fishing is subsurface, Fluorocarbon tippet is a great help. It runs invisible under water, sinks faster than monofilament, and is stronger. Our favorite is Absolute Trout Fluorocarbon Tippet from Scientific Anglers. Carrying 3x-6x will cover all of your bases, but 4 and 5x are used the most. A good base layer and raincoat is a must in our weather. Some great pieces as thermal base layers are: Patagonia Men’s Capilene Midweight Zip Neck, Patagonia Men’s R2 TechFace Pullover, Nano Puff Fitz Roy Trout Hoody, Patagonia Men’s Hi-Loft Nano Puff Hoody, Skwala Thermo 350 Hoody, or a Loop Stalo V2 Soft Shell Wading Jacket. Waterproof rain shells/ wading jackets are the most important of keeping you comfortable for extended periods of time on the river. Our favorites are: Patagonia Swiftcurrent Wading Jacket, Skwala Carbon Jacket, or the Loop Dellik Wading Jacket. The last and most important thing is it bring your patience; winter fishing can be finicky, but if you’re in the right place at the right time, it can be lights out.
If you have any additional questions swing by the shop if you’re local. We’re happy to help get you geared up for the change of the seasons. If you’re out of state give us a ring or reach out on social media, we are happy to lend a helping hand over the phone (541)-342-7005 or online.
-Simon
P.S. if you’re a fly tier, here are some additional local patterns that work great in the winter. These are local patterns that you can’t find in any store! We’ve got all of the materials online and in the shop!
