Winter fly fishing is much different then summer, spring, or fall fly fishing. Cold weather fly fishing can be very productive. The key to being success when fly fishing the winter months is to understand trout behavior, what insects are hatching, the best flies to use, and rig your flies for success. My hope, is that by the end of this post the reader will have a better understanding of how to fly fish during the coldest months of the year.
Table of Contents
- Trout Behavior in the Winter
- Where Do Trout Hold in the Winter?
- Where Should I Fish When Winter Fly Fishing?
- What is Hatching in the Winter?
- Other Food Items For Winter Trout Fishing
- What Types of Flies Should I Use For Winter Fly Fishing?
- Best Flies For Winter Fly Fishing
- Winter Trout Fishing Tips For Rigging Fly Patterns
- Dry Fly Fishing Tips
- Dry Fly Fishing Rigs
- Streamer Fishing In The Winter
Trout Behavior in the Winter
Without a doubt, the most noticeable difference between trout fishing in the winter and trout fishing in the summer, spring or fall, is the biological effects that cold weather and cold water temperatures have on trout. Not only does both factors effect a trout's diet and metabolism, it also effects the aquatic insects too.
Trout are cold blooded creatures and as such, water temperatures dictate how a trout behaves. In the winter, as water temperatures drop, a trout's metabolism decreases too. In addition, cold water holds an incredibly high amount of oxygen, which is critical to a trout's survival. This is important to understand, as the amount of oxygen in the water directly effects where a fish will live and how it will feed. In the winter, oxygen is plentiful and the need for food is minimal because a trout's metabolism slows to a crawl. Therefore, a trout will go into a hibernation mode or lethargic state, because both critical needs for survival: food and oxygen, are being met.
Where do Trout Hold in the Winter?
This time of year a trout's survival requirements are low and being met with little effort, trout need a safe place to lie while the winter months drag on. Deep pools with slower moving water are going to be the prime lies during the winter months. The slow, oxygen rich water, and deep holding areas provide food and safety from would be predators.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule. I have fished many tailwater fisheries in the coldest of winter conditions, and more often then not, if you walk slowly up the bank you will still find some trout in the usual holding areas: shallow rock gardens, in the front of and behind mid river boulders, and in shallow flats. Fish holding in these areas, usually coincides with an increase in water temperature on sunny days.
Where Should I Fish When Winter Fly Fishing?
Similar to fishing in hot weather late in the summer, not all streams or water will be fishable in the winter. Focus your attention on tailwater trout streams in December, January, February and early March. Tailwater fisheries are usually the only rivers that are free of solid ice or ice flows in the winter.
The coldest trout streams and lakes will be covered over with ice and are not fishable in the winter using a fly rod. Most freestone streams will be very low and covered in ice making them un-fishable too. Dam released water, or tailwaters, offer more consistent water temperatures year round, moving water, and a regular midge hatches create winter trout fishing opportunities in the coldest parts of the year. It is rare, but there are some spring creeks that will remain open to fishing throughout the winter months too. These can offer consistent midge hatches and good fishing if you are lucky enough to live near one.
What is Hatching in the Winter?
Similar to trout, aquatic insects are effected by water temperatures, sunlight, and ambient air temperature. Most insects during the colder months go into a similar pattern of hibernation. Mayfly nymphs and caddis larva are tucked away beneath the rivers rocks and out of reach of most trout. Therefore, there are not many insects hatching during the coldest months of the year, and the prolific insect hatches of summer are nowhere to be found. A trout's metabolism is in the slowest possible state, so there are minimal energy needs for winter trout.
Midges are the only insect that hatches with consistency in December and the colder winter months. Although small in size, they are a critical food source. Being the only consistent hatching insect, makes them important to both fish and angler.
Midges
Midges are in the same family as the common house fly. They follow a lifecycle similar to a caddis fly: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The egg portion of the life cycle is not important to anglers, but the larvae, pupa, and adult midges are all important phases of the hatch.
Midges are small in size. They can range from size #28 tiny adults to larger size #18. To the naked eye, they are almost identical in appearance to mosquitos. Unlike mosquitoes, midges do not bite. The larva burrow into the mud in the bottom of lakes and rivers. The larva can be found in many different colors. Black, red, brown, and purple are all commonly found. The larva transition into pupa. Midge pupa emerge to the surface film of the river, where they break out of the pupal shuck and emerge as adults.
