Winter Fly Fishing Tips by Jeff Wilkins Introduction: I. Comfort & Safety A. Why Bother Fly fishing when its this cold? B. Comfort is King & Safety is Paramount II. Variables that Affect Winter Fishing A. Daily & Seasonal Patterns 1. Time of Day 2. Time of Season B. Weather & Water 1. Weather Conditions 2. Water Level, Temperature, & Clarity III. Techniques, Rigging, & Flies A. Reading Water & Techniques 1. Where to Find Fish 2. Proper Presentation /Techniques B. The Business End 1. Proper Tackle 2. Terminal Tackle, Flies, & Rigging Properly 3. Fly Fishing Tips & Tidbits V. Conclusion: What are you waiting for? I Comfort and Safety So Why Bother Fishing When Its Cold? Simply put, because fishing can still be productive, even excellent. Fish still have to eat. The cold weather changes some things, to be sure, but fish must still eat to survive. Cold water lowers the metabolism, so the fish may not feed as heavily, or as often, but they still feed. And that is especially true of large fish. To a really large fish eating only a little in terms of volume /frequency is still quite a bit; the larger the fish, the more I’d say this is true. Cold water is very high in dissolved oxygen. It is also very dense or ‘heavy’. Cold water down to 32F can hold the maximum of oxygen. Trout require 3ppm (parts per million) oxygen to survive, 32F water has over 30ppm. While oxygen is great, the lower water temperature certainly works on a trout’s need to feed, and the temperature affects how far and how quickly the fish can move for food or is willing to move. In water under 40F, a fish probably isn’t going to move more than a foot or so to feed, if it moves that far. That is why locating likely lies is important, because we are working with limited numbers of places that we will find fish, and then a limited strike zone in which to deliver the fly. Dressing for Cold Weather : Comfort is King & Safety is Paramount Comfort and safety are like the two legs you walk on. Without them, you won’t go far. And that is certainly true of winter fly fishing. Without comfort, you’ll quickly be miserable and wish you’d stayed in. Without safety, well, nothing else matters. Go down in ice cold water with insufficient clothing or a plan and a change of clothes and you are not only miserable but might get hypothermia…..certainly not a desirable outcome. By far I find the most important thing is maintaining a super warm core …that is if I can keep the middle of my body warm and my head warm then the rest often will take care of itself. Folks are amazed that I rarely wear gloves but I know that it is because I take great care to dress very warmly and that warmth radiates to my extremeties, making it easier to keep hands and feet warm. As far as clothing, FORGET ANYTHING COTTON ANYWHERE…PERIOD. We want clothing that wicks and breathes….Layering rules!!!! Lets start with base layers. I like a NON COTTON material like polyester, polypropylene, or fleece next to my skin for a couple of reasons. One they wick moisture, secondly warm to weight ratio is great and you get a lot of warmth without a lot of weight and bulk. For feet, I like polypropylene liners. Then I put on a lightweight thin 100 weight fleece bottom, and a 100 weight turtleneck top that zips up. I like zip up because if it warms up while I am walking I can let out heat and moisture as needed. On top of my base layer I follow with a mid-weight wool sock (smart wool or just plain ol’ wool is great). Wool is great because again lots of warmth with minimal bulk, and since feet sweat a lot the poly liner wicks, the moisture ends up on the wool, and the wool stays warm even though moist. The end result: warm feet. Next, I put on a midweight fleece bottom, and a mid-weight top or a wool sweater, again the layer is an insulation layer. Finally, I’ll finish things off with a winter fishing pant, but you could just as easily add a heavy fleece pant or similar item. I just wouldn’t wear jeans, sweatpants, or anything cotton. For the top, I like to wear a windproof fleece (North Face, Mountain Hardware, Simms, Patagonia all make them) top or jacket that zips up to my neck like a turtleneck. I will carry a rain shell both for rain and as a windbreaker. Most of the time I won’t need it, but it does make a great wind stopper on a blustery, winter day. Layering and even having some bulk is ok, but the one place I’d stay to steer clear of bulk, and too much, and this happens a lot, is in the area of SOCKS. Wearing four pain of socks might sound like a sound plan, but it’s a bad idea. You are much better off with a wicking liner, a wool sock, and enough room to wiggle your toes or “play the piano” with your toes. Constrict your feet with clothing or tight boots and you will quickly be cold….especially considering that this part of your body will likely be in the water in waters for long periods of time. Occasionally, I’ll also use the adhesive backed “Toasty Toes’ stick on foot warmers. Usually they can be put on the bottom of your feet without creating too much bulk and they do a great job of providing just enough warmth to make you comfortable. What you wear on your head, neck, and hands is important. One, your head is where potentially you can lose the most heat. Also, it’s the one place you can also get rid of it if you get too hot. Personally, I have come to like many approaches to cold when it comes to head, neck and hands. Personally, I have a neck gaitor, a face mask, a toboggan, and what I call a Capuche. I use one, two, or a combination of all of them depending upon how cold /windy it is. The most valuable piece of gear by far is the Capuche, and I’ll include some info on it at the end of this piece. It is great, it is a fleece insulated hoodie that can be worn in 5 different configurations and it is good down to probably -10F or lower. They are so good that they are also used in our military for extreme cold conditions. I wouldn’t do much winter fishing without mine I like it that much. As far as my hands, I still like old wool gloves …..but also have some of the newer fleece fingerless designs too. Wool is great because if they are wet, and if you drop one in and it gets wet, it still is able to retain some warmth. Other materials don’t do that as well and often not at all. For very cold days, I’ll use pocket hand warmers, and even have a strap on fleece muffler that I can wear around my waist which I pack with 2-4 activated hand warmers. With some or all the above I can fish comfortable down to 10F without any problems. Finally, waders and boots are part of your gear, as well as a wading staff. Waders, I’ll say this: most anything can be used, and the new goretex waders now are great. However, I still wear neoprene a lot in winter. One is, if I stand in cold water over knee deep for any length of time I can do so without being cold. Secondly, if I were to fall, water doesn’t fill up a snug fitting neoprene wader like it does other waders….and that is important if you fall down in 35F water…which will wake you up real fast if you have never enjoyed that before. II. Variable That Affect Cold Weather /Winter Fishing One thing you’ll notice winter fishing is that there are fewer people to contend with. And I like that, and that was one thing I decided I liked most many, many years ago when I first got into winter fishing. There’s also a great beauty about the landscape- - all the more if you have snow on the ground. With all that said, here are a few things to think about when it comes to variables that specifically affect or apply to the fishing: Daily and Seasonal Patterns: As a rule, winter fishing follows a very predictable clock. Forget getting up at o’dark thirty, you likely won’t find many feeding fish before 9am, and more likely action will start late morning to midday- - -and on most days, the action will wane or begin to do so right when the sun starts sinking behind the hillside. Usually that means late afternoon, and this is a function of water temperature. If the water temperature was 35F upon your arrival, and it were a partly cloudy to sunny day, the temperature early afternoon might might reach 40-42F, marking a significant rise, and almost certainly causing a lot of fish to feed. Darker banks or bottoms in the sun absorb warmth and these places attract fish. There are exceptions to all the above. On some bitter cold days feeding might be restricted to only a few hours in the early afternoon and on warm days the fish might start a little early and feed until dusk. But one thing is for sure, temperatures are important, and weather is too. But another thing I’d say too is this….we routinely on our guide trips catch fish in water all the way down to just before freezing. Again, fish have to eat to survive and the key is being there when they do the former. A typical winter day might be fishing starting at 930am or 10 and until 4pm, with most of your action from 11am /noon until 3pm. Weather and Water Weather Patterns: You’ll catch fish in a variety of conditions, and being a guide for a living I have had to get used to the ups and downs of it all, but one thing is for sure stability is much better than a lot of ups and downs or variability in the weather. In other words, a constant weather pattern is better than a volatile one…..and if I personally were choosing my “perfect day” it would look like mid thirties to around 40F, cloudy and drizzly, and the water slightly high and with a bit of color. That is for fishing. For fun being outside, I’d throw in a little snow because I love snow….but that’s just me. Water Level, Temperature, Clarity: For nymphing pretty much water above 32F, slightly high, and a little color to the water is great. One, trout feed underneath at any temperature. Slightly high water means faster flow meaning the fish doesn’t have as long to look so he