Winter is here!!!!!!

[puckerstrings]

Well Folks the Winter Ice is here, and the ol float tube just dont float to well out there on the ice. I was really thinking about going out to South Fork and cutting a hole in the Ice and setting a fly on to it. Ever heard of fly Ice fishing.

Well I didn't do it because I didn't want the Sheriff's Department to fit me in on of them new sporty white straight jackets and send me away for one of them extended stay vacations to the funny farm.

So I guess I will have to just stay here on the internet reading the stories,looking at the pictures, and boning up on my brain knowledge, and plan for this spring and then hit the water hard this year.

Happy New year to all of you and hope ya catch lots of fish without too many flies lost. Damn can't wait to start sling flies again.

 

[arfishinbear]

LOL Happy new you to you as well, and yes winter is here even in teh south, was almost 60 here andnow today its in the teens, but back to 50-60 by tuesday next week.
I drove by our river thismorning when it was like 9 and the breeze made it even colder and there were actually people wadeing and fishing LOL tougher guys then me, or maybe not at smart one of the other. I will brave some bad weather, but theres a point that you say ok enough is enough, go home build a fire in the wood stove and clean fishing gear and organize and ty flies. Before ya now it we'll be wacthing trout sip our may flies off the water surface and big bass blowing the water up getting a deerhiar popper, even gill's attacking a rubber leh bug,, wooohooo so many fish so little time
Bear

 

[Ard]

String,

Jigging with a weighted fly works well. I would not advise a river unless you know where there is a huge deep back eddy that will have fish pooled up heavy for the winter. Also, I would not catch and release at this time of year make it a meat run or stay on the computer.

Regards

 

[puckerstrings]

Well I agree but damn I wished I was a rich due that works in Washinton DC. so I did not have to work, could fish all day on some one else's dime then lie about how big they were HAHAHAHA

 

[webrx]

Why can you not C&R this time of year? Am I missing something?

I love to winter fish the Truckee with streamers, no crowds on the water, crawdad and sculpin imitations seem to get the big fish's attention, and I'm not sitting at home thinking about fishing in stead of doing it. Now granted, you have to pick your days (typically one that warms above freezing for me as I hate frozen fingers and guides) it's not bite after bite, you have to find your spots - pools, back eddies, deep runs, but catching a 3 to 5 lb rainbow can sure get the blood heated up.

d

 

[puckerstrings]

Well fishing the river would be just great, except her in Elko county Nevada we have Lakes Ponds Streams and 1 river and there all froze over, and I dont really want to fall through the ice.

 

[webrx]

yeah, kinda tough to fly fish through the ice

Still curious about why you can't C&R in the winter - as long as you don't pull the fish out of the water and freeze the gills, is there some other reason why you can't?

 

[webrx]

just checked the map, I didn't realize Elko was 4 hours drive time to Reno

But hey, the river is flowing nicely, fish dont start biting until 11 or 12 when temps warm up during the day. With the economy the way it is right now, you could probably get a good deal on a room in town too. Hate to see a fellow fly fisher suffer

 

[Ard]

yeah, kinda tough to fly fish through the ice

Still curious about why you can't C&R in the winter - as long as you don't pull the fish out of the water and freeze the gills, is there some other reason why you can't?

Hi webrx,

It isn't that you can't or that you shouldn't, I used to fish the spring creeks in Pennsylvania all winter with no harm done other than a few sore jaws. Freestone rivers and creeks that are frozen over are usually running around 33 - 34* where they are open I just choose not to try to find any fish when the water is really cold. Food is hard to come by and added stress shouldn't be on the menu.

If you have local waters where the water is at 44 or above with actively feeding fish spread along the channels in feeding holds I say go for it. Usually when the temp is much below 44 (my experience not a law) the fish tend to pool up in the deeper stuff and try to lay low conserving energy and waiting for warmer currents.

Winter steelhead are another matter but still if I intend to release the fish I would prefer to find bright fish fresh in from the lake or salt as opposed to a colored up fish that is wintering it out in the river. The steelhead that run in late winter / early spring are more influenced by their pituitary gland via diurnal stimulation (lengthening hours of daylight) than they are by water temperatures.

I did not study fisheries biology but this is a pretty close call on what the temps and other factors are that trout deal with in the winter. I hope this clears up the thought a bit for you.

Ard

 

[webrx]

Thanks for the info Ard,

I usually don't like to fish unless the outside temperature is warm enough to keep the guides from freezing, early afternoon when temps get into the 50s and things warm up a bit.

Unlike some of my friends, I also don't like to fish small tippets either (I prefer to put on a 5 or 6 lb. While it can be an art to bring a big fish in on a small tippet, seems to me that you have to pretty much wear them out to get them landed so I choose to land them a little more quickly so they have a better chance of surviving once released. So I do think about stressing the fish, but didn't see that as an issue in the cold water, while I know they tend to lay around, the water also tends to be more oxygenated in the winter so I didn't think the stress would be a major factor - oh well, live and learn.

Right now, the water is in the low 40s - Lake tahoe release and snow melt, but we have not had a really cold winter here daytime temps in the high 50s mostly.

 

[puckerstrings]

Hey Webrx maybe I can get the wife and me over to Reno sometime this winter and fish the Truckee River would be fun, she could go gambling and I could fish

 

[webrx]

PM me and I will send you my cell number. Names Dave and just so we are being honest, I am reborn so to speak on fly fishing. Used to spin fish a lot, did ok at it and have landed a few good sized trout, Started fly fishing about 15 years ago, then life got in the way adn I didn't fish for the last 13 years, Moved up to Reno 2 years ago, and picked fly fishing back up last spring. Wanted you to know that I consider myself a fly fishing amateur. But that don't mean I aint willing and happy to go fishin with a new friend.

Dave