late fall and winter fishing

[wwelz]

I have not done much late fall and winter fishing. I get distracted by deer hunting. I plan to fish throughout the winter this year. I have three questions.
1. Do the fish move into different holding water as the winter progresses ? If yes what kind of water
2. What are your top five late fall and winter flies ( size and color)
3. How does your fly selection change with the transition to late fall and then winter

[AaronJasper]

watch the video on the main page of the forum. That slow walking speed current is what you are looking for. The fish move out of the faster water when the H20 temps go below 38 degrees. This is when you shift attention from the riffles to the inside of the seams and the froggy water. Also, I mention my two top flies in the video... Watch it and there will be a quiz next week

[alanb_ct]

Trout move into slower water and stack up. Winter is a time when large numbers are possible. Best flies are eggs, scuds, worms, and midges in small sizes, 14-22. Golden stoneflies are also a staple fly, size 8. The transition occurs when the last mayflies or caddis have hatched. On a warm winter afternoon, trout may move up the pool towards the current source. Please tell us how you do.

[FK]

Keep a small box of midges in your vest, years ago I had some time between Xmas and New Years day,,,,, chucking streamers with my 9 1/2 for 8wt,,,,, diptera started hatching and the trout went crazy,,,,, I made up a 10-12ft leader tied on a #26 BWO emerger and had a great afternoon.

"Froggy Water" = Aaron, that is the best phrase of the week!!

Regards,
FK

[AaronJasper]

We should add it to the fly fishing dictionary!

[Nymphmeister]

Cannot fault the list of flies Alain posted. For the Housy I would add Hare's Ears to it, usually in #16-18, go bigger if the water is high or murky (like a #10-12). On the Farmington add in Caddis patterns- olive larva in #14-16, as well as Cased Caddis in #6-14. The Olive Caddis Larva are also good on the Housy. The nice thing about cased caddis is that you can add as much weight as you need to get down, the pattern will accommodate a lot of lead and a nice big black tungsten bead.

[Adam]

All-

When tying your green caddis do you use krystal flash for the ribbing? I have seen folks use copper as well to create the ribbing.

AT

[AaronJasper]

You can use copper wire and it is great to work with and durable. About the krystal flash, do not use only one strand. Take two strands and twist them together. This not only makes the diameter thinner for smaller flies but also makes the ribbing more durable since the krtstal flash can be brittle.

[Adam]

When fishing with the caddis pupa do you fish it with the czech setup or prefer indicator rig?