has to take a shot. A little color means the fish likely won’t be as picky as he might be in low, clear water. For Dry fly fishing, as a rule lower flows, high water temps (above 40F generally), and clear to slightly stained water is good. For streamer fishing, anything above 32F, but generally better above 40F as the fish are more likely to “chase” a fly, and slightly stained to even murky water. Big fish go on the ‘Hunt’ when its murky. III. Techniques, Rigging, & Flies Reading Water and Techniques Where to Find Fish: if the water is under 40F you generally won’t find as many fish in fast water as you will in slow pools. Fish tend to congregate and stack up in medium to deep pools and runs and often where you find one you’ll find several. That is what makes “hole’ hopping so effective in cold weather……simply put, that is where the fish are. And you catch more fish fishing where they are than fishing where they are not. Above 40F, the fish will begin to spread out and you’ll begin to find some fish moving into shallower water to feed in riffles and tailouts and typical shallow feeding areas. Presentation: If nymphing, making sure you are getting the fly to the bottom is paramount. In cold water, fish won’t move far to inspect your offering. Make sure you are using enough weight. Under most circumstances, I find that folks use way too little weight and their flies drift aimlessly several feet above the fish they are hoping to catch. And because the flies and underneath and often dark or small, they can’t see them….so for all practical purposes they can’t even tell the flies aren’t getting down. If you are dry fly fishing, looking for the right places is critical: cold weather fish rise in very predictable spots….the slow middle to tail of the pool, riffle edges where the water is slow, deep slow banks, and eddies…..eddies are a favorite of winter trout and usually because they are often adjacent to deep water. Streamer fishing I’d say this, overall most of the time folks don’t try different techniques…try fast presentations, steady strips, stop and go stripping, dead drifting, etc., sometimes it isn’t the fly that’s the problem it’s the presentation. One of the most common mistakes is not fishing a streamer fast enough. Think of this, if you were a small minnow streaking through a pool of fish that were 100 times larger than you would you take your time or get the heck out of Dodge? Even the fastest you can possibly strip a fly with one or both hands is no where close to how fast a spin fisherman can reel a spinner. And you can in no way strip faster than a trout can catch. If the fish wants the fly you can’t move it fast enough to take it away. My tip to clients: strip so fast that you wouldn’t think the fish could possibly catch it….the result? The fly moves at the correct speed, not slow. Also , and finally, strip flies away from fish or upstream. Nothing is more unnatural than a fly swimming toward a fish…..what minnow in its right mind would swim toward a predator? The Business End Proper Tackle: Lets briefly hit rods and reels first, and by briefly I mean briefly. When it comes to nymphing and streamer fishing let me step out on a limb and say the rod that is most fun to fish and to play fish on is probably not the best rod for the job. What do I mean? I mean my 3 weight is probably not going to do as well setting the hook as my 5 weight. Why? The 3 weight is more limber, the tip is soft, and the rod overall is more flexible and takes time to recover when I set the hook, and a 3 weight doesn’t set a hook as well or recover as quickly as it needs to. And this is all the more true if I am fishing deep and with lots of weight. The heavier rod just does a better job overall. Is a three weight still fun? Yes. Can I still catch fish? Yes. Will miss some fish because of the rod weight? Yes. For streamer fishing the same holds true. When you are stripping a fly and a fish slams the fly, the rod flexes deeply at the tip when it needs to remain stiff to drive the hook home, thus the result is a lot of short strikes and missed fish. For Dry fly fishing, I usually always defer to the lighter rod because they work fine where no weight is involved- - -so long as I can cast the types of flies I am using …and that is usually the case. Terminal Tackle, Flies, & Rigging : For nymphing, I’d fish a short leader, use a strike indicator, and lots of weight. Folks are surprised when I say that I am using #1 shot. For winter fishing in normal to slightly high flows, I use a lot of #1 and #4. I also like to set the strike indicator at 1 ½ times the depth of the water- - that is measuring the distance from the fly. I put the shot 8” above the fly. I fish a lot of droppers, two fly rigs that is. One departure from the norm that I ALWAYS do, I fish my flies no more than 6-8” apart. Also, I generally use heavier tippet when nymphing and streamer fishing, and unless the water