2-5-13 Winter Fishing

Winter fly fishing can be quite the hit or miss, especially when it comes to finding a place to fish when a whole river is practically frozen. This was the situation I experienced last week. I drive 5 days a week up and down Boulder Canyon for work in the winter, and, in the rare opportunity, that I get to drive in it when it's not dark out, I love to just observe the river and day dream about my next day out. I have been dreaming alot too because I have been in great need of a day out on the water for a while now, as I have only been fishing once in the last two months. Rough stuff for sure.

The one other time that I did get out, I mostly just stood there and just spaced out. It was my first winter fishing in the canyon all year and I only spent about an hour out. Having no energy to even change my fly, it was mostly just a trip about  being out and being there. About as many fish were caught as efforts were put in to catch said fish. Result: 0 fish. Lots of relaxation.

So this day, I was definitely in need of some good relaxing time out and, yes, in need of some trout. I would begin by finding my hole. Having gotten to leave early just a few days earlier, while there was light still, I had a pretty good spot picked out already. I got there and it looked somewhat promising. I started with just what I had tied on already. I started throwing for about 30 minutes before I hooked into my first. And that was after tying on about 4 different flies.

The magic money was a black zebra midge and a red U.V. midge. A more simple form of the current U.V. midge than you may be accustomed to. I will post a recipe sooner or later. If you can't wait, here is a real good video of someone else tying this fly. I don't personally use the epoxy finish at the end but you do what you like. I like to tie in these real bright colors. And then watch what happens to them in the sunlight. These also make good micro-submersible indicators in clear streams. See: U.V. midge goes swimming...set hook.
There is so much one can learn from observing in the winter when water levels are either very low, or even frozen. When not frozen, you can note the structure of certain runs and after some experience, you can even begin to see where all the different holes will be at different water levels. And when it is frozen, it's still nice to look at even more obvious frozen feeding lanes and barely defrosted holes where you can often sneak up to see the trout feeding. Either way, the river is a whole different creature in the winter. It takes on a whole new life and you really have to go about it differently. It can be a whole lot of fun, especially for the die hard.

In all, a pretty short afternoon but just the cure I needed. A couple of trout on the end of my line and some quiet time.

Tight Lines!