Winter trout fishing can be one of the most frustrating and most rewarding fly fishing experiences you will ever encounter. You can be charged with being funny when folk see you standing waist deep in a stream constantly removing ice from your rod guides, but it is's hard to notice the cold when you are catching trout.
A standard mistake many people make when winter trout fishing is to think like a fisherman instead of thinking like a trout. A fly pattern that appeals to a fisherman's eye isn't always the fly that appeals to a trout's eye. Perhaps the most legendary fly fisherman of all time, Gary Lafontaine, made some of the strangest looking, yet most effective flies. Gary's patterns were the results of numerous hours observing trout and insects and coming up with patterns around those discoveries. The flies were designed to try and appeal to trout instead of to catch the attention of a would be fly fisherman in a fly shop.
To catch more fish in the winter trout fishing trips, you want to realise what is happening in the trout's environment and adjust your fishing appropriately. In the winter when water temperatures drop, fewer hatches occur and an enormous part of a trout's diet will be made from midges. Trout also become more sluggish and are less certain to go out of the way to expend a large amount of energy tracking down a food item. Therefore , when winter trout fishing, you'll regularly need to downsize your flies and be more thorough when fishing a run or a riffle.
Midge patterns such as a zebra midge in sizes 16-24 are sometimes your best shot. Keep an eye open for rising fish and don't be afraid to go little. Understand that trout have evolved to be able to find and feed on tiny insects in the water. Although you might imagine it'll be very difficult for a trout to locate a size 22 midge in a riffle, this is a straightforward feat for a trout.
Experiment with different depths as trout can feed close to the bottom, on the surface, or anywhere in between depending on where insects are found in the drift. Be exhaustive before heading off to the next spot as you may need to place your fly just one or two inches from a trout to get it to take it when water temperatures are intensely cold. Employ a strike indicator to help you detect the smallest of takes.
Be systematic in your approach to winter trout fishing and you will catch more fish. You may see trout rising, but it could be hard to see exactly what they are feeding on. Begin with larger size sixteen midge patterns and then try smaller flies if you do not get strikes. Finding the biggest fly the fish will still take has benefits as it is often better to hook and land trout on a larger fly.
As a general rule, you can generally get away with a bigger fly in quicker currents because it is less complicated for the fish to see and they have less time to decide whether to eat it. Smaller, more realistic patterns are often needed in slow, clear water as trout will have masses of time to completely check the fly before deciding to take it.
Experiment with adult midge patterns as well as pupa and larvae imitations until you find what the fish are targeting. You may be more effective and better by employing an adult midge dry fly and attaching a smaller midge pupa or larvae imitation 6-24' underneath the dry fly. This gives you the benefit of fishing multiple flies at once .
When everyone else is bundled up out on the ski slopes, strap on some neoprene waders and head to your favourite trout stream. You'll likely find quietude and eager fish waiting to make your winter trout fishing experience one to remember.
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