Get Frosty: 5 Tips for Catching More Early Winter Trout
The author with a fine winter brown, which fell for a nymph fished right on the bottom. Photos: Kubie Brown
Winter fly fishing requires a certain amount of masochism. You’ve got to take pleasure in the pain. From stingingly numb fingers to slipping and falling along icy banks, chasing trout in the early winter is often about testing yourself and finding out just how much you can endure. Yet the fact is, with the right preparation, the right spot, and the right flies, you can catch enough trout in the early winter to make a bit of suffering worth the effort.
Early winter trout are in a transition period. The fish’s body temperature and metabolism has begun to slow down in the icy water temperatures, causing them to move en masse to specific areas of the river where they can rest and feed with very little effort. While this means you often have to search around a bit to find fish, it also means that once you find the trout, you can find a lot of them. However, fishing early winter trout still takes a certain amount of endurance and technical know-how and there are few things you need to keep in mind to ensure those frosty days on the river worth the effort.
1. Layer Up
While it may seem obvious that you need to dress warmly, many anglers don’t seem to realize just how cold the river can get. Even on those bluebird, mid-40’s winter days when you feel comfortable in just a sweatshirt while gearing up at the car, when you’re standing in or even around cold water for hours at a time, the cold can be absolutely draining. Your toes, feet, and legs can start to hurt after just a few minutes, and if you’re not dressed properly, you’ll end up beating a hasty retreat back to the warmth of your living room after only a couple casts.
If you dress in effective layers, you can fish in the toughest conditions comfortably and safely. Photo: Phil Monahan
The most important item of clothing for any early-winter trout expedition is a good base layer. Start with a midweight layer of long underwear made of wool or a wool-synthetic blend. The material is important as wool and synthetics like polyester and nylon will both capture a warm layer of air and hold it near your skin while also wicking moisture away from your body. This is ideal for those longer walks to and from the river where you might build up a sweat, as the wicking base layer will prevent the cooling moisture from lowering your overall body temperature.
Next, put on a second layer of flannel, fleece, or wool to double the insulation. There are several kinds of underwater pants on the market that will keep your legs warm. Then before getting into your waders and boots, pull on a couple pairs of socks starting with a synthetic lightweight sock constructed of a poly/nylon blend to keep your feet dry and then a thicker wool or wool/synthetic blend winter sock for warmth. Finally, add a good water- and windproof insulated jacket—as well as gloves and a hat to cover your ears and a scarf or buff for your neck and face—and you’re ready for anything winter throws at you.
2. Sleep In and Stay Late
As nice as it is to get on the water at sunrise in summer, fishing during the morning in winter can be an exercise in futility. Winter mornings are usually the coldest part of the day, and the trout, with their slow metabolisms, won’t usually become active until late morning or early afternoon. This gives you some extra time to dress and maybe have a couple extra hot cups to fortify yourself before you hit the water.
While you can sleep in, it’s important that once you’re on the river, you stay on the river. During early winter, trout have periodic windows of feeding activity throughout the entire day. These usually last for a couple hours and can begin as early as 11:00 a.m. until right before dark. Make sure your flies are in the water during these spikes in feeding activity, so once you start fishing, keep fishing. Cast and drift your flies for as long as you possibly can, with minimal breaks, to ensure you’re on top of the trout when they decide to start eating.
Sometimes trout stack up in deep holes during cold weather.
3. Fish Deep and Shallow
Early winter trout hold and feed in water that makes life easy for them. They’re not going to be cruising around looking for food and instead will sit in spots where food will come to them. In addition to food, they also choose to hold in areas where they are comfortable. To catch them consistently, target areas that have the right flows and depth as well as the right water temperature to keep the fish in place.
