Winter Fishing: Sticking it out in the cold

The fish in the steam have awesome color

   I have been anxious to get out on the water to test out the 10 foot 5 weight Helios 2 I got for Christmas. I spent enough time at the tying bench the last few weeks to earn a few hours out on the water. When I arrived at the stream around 8am this morning, the air temperature was only 18 degrees. I was happy though because I wanted to test out the new Simms Gloves my parents got me. They worked great, the only time my hands got chilled was when they got wet. Even after they were damp I just put the mitten cover down and they quickly warmed up and I was comfortable again. Another added bonus with the cold temperature was I had the entire stream to myself.

Sucker Spawn's For Dinner

   I started out with a nymph tandem and quickly got into a fish. The next 45 minutes were slow, I cycled through various nymph's but couldn't get any strikes. I worked my way up and down the run with only 1 more fish coming to the net at the very end of the hole. I decided to give the pocket water a try for the next hour but didn't turn a head.

Shout Out To My Helios 2

   I decided to drive downstream and try another section. I put the two nymph's on that I caught my fish on and went to work. In a matter of minutes I had 5 fish to the net! It was like a light switch turned on. I think the section I was in this time had a little less current and my flies were getting down to the bottom much quicker than before. I continued to fish 100 yard section of water and the strikes were consistent the entire time. I started playing around with my Tight Lining Rig and managed to catch 1 fish using this technique. It still feels awkward to me but I want to put EURO NYMPHING into my skill set this year. I think if the flows dip down on this stream a little more I will be able to figure out this method a little better.  I couldn't of asked for a better day of fishing on my first outing of 2014!

Loving The New Simms Gloves