Unlike mayflies, stoneflies, and caddis flies, midges can live in a wide array of aquatic environments. They can even hatch in waste water treatment plants, as they can tolerate dirty water, hot water temperatures, and even polluted water. If there is a trout stream that can support salmonoids, then there will also be midges present too, hatching year round. The wide spread distribution of midges and their hearty nature make them a key food source for trout. During the winter fly fishing season, with a few exceptions, it is the only food source.
Other Food Items For Winter Trout Fishing
While midges are the predominant food source in the winter, there are other sources of forage for trout that can be important too. For example, the sowbug or scud. These freshwater invertebrates are in every river and stream year-round, which makes them a reliable food source for trout during the winter. They are usually a size #12 to #16 in tan, brown, or olive colors depending on the decaying matter they eat.
Learn More About Scuds and Sowbugs here.
In some tailwater fisheries, mysis shrimp can be found. Fly fishermen lucky enough to fish these tailwater fisheries have a chance to catch fish of enormous proportions.
Some of the more famous tailwater fisheries in the West where mysis shrimp can be found are the Taylor River, Blue River, and Frying Pan River. Bottom lake dwelling shrimp are flushed through the dam's water release gates to waiting trout. Some of the biggest trout in the lower 48 have come from these locations.
Eggs
I learned long ago to never underestimate the power of the egg. Egg patterns fished in the winter have always been productive for me. In my experience, this is especially true in rivers where fish are planted. I used to fish the Blue River all winter long in Colorado. The Blue receives planted fish from Colorado Department of Fish and Game. My observation, was that no matter what time of year it was you could always find a few fish sitting on reds. For this reason egg patterns were always in my fly box. Other fish will steal or eat eggs that get pushed into the water's current.
Regardless, if there are fish on beds or not, an egg is an extremely high calorie morsel of food. Trout have a hard time passing up easy meals, so by fishing egg patterns you are giving yourself a good chance of catching fish.
What Types of Flies Should I Use For Winter Fly Fishing?
As we discussed in the previous section, midges are going to the primary food sources in the winter months. Therefore, having a solid selection of midge patterns in the three phases of the life cycle is key to putting yourself into position to be successful on the water.
Midges are small, so you want to choose midge patterns in the #18-#22 hook sizes. Some tail waters might require even smaller flies. To match the small flies, you need to have 5, 6, or even 7 X tippet. In the winter, freestone streams are usually frozen over, and tailwater fisheries typically generate little to no water. Anglers will usually find winter fisheries with low clear water, making it easy for fish to see you and your line, plus the slow flow allows them to inspect flies.
Using light fluorocarbon tippet that is invisible underwater, not only aids in a natural presentation of small flies, but it also reduces the possibility of fish seeing your tippet.
Midge larva burrow into the mud or sandy bottoms of rivers. They spend most of their time close to the bottom of the river. Midge larva patterns should be fished deep and close to the bottom of the river's floor. Emerger patterns can be fished in any part of the water column.
Emerging midge pupa use air bubbles trapped between their skin and pupal shuck to aid them in swimming vertical in the water column to the surface of the river. Emerger patterns usually incorporate flash into the pattern to simulate the shiny reflection of air bubbles. The emergence process occurs between the bottom of the river all the way to the meniscus of the river's surface.
As a beginner fly fisherman the emerging insects confused me. There are both midge emerger nymph patterns with weighted bead heads and emerger dry fly patterns meant to be fished in the surface film of the river. Both types of patterns are used to simulate a different portion of the emergence process higher or lower in the water column. Choosing which type of emerger pattern to fish, depends on an angler's observation and how fish are behaving.
Recommended Reading: Learn How to Fly Fish Emergers
If midges are present on the water's surface, and fish are rising to them with a porpoising rise form, then choose a dry fly emerger that hangs in the surface film. If midges are present on the river's surface but no fish are rising, then choose a subsurface midge pattern to simulate emerging midges lower in the water column struggling to make it to the river's surface.
Best Trout Flies for Winter Fly Fishing
There are many different fly patterns that are effective for winter fly fishing. The below list of flies are just a few fly patterns that I prefer to use in the winter months.
