A lot of fishermen tend to overlook winter fishing. The weather gets damn cold, the trout get lethargic, and most folks put their gear away for a few months or more. A break from the hustle and bustle of prime time fishing can be a big relief.
But when the itch strikes, you have to scratch. That’s exactly what Shane and I did Sunday morning. It was the last day of hunting season and snowing like hell. Since we had fished opening day, might as well finish off the season on the water too.
Sadly, with work, car troubles, weather, etc, I haven’t fished nearly as much as I planned to this year. Something always seemed to get in the way. So it felt pretty great to load up the gear bag, grab a rod and hit the water. I did find myself checking and rechecking the pack to make sure I had everything though. And of course, once we hit the water I realized I didn’t.
Winter fishing tends to have an air of relaxation about it that any other season lacks. You don’t have to be on the water at sun up, you don’t worry about missing some epic hatch, you don’t even have to bring all your stuff. You just grab your nymph box and head to the closest open stretch of water. For us, that would be the Gallatin. The canyon stretch fishes decent in the winter when it isn’t iced over, but from Williams Bridge down to about Belgrade is our favorite.
Gearing up at the bridge, I quickly remembered what a pain in the ass felt soles are in the snow. I think it had been almost three years since I last fished in the winter, and it takes a while to get back in the habit. Winter fly selection is pretty easy.. Start with bacon and eggs (san juan worm and an egg) and go from there. Sure, you can have some great days fishing dries when the midges pop, but nymphing seems to rule the days.
My second cast yielded a 16-inch brown that greedily ate an opaque clear egg. When you catch a fish in the first five casts you must handle the situation delicately. If you get all excited and think you’ll have a great day then that first fish will be the only one brought to hand all day long. If you shrug it off, then you’re ok.
Winter fishing is great in the sense that you don’t feel obligated to cover a lot of water. In the summer, you walk in at a bridge and feel like you have to keep moving and keep moving. Once the snow flies, you can set up shop at a good run and stay there all day long. We fished down about 300 yards from the bridge and stayed in one run all day.
When the water temp is damn cold and the air is filled with big snowflakes, you don’t feel obligated to stay out and fish all day long. In the winter you fish your fill and call it good. You can still make it back in time to get whatever else done you needed to that day. Not being able to feel your feet also tends to cut the days down a bit.
We fished for a couple hours, each nymphing up some nice sized whitefish and brown trout. It felt good to be on the water again. It’s nice to take a break from it now and then and try something new (for me it was hunting this year), but I’m a fly fisherman at heart. This is what I live for.
It’s going to be a good winter
