When The Weather Aligns

Solitude 

I think it was back in 2016. We had a pretty mild winter around these parts of Montana. I remember going out and fishing through the December-February timeframe and was in total awe of the productivity on our local streams. 2019 is shaping up to be one of those winters. Most places haven't had icing issues as of yet, and the fish are eager to eat and plump. I've found more fish eating in shallow water then I can ever remember. I've gone out with a few friends as of late and they haven't been experiencing the same madness as I have. One of the issues is they are not prepared to fish in the winter. It's extremely important to have the right base layers, socks and fly gear. I can't harp on this enough...….lose the fly line. Most of the winter your getting your nymphing game on anyway. Setting up a mono-rig almost completely eliminates the ice issues I see most guys have with fly line this time of year. If your skeptical, check out my buddy Dom's blog www.troutbitten.com and sift through his postings. You'll be a believer once you give it a try. Fly selection isn't that hard this time of year either. Throw on your favorite stonefly and trail a midge or worm off it. Cover water until you start getting into fish and pound that spot until there's no more willing fish. Don't overlook the shallow riffles at the head of a big bucket.....when the sun is up the fish will be there. Get out there and try it, you won't regret it!