Nymphs
Zebra Midge
The zebra midge is one of my all time favorite flies. It is simple pattern that works universally well all year long. This is my go to pattern when trying imitate midge larva close to the bottom of the river. I like to fish black or red in the morning and then brown in the afternoon.
JuJu Bee Zebra Midge
I like the jujubee zebra midge because it has a thin and slender profile. Many flies are tied too bulky. The jujubee zebra midge matches the profile of an emerging midge perfectly. This is an excellent nymph when fishing to selective trout, and it can be fished in deeper water under an indicator or high in the water column as an emerger.
Jig Zika Midge
The jig zika midge is a heavily weighted tungsten jig head fly that rides hook point up. The heavy bead head gets the fly down and the jig hook reduces snags. If you need a nymph pattern that can be fished solo in a hinged leader setup or as a true dry dropper, then this fly will get down to depth quickly and catch fish.
Emergers and Dries
Grifith's Gnat and Hi Vis Griffith's Gnat
This is one of my favorite midge dry fly patterns. It is a tried and true classic pattern that perfectly imitates the clumping behavior of midges on the surface of the river. If you have poor eye sight, don't forget to try the hi-vis version of this same fly.
Foam RS2 Emerger and RS2 Emerger
The RS2 emerger is one of the most effective tailwater patterns of all times. If you are fishing slow water, where trout can inspect a fly, then the RS2 should be in the fly box. Both the RS2 foam emerger and regular RS2 patterns float flush in the surface film. If you are not a huge fan of CDC, then the RS2 foam emerger has a foam post that allows the fly to float in the surface film imitating a struggling midge breaking through the meniscus.
I Can See It Midge
The I can see it midge is an excellent alternative to the Griffith's Gnat if you just want to imitate a single adult midge on the water. Tied with a hi-vis orange post, it makes seeing strikes so much easier when casting to trout at longer distances with a tiny fly.
Winter Trout Fishing Tips for Rigging Fly Patterns
Adapting your fly fishing rigs to the winter conditions is important to being successful on the water. Rivers and streams in the winter are at a minimal flow, crystal clear, and fish can see everything, granting them plenty of time to inspect flies and gear. Furthermore, most situations call for fishing very small flies in #18 to #22 size range.
All of these external factors dictate that anglers should down size on rigging across the board. Indicators should be small. I like to use yarn indicators dressed with a small amount of floatant. Takes can be very subtle this time of year, and yarn is the most sensitive indicator. Detecting the smallest of strikes, it gives you an advantage over regular thingamabob indicators.
Since we are utilizing such small flies, the tippet needs to match with the size of fly we are using. I prefer to use 6x fluorocarbon tippet, which has breaking strength of between 2.5-4 lbs depending on the brand you choose. Some anglers fish 5x, but I prefer 6x because the lighter tippet allows smaller flies to move more naturally in the water. If you choose a heavier tippet, it is hard to thread the tippet through the eye of the small hook, and it is less flexible when drifting in the current. With heavier tippet, I believe there is some loss in the presentation.
Choose fluorocarbon over nylon tippet too. Fluorocarbon is more expensive, offers less line stretch, and suffers from a lack of abrasion resistance, but it doesn't refract or bend light. The advantage is that fluorocarbon is invisible underwater. Stealth is critical this time of year when anglers are focused on fishing flies deep in slower moving water with extremely high visibility.
My Winter Nymphing Rig
A traditional nymphing rig with a tapered leader works well for summer trout fishing. For winter fly fishing, I prefer to use a hinged leader setup. The hinged leader was originally developed for nymphing deep holes on the California's McCloud River. The advantage to using a hinged leader, is that the use of light tippet and a small indicator reduces sub surface fly drag that is created by the thick upper portion of a tapered leader being pulled by the water's current. A hinged leader system maintains greater contact with the fly too. Sensitive strikes that are sometimes missed are easily detected with a hinged leader.
In order to rig your flies with a hinged leader, take a tapered leader and cut it back to 3' to 4' in length. Tie the leader directly to a thingamabob indicator or if you are fishing a yarn indicator, tie the yarn directly to the end of the leader. Next, take a length of tippet 1.5 times the average depth of the water that you are fishing of 6X fluorocarbon tippet. Tie this section of tippet above the indicator directly onto the leader using a clinch knot. The added tippet can slide up and down the leader. The indicator at the end of the heavier cut back leader acts as a stop for the added tippet.
