36 Degrees, perfect for winter steelheading

When the air temp is below 32 it is tolerable, however water freezes on all your gear. The guides on my rod are usually the first thing to freeze, and then ice forms on the fly line, I've even found my fly frozen in a small block of ice. When gear starts to get iced up, it's almost impossible to make an effective presentation to the fish. So I can bundle up and deal with temps below freezing, but it's difficult to fish effectively so I tend to stay home and tie flies. No reason to stand outside and freeze my but off if my effort to catch fish is going to be hampered by ice on my gear, right? Yesterday was the only day this weekend that the air temps were forecasted to be above freezing. So I hit the river mid-afternoon, about 3:30ish. The air was about 36 degrees, a perfect winter temperature. The water was stained; it had about 12 inches of visibility and was in the mid 30s. There was ice on the bank. I saw two other anglers on the river yesterday, that said, I had the river to myself for the most part. I fished all types of water, fast water, mid pool, eddies, the gut of the pool, and tail outs. I fished hard with no success. I did spend a nice winter afternoon on the river peacefully communing with nature. I saw deer, birds and squirrels running around all over the place. It was nice to get out. Unfortunately, I got smacked with the skunk. Here's a nice winter pic as a consolation prize.

It’s winter steelhead season…

It was 25 degrees this morning when I first looked at the outside temperature.  By the time I went fishing it had warmed up to a balmy 34 degrees.  This was the first time this year that it was so cold outside that I had to wear a hat and gloves while fishing.  It was sunny and nice despite the cold.  When I got to the river there were three other cars full of anglers in the parking lot.  Two of the three groups got out ahead of me.  As I hiked in I decided to go up river past all the fools who had just gotten there.  I probably hiked about a mile up river from the last angler I past before I put a line in.  There was a small amount of ice on the bank and in small pools left behind after the water receded from the last high water event.  The water was in good shape.  The flow was at about 200 CFS, and there was a nice stain to the water.  I looked like “normal” for steelhead season.  It was much better than the low and clear river conditions we had all fall.  I fished through a couple of runs, nothing.  I fished a deep hole near a downed tree, again, nothing.  I moved up river and started to fish a spot where the current was broken by some underwater rocks.  Usually this kind of current break is productive; today it was not.  I began to fish the bubble line on the far side of the underwater rocks.  On the second pass I had a very subtle strike.  I set the hook and it was fish on!  The fish fought to stay deep in the run; eventually it surfaced and shook its head a few times before taking off on the run.  A couple of long runs and I worked the fish in for a picture (posted below).  I fished a little while longer before I ran into a buddy down river.  We chatted for a while and I headed back to the parking lot so I could make it to dinner on time.  It was a nice afternoon of winter steelheading.  After the unusually warm fall, it took a little getting used to the cold; now it feels like steelhead season.