Deep, slow-flowing holes are the primary habitat for winter trout. These areas are less likely to completely freeze over and have slightly warmer water near the bottom, allowing the fish to feel more comfortable as they hold in place. Target deep holes along outside bends where easy, consistently flowing current steadily brings food to the fish, so they can feed with minimal effort. These areas can be real hotspots, and often have fish stacked up like cordwood, allowing you to make repeated presentations. Work winter holes from the shallowest point downstream, fishing your way upstream into deeper water, as most of the fish will be facing into the current. This will allow you to hook fish in the back of the hole first without spooking other trout and blowing the spot.
Aside from deep holes, You can also find trout in shallower, slow-flowing pools with bright-colored bottoms during the early part of winter, especially on sunny days. These spots create a lot of sun reflection off the bottom causing water temperature to rise quickly, increasing insect and baitfish activity which can draw winter trout to the shallows. Pay particular attention to any shallow, flat areas with overhead cover, such as trees or overhanging brush and you’ll often be surprised by the number of trout you find gathering there.
Big trout are often looking for bigger prey, which is when a streamer will produce.
4. Slow Your Roll
Catching winter trout is all about fishing slowly and methodically. The fish are starting to become sluggish and usually aren’t in the mood to chase a fly or to move too far out of their lies to feed. Often, you can fish the same area repeatedly with no luck only to have a strike on your fifth or tenth time through the run because your fly ran an inch or two closer to the fish.
Nymphing under an indicator is always going to be your primary producer in early winter. The method both allows you to detect subtle strikes and to cover more water on longer drifts than tightline fishing or bottom bouncing. Set your nymphing rig at one and a half times the water depth (e.g. in 6 feet of water, the distance from your indicator to your bottom fly should be 9 feet). Add a couple small split shot to help keep your presentation just above the bottom.
Swinging and stripping streamers can also be effective during the early winter, so long as you fish as slowly and methodically as possible. When you’re swinging flies, use a sink-tip line or a sinking leader that will allow your fly to swim close to the bottom. Mend as often as needed to keep the fly running deep and slowly through the current, fishing with a raised rod tip so the push of the current on your line doesn’t speed up the swing and drag your flies higher in the water column.
Stripping streamers can be surprisingly effective during the winter, especially when you’re targeting larger fish. Just as with swinging and nymphing, your presentation should move as slowly as possible, so trout won’t have to work hard to catch the fly. I prefer to fish winter streamers by casting upstream and then allowing the streamers to dead-drift downstream with current. I’ll retrieve them slowly so that I’m only picking up enough slack to keep the fly from snagging on the bottom, and I create action by periodically twitching and flicking my rod tip to make the streamer swim and act like a wounded or dying baitfish.
Small nymphs, such as a (l to r) Pheasant Tail, Hare’s Ear, and Copper John, and large streamers, such a Schmidt’s Double Deceiver, offer the two extremes of winter fly selection.
5. Go Small and Go Big
In early winter, fish with small nymphs or big streamers. Small nymphs are the main food source for winter trout of all sizes and are easy to fish. Larger streamers are also great if you’re looking to target larger, more predatory trout. These fish eat only once or twice a day and prefer larger meals, making a good-size streamer the perfect coldwater offering.
Effective nymphs for winter trout include the same patterns you use in summer, just on a slightly smaller scale. Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears, Copper Johns, and Prince Nymphs in sizes 14 to 20 should be your first choices, and even toned-down stonefly patterns like the Little Black Stone and Kaufmann’s Stone in sizes 14 and smaller will likely get a sniff. Mix and match your patterns, and always fish them in pairs to double the chances of one or the other bumping into a trout.
When it comes to early winter streamers, I prefer lightly weighted patterns with realistic profiles. Articulated streamers, such as the Double Deceiver and Grajewski’s Yard Sale, that can drift and swim freely in the current are go-tos for me. However, on colder days when the fish are especially sluggish and holding close to bottom or when I’m fishing in deeper water, a heavier pattern like a Conehead Zonker, Bunny Muddler, or Dolly Llama can be incredibly effective.