This system essentially creates a very sensitive dry dropper rig. It can be fished in deep or shallow water and detects the slightest of strikes. The single piece of un-tapered tippet that connect to the nymphs is so thin, that it almost eliminates all drag from a dead drift presentation.
Cast the nymph upstream at a 45 degree angle. When the nymph rig hits the water, throw one large mend into the line. An aggressive mend should make the indicator jump an inch or two out of the water. The mend is critical to achieving a good dead drift presentation. The vertical movement of the indicator brings the subsurface flies vertical in the water column momentarily eliminating drag. The weighted nymph flies then fall vertical at a quicker speed down through the water column and into the strike zone quicker.
I have fished a 90 degree nymph rig in many scenarios, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite nymph rigs no matter the time of year. It works well in both shallow and deep pools. The only limitation of a hinged leader, is if you need to change the depth of your flies. This requires removing the entire length of tippet or tie in a new piece, rather then just sliding the indicator up and down the leader on conventional indicator setup.
Dry Fly Fishing Tips
Don't underestimate dry fly fishing when midges are hatching. I once fished the South Platte River, and when we left the car, the thermometer read -13 degrees. We didn't think we would have much success on the river, but that entire day the river was blanketed in a midge hatch. Every fish in the river was looking up.
Although small, midges come in large numbers. They also tend to clump up, so rafts of floating midges are high calorie meals for hungry winter trout. Fishing emerger patterns and adult dry fly patterns both have their time and place on the water.
On sunny days with a climbing temperature, you can expect to see a hatch develop around late morning to noon. Warmer days with cloud cover also prolongs the hatch. It is difficult to say which is more important to fish, the emerger or the adult midge.
Anecdotally speaking, I have had more luck dry fly fishing with emerger patterns then adult patterns, but I have caught my fair share of trout on both types of dry flies. I recommend having both types of patterns in the fly box.
Dry Fly Fishing Tips and Rigs
One of the most difficult aspects of fishing small dry flies, is seeing the flies themselves. For this reason I prefer to use a two fly dry fly rig when fishing midge dries.
The point fly that I choose is something that I can easily see. The Hi-Vis Griffiths Gnat is an excellent fly for this mission. It is visible on the water, and trout like to eat it too. Next, I add 18" to 24" of inches of fluorocarbon tippet to the bend of the hook of my point fly. I prefer to use fluorocarbon because it sinks and doesn't cause dimples on the surface of the water like nylon does. Dimples can spook fish when fishing to picky trout in low clear water.
At the end of the tippet I tied onto the bend of the point fly, I tie on a midge emerger pattern. I prefer a Foam Post RS2 Midge Emerger. This pattern is well suited for tricking trout, and it is rare to receive a refusal when presented with a drag free drift.
Often times the emerger pattern sits so low in the water, or there are so many naturals hatching that it is impossible to see the second fly. The hi-vis point fly is used as your reference, and if you see fish eat within a two foot radius of the point fly, then that is your visual cue to set the hook. This dual dry fly rig with an adult midge pattern and emerger pattern covers two layers of the hatch and increases your chances of success.
Streamer Fishing in The Winter
Streamers are often overlooked when fly fishing in the winter. Similar to trout, baitfish are sluggish in cold water temperatures. Fish smaller fly patterns, and really slow down the retrieve. Concentrate your efforts on deeper water with a slow current. Sometimes, dead drifting batifish fly patterns will yield excellent results. This is a good tactic to target larger fish in the dead of winter.
Considering Comfort
Unlike fishing any other time of the year, winter fly fishing is all about being comfortable on the water. Cold hands, wet feet, or a child head or torso can end your fly fishing day quickly. Dress in layers, and buy a good Goretex wading jacket. Wading jackets with velcro cuffs will allow you to keep your arms and base layers dry if you have to reach into the water.Bring a net too, keeping your hands dry and minimizing the need to reach into the river is critical to being comfortable. If you do get your hands wet, having fleece lined fishing gloves or a hand warmers makes wet hands much more bearable.
Waders, a warm hat, and thermos with hot coffee or soup are all important pieces of equipment that will help keep you on the water longer. Ice in the guides of your fly rod will often form when temperatures are really cold. Treat your fly rod's guides with de-icer before prior to hitting the river. This will make presentation easier on the coldest of days.