Tom Rosenbauer on Winter Trout Fishing

January 7, 2009 By: Marshall Cutchin

Tom Rosenbauer’s latest podcast offers excellent advice on not only what to do when you find trout in the coldest conditions, but also how to increase your odds by looking for the right type of water in the first place.
Excerpt: “In thirty-two years of fishing, I have yet to catch a fish in the Battenkill in winter. There are just certain rivers where the fish don’t feed actively, or they hole up in places that are difficult to find. Some rivers just aren’t great for winter fly fishing. The best ones are rivers that stay constant in temperature all year round. I think what happens is that, in a tailwater river below a bottom-release dam, or in a spring creek where the water stays cold in summer even though it’s hot outside, the fish get acclimated to the cooler water temperatures and they’re more likely to feed during the winter time. Also these types of streams tend to have invertebrates — small crustaceans like scuds and sowbugs — and small mayflies and midges that are active in the winter time.”