Winter Fishing technique's

Kierran: maybe you told me before, but are the Barbour gloves wool or synthetic? Thanks.

my two cents on winter fishing - buy a pair of 5mm neoprene waders with boot feet. Stocking feet will kill you.

Fish places where you have a high confidence fish are holding, and drift every inch of the slower, well oxygenated water - when the water temps are just above freezing, fish will not move far for a fly.

Thanks Kierran. I just checked the Orvis site and they are listed as lambswool. Seems like a great value for only $19.

jovalle: I wear my breathable G3s just fine. Every half hour or so you have to get out and stretch.

I am actually working on some more content about winter fishing with more detail.

I fished last year for the first time through the winter months thanks to Torrey and other guys on this site. I loved it. This past Saturday morning was the first taste of it this year. I only had a few hours so I was at the river at 6:33am and it was 24 degrees. If you dress for it you'll be fine and Alan is right set up your rig the night before. I stayed in the slow waters and euro nymph with small flies. I managed 14 fish in 4 hours, hated to go but had somethings I had to do, smiling all day. Anybody looking to try it this winter and looking for company let me know.

One thing I've found is during Winter fishing the best time of day is generally the afternoon, especially the magic hour just before dark. Water temps oscilate on all the streams - the coldest part of the day is first thing in the morning, the warmest is the afternoon till dark. This is especially important on freestoners, where temps can be just above freezing on a cold winter day.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...g?t=1258039162

Trout also have a tendency to stack up during the Winter. I'm not sure of the exact reason but probably allows the trout a further means to conserve energy. So, if you catch one, more than likely there are many more to be caught.

JohnyL,

Good info!

Someone told me thhat ice will form in places on the bottom of the stream. I had always thought that this was impossible due to the physical properties of water as it approaches the freezing point. What do you say about this Alain?

Lopat: in a lake this is impossible since water is denser (heavier) at 39 deg and sinks to the bottom. This leaves the top (less dense) water to freeze. If this wasn't true lakes could not harbor life.

In a shallow area of a stream, the water mixes together, so in cold weather anchor bottom ice can form. This also happens when the water is low for a time in winter, letting areas freeze, which are then covered up with high water.

Good topic.

Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me Alain!

Ah an Ice debate, The coolest thing about ice is when it ages it get sky blue looking.. But that only happens when ice sticks around for longer then a season,Which doesn't happen around here, but I have seen it in B.C. Went to Whistler One spring break few years back..