Winter Fishing Advice

Fly fishing in winter is what separates the casual fly dunker from the stalwarts, the fair-weather fisherman from the hard-core trout bum. And yes, it often distinguishes the crazy from the sane. Let's face it, it takes a certain amount of mental instability to crack through ice, wade into 40-degree water and break ice out of your guides all day long. But there are distinct advantages to such craziness.

For one, you can fish in virtual solitude, even on notoriously crowded rivers like the Davidson. I fished the 'D' three times in the past two weeks without seeing another soul, much less another angler. My secret? I avoided the hatchery stretch. About 95% of the Davidson is abandoned during the winter and the fishing can be great. I caught several fish over 17" above Looking Glass last week, all on midge pupa and tiny Baetis nymphs. Never saw another angler. Most of my fish were in slow-moving pools or the outside seams of languid runs. Some ate BWO dries on top (a #20 Lawson's Thorax Baetis worked great), but most ate a #22 Cardinal Midge or a #24 Gnatty Bumpo on the bottom. Use enough shot that you're ticking occasionally and set on any little thing that looks odd. The takes in such cold water are very, very subtle. Another tip - there are a bunch of spring holes on the Davidson, where the incoming water is significantly warmer than the prevailing current. Where you find springs, you'll generally find willing takers even on bitterly cold days. How do you find these spring holes? Wet wade the river in the summer and you'll find spots that are distinctly cooler than surrounding areas. Such areas are treasure troves in the winter.

We've been hearing a lot about Delayed Harvest streams like the East Fork and Little River being "poached out" lately. This happens every winter, it seems. People go over there, use the same flies and techniques that worked for them last spring or fall, catch little to nothing and then chock it up to poaching. There's no doubt that poaching (and mishandling by law-abiding anglers) have thinned out the populations some, but our guides haven't had any trouble putting rank amateurs onto fish on the E. Fork, Little River or the Tuck this winter. We haven't fished the N. Mills, but get away from the campground and I'll bet there are fish to be had. The key is changing from a "freshly stocked" mindset to a "holdover" mindset. Forget woolly buggers and other streamers stripped upstream. That will produce the odd suicidal brook trout, but most DH fish have become too educated for such shenanigans. Likewise, leave the #12 Princes and #14 Red Fox Squirrels at home and tie up some #18 A.P. Nymphs and #20 TB black or green Copper Johns. Not only are these more likely to be taken by holdovers jaded by the old standbys, they more accurately represent the size, color and silhouette of naturals found this time of year, which are primarily small and dark. Check out our winter hatch chart for more insight. If you're still not hooking up, try trading out that giant red Thingamabobber or yellow yarn pom-pom for a small white football indicator. DH fish can and will become indicator-shy. With the water so clear, 6X tippet helps, too, though 5X usually is fine if you're getting good drifts.

We still have two spots open for our British Columbia destination trip, scheduled for Aug. 15-22. With our partners at Home Waters Guide Service in Fernie, Headwaters Outfitters is offering a special package rate: 6 nights of lodging in a luxury condo, with private baths and river views, and 5 days of guided fishing for cutties, rainbows and bulltrout, plus three squares a day and transportation from the airport in Kalispell, MT -- all for $1,800 per person (based on double occupancy, excluding taxes, tips and licenses.) If you've ever wanted to catch 30+ cutthroats in a day on dry flies, or tossing hoppers to 20-inch rainbows on a private ranch in Alberta sounds like fun, you need to get in on this trip. We have a great group of anglers signed up, so the company should be as fine as the fishing. Call Than for details at (828) 877-3106.

We have a bunch of special events coming up, most of which are totally free! On Feb. 12, we're sponsoring a special showing of "Red Gold," a documentary film by Felt Soul Media that follows Alaskan fishermen as they fight an open-pit copper and gold mine proposed for the headwaters of two Bristol Bay trout and salmon rivers. It starts at 7 p.m. and the film (in Surround Sound!), popcorn and candy are all free. Great footage of grizzlies, salmon runs and big rainbows being caught on the fly. Our free fly casting clinics are totally full now, even though we just added 12 more spots/2 more dates last week. But we still have room in our free "Guide Flies" fly tying classes. On Feb. 13, smallmouth guide Michael Sprouse will demonstrate how to tie his own "Mike's Hellgrammite," as well as the trusty Clouser minnow. All the materials necessary to tie the flies will be available for sale in handy pre-proportioned packets, but you don't have to tie along with Mike - just come and watch. There's still room in Mac's muskie fly class on March 113, too. You need a rotary vise for that one. Call to reserve a spot either day - (828) 877-3106.

Tight lines,
Than

Spring Has Sprung

You don't need to set foot in a stream around here to know that spring has sprung. Daffodils are blooming along the roads, and deep in the woods, hepatica, bloodroot, and trout lily leaves are poking up out of last fall's leaves. Bugs are flying, too, including decent hatches of Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, black caddis and Blue-winged Olives. You can also tell that spring is here because we've seen a lot more traffic on our streams and in the shop. After a long, cold winter filled with depressing economic news, it's good to see people are still willing to support local businesses like Headwaters. We appreciate everyone who has come in or taken a guide trip with us.
We started the month of March out on private waters, guiding Paul T. and three friends on the Farm stretch of the North Fork. The fishing was good, despite water temps in the low 40s. Black caddis pupa and clinger mayfly nymph imitations were the top sellers. On the 8th, I took out repeat client Mark S. from Nashville and we netted several dozen fish over the course of the day on Bird's Nests, Hotwire Caddis nymphs and Bloom's Soft Hackles, among others.
On March 17, I got to take my favorite repeat clients, Dave and Marty M. from Florida on a trip to the East Fork, which was low and clear but fished well. Dave hooked up 10 trout in the first hole he fished, including a 17-inch brown that dragged him 25 yards downstream. Meanwhile, Marty and I snuck up on a bunch of risers in the head of a big pool upstream. They were pounding Quill Gordons and a few Blue Quills and we had fun hooking up a few on both a Parachute Hare's Ear and a Hare's Ear dropper.
The next day, I was tickled to take Don P. and Steve F. up to our private waters, where we spent the morning perfecting our dead drifts and hooking a slew of nice-sized rainbows on a variety of nymphs, including Karnopp's Keystones and San Juans. Thanks to higher water levels, most of the bigger fish we hooked pulled out or broke us off on limbs that had washed downstream, but it was a thrill to watch the larger fish take off up into the whitewater.
This past weekend, guide Mac Marett and I both had trips on public and private water. Mac took out Sid J. and his son on the private waters, where they wore them out on clinger nymph patterns and even streamered up some fish. On the 22nd, I took one of my favorite clients, Jimmy L. from Florida up to the Farm and we were blessed by an awesome Brachycentrus hatch in the morning that had all of the fish in our first pool suspended and feeding actively. We had to tinker with the weight and depth, but after we dialed in, Jimmy hooked more than a dozen trout, including an 18-inch wild brown with bright red spots. Just as we were preparing to move upstream, a sharp-shinned hawk buzzed by his rod tip and divebombed some songbirds in the rhododendron across from us. He must have hit his mark, because feathers flew, literally.
We're getting a good soaking rain as I write this, and temperatures are forecasted to climb into the 60s all next week, so we couldn't ask for better fishing conditions heading into April. All of the Delayed Harvest streams will get another stocking in early April, and our private waters are fishing very well. If you're in town for a trip, come check out some of the special closeout deals we're having on fly rods from Thomas & Thomas, Wright & McGill and Redington. We have a couple of sweet 7'6" 3-weights that would be perfect for brookie fishing this summer.

Tight lines,
Than