Winter Trout Fly Fishing

Written by Cameron Larsen


It is winter time now. One step onrepparttar frozen porch steps first thing inrepparttar 133084 morning removes any doubt of that fact. Winter time brings on many thoughts, holidays, dark afternoons, football on TV and for me some ofrepparttar 133085 best trout fly fishing there is. That’s right trout fishing, winter steelhead fly fishing has been around a long time, and gets more popular every season. Butrepparttar 133086 truth ofrepparttar 133087 matter is trout fly fishing can be excellent,repparttar 133088 crowds are down to non-existent,repparttar 133089 scenery and wildlife are plentiful, and it makes those long days of early spring with non-stop rain and overflowing rivers more tolerable.

When to go:

Winter fly fishing demands a little timing and planning on your part. One nice thing is,repparttar 133090 weekends aren’t crowded, so you really don’t need to askrepparttar 133091 boss for time off, to really get some peace and solitude. But other planning does need to be done. The first thing is checking your local regulations. Many, many places now offer year around trout fly fishing. A good portion of this is probably catch and release, but that only helps in further reducingrepparttar 133092 crowds. Some areas allow only lakes to be fished year round, some only allow rivers, but most places will allow something to be fished year round.

After you have your areas selected, you must really get an idea onrepparttar 133093 weather. Mild winter days, specifically afternoons, can provide some shirtsleeve fishing opportunities. Coastal regions that rarely get snow or ice, need to be checked more for river levels. Three or four days of steady rain can really put a river in at unfishable levels. It is also rarely enjoyable to fish in well below freezing temperatures. Even if you can dress warmly enough,repparttar 133094 ice onrepparttar 133095 guides make casting nearly impossible, andrepparttar 133096 slickness of enteringrepparttar 133097 river is extremely dangerous. Extreme care should be taken when wading in general, one slight misstep, can send you intorepparttar 133098 river, dangerous all year, this is multiplied byrepparttar 133099 cold air temperatures inrepparttar 133100 winter. Also light is much less, making it difficult to seerepparttar 133101 river bottom while wading. So step very cautiously. And always fish with a partner.

OK, enough ofrepparttar 133102 warnings, when to go is what we are after. I prefer a nice period of dry weather, with mild afternoons. I rarely fish inrepparttar 133103 early morning, inrepparttar 133104 winter, but if you can get a fogged over morning with nicely rising afternoon temperatures that reach in torepparttar 133105 40’s, you have a day to hitrepparttar 133106 water!

What to wear:

A few years ago I switched to breathable waders and I actually have never been more comfortable while winter fishing. I layer underneath with two or three layers of thermal wear, including one layer of fleece pants. I can move much better than in neoprene’s, and there is no clamminess to bring on chills. Socks are also important silk liners with thick winter socks work for me. I have a roomier pair of wading boots specifically for winter to allow forrepparttar 133107 extra bulk. I also don’t cinch my boots down too tight, as that seems to cut off circulation, nothing will ruin a fishing trip quicker than cold feet.

Many angler’s wear fingerless fleece gloves. I like them only if there is a biting wind, otherwise I can’t seem to keep them dry long enough to make them worthrepparttar 133108 effort. I can cast adequately with either hand, and will sometimes tuck my free hand inside my waders by my chest.

Fly Fishing and Kids

Written by Cameron Larsen


I have taught all three of my kids about fly fishing, and many of their friends as well. Like all things taught to humans, some caught on faster than others. Some pursued it, so never touched a fly rod again. I have become a patient and good teacher, and now enjoyrepparttar time I spend teaching others, in particular adolescents to fly fish.

I was not always so good at this. When my two oldest kids were both younger than five, I was not as patient as I became later. Not having as much fishing time as I would have liked, I sometimes resentedrepparttar 133083 feeling of having to teach fly fishing, instead of just being able to lose myself in my passion. Yet I must have done something right, because years later they are both knowledgeable fly fishermen.

Many things stick out when I look back to those days. I remember both of them caught their first fish onrepparttar 133084 same day. Their first fish all alone that is, one in which I hadn’t hooked first and then allowed them to reel in. One time, my younger son had been standing on a rock behind me, in a small stream while I fished a riffle next torepparttar 133085 far bank. Well he decided he was cold and wanted me to carry him back to shore. I tucked him under my non-fishing arm, and low and behold here came our Golden Retriever puppy unable to touch bottom and with a slightly panicked look. I slipped my hand under his color. This whole time I had left my nymph inrepparttar 133086 water, and I was heading back to shore with my son and puppy. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, it was just then that a fish struck. I safely deposited my son and puppy, and then reeled inrepparttar 133087 fish. I was always kind of proud of that fish, even though it was just average in size.

Several times my sons were extremely competitive in fishing, and it seemed they went hot and cold at exact opposite times. With one catching several fish, whilerepparttar 133088 other one got skunked. And whenrepparttar 133089 one was losing all hope, magically fate would reverse. I would tell themrepparttar 133090 only thing they can’t control is how many fish they catch. They can control how they fish. How they cast, how they presentrepparttar 133091 fly, which fly they use, and most importantly how good of time they have. And a good time fishing can definitely happen when no fish are caught. Actually we wouldn’t enjoy fishing if we knew we were going to catch fish,repparttar 133092 fun is inrepparttar 133093 surprise,repparttar 133094 fun is in not knowing. They would look at me like, “yeah dad, whatever,” and go back to fiercely trying to catch a fish.

The one memory that sticks outrepparttar 133095 most, though was when my oldest was 13. We had scheduled a four day float trip downrepparttar 133096 Deschutes River, with two other dads and their sons. Atrepparttar 133097 last minute both other parties canceled, and I was faced with spending four days alone with my reticent son, who seemed to be a more distant stranger byrepparttar 133098 day. I had toyed withrepparttar 133099 idea of callingrepparttar 133100 whole thing off, but quickly decided that wasn’t acceptable. My son’s mother and I were heading through what would prove to be a lengthy divorce, and my son never talkative was growing more withdrawn every day.

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