is really clear or you are fishing a tailwater I find that 3x and 4x are fine and 5x in clear conditions. Often, tailwaters demand 6x -8x. For dry flies, I like a longer leader, finer too, and often fish only one fly…unless of course I see fish hanging high in the water column, in which case I might tie off a small dropper nymph the same depth I am observing fish in the water. For streamer fishing, short heavy leaders and just one fly is what I use most often. I occasionally add some weight put push the weight right against the hook eye of the fly so the weight is at the end and the fly also has more of an up and down “jiglike’ action in the water. Some flies for each type of fishing: Nymphs: small streams > stoneflies, pheasant tails, copper johns, hunchbacks, small egg patterns Delayed harvest waters > the above plus egg patterns and Y2Ks Tailwaters > midges, baetis, pheasant tails, hares ears, scuds, blackfly larva, sow bugs Dry Flies: dark stones size 18, dark caddis (black) 18-20, midges, Adams #20-22, Bwo #20-22 Streamers: Conehead Wooly buggers or krystal buggers, 8’s for the larger waters and 12’s for Wild waters, White Zonker size 8, Muddler Minnow size 8-10, JJ Special 8-10 IV: Additional Tips: * pack a change of clothes and a towel * eat fats and avoid lots of caffeine (hard one for me!) * take a flashlight, weather radio, know the forecast * pack some food, snacks, water * let your spouse or someone know where you are going (include place, how to get there, where You are likely to be, map, directions, etc) * matches (an old film canister with some dryer lint in it makes great firestarter) * fishing after a warm rain can be good, esp if its been cold for weeks * fish tailwaters during really cold spells, they don’t freeze and water is warmer anyway * make sure your cell phone is charged * study and know where you are…..a GPS does you no good if the batteries quit * fish lower elevations during bitter weather…they are the last to freeze and first to thaw V. Conclusion: So what are you waiting for? Lets go fishing! * *** * * * * * * * * THE CAPUCHE "Hoodie" My Fave Piece of Winter Gear The Capuche Story 16 years ago I was skiing at Big Mountain, Montana. It was a warm, clear February day. As I rode up the chairlift, the chairlift stopped for a few minutes. I found myself in a world of hurt as the wind whipped up and I had no hat to protect my face and ears. I ended up with frost bite on my ears. Not being a hat person, I thought “what if I could find a hat that could be worn in many different configurations to take advantage of the changing weather conditions.” Upon my return to Seattle, I went to REI and found the age old Balaclava. Not seeing all the design elements that I was looking for, I took the Balaclava home and started experimenting. In my search, I found a couple of other hat purveyors that had a similar design. The primary difference was that their hat system had a number of strings protruding from the hat when employed. As an old ski instructor in the ‘70’s, I remembered the kids and adults getting their hair and pole handles stuck on the rope tow. My design incorporated a string synching system that was internal. It not only gave the hat maximum flexibility to convert into 5 different designs from a hood, a hood with face mast, neck gaitor, neck gaitor with face mast, but also a hat or “tuque” in Canada! With the other hats, I just found the strings getting in the way. “A string around my neck didn’t make sense!” I also researched the best materials to make Capuche and found that Malden Mills polar fleece was the best material available. Capuche is made of non-pilling polar fleece in two weight classes…200 weight double sided polar fleece for our standard hat and Windbloc fleece in 100 or 200 weight for our Survivor hats. The name Capuche came to me while looking through the Thesaurus for a catchy name. The Balaclava got its start in Turkey over 500 years ago. I also found the Capuchin Monks had a cloak with a hood and alas, the name Capuche. It was catchy. My hat also had a European design and feel to it. Extremely functional, like many European designs. Since that time, over 1 million Capuche hats have been manufactured in Seattle, WA and employed around the world. In the late 90’s, the U.S. Army tested the Capuche at their Nevada survival range and rated the standard Capuche hat to -20 degrees F and the Survivor (windbloc/waterproof) to -60 degrees F. The hat has been extensively employed in both Iraq wars and is a favorite among U.S. soldiers keeping them warm during the harsh Iraq winter. The U.S. Coast Guard uses the Capuche in Alaska. Capuche is outstanding for any outdoor activity, some even wear it to bed! Jeff Dickinson Founder For More info: http://capucheheadgear.com/home Capuche Headgear 300 Queen Anne Ave. N. #416 Seattle, WA 98109 United States ph: Jeff at 206-852-9711 alt: Dan at 425-444-2357 cs@capucheheadgear.com