Winter warm up

When I got to the river yesterday I was surprised to find a few other anglers braving the cold.  The snow and ice keep the fair weather fans at home.  Only hardcore anglers brave the elements for the chance of catching winter steel.  The hook ups are few and you have to work for them, the fish are lethargic from the ice cold water, but a winter fish makes it all worth it.  Landing a steelhead when other guys are sitting at home tying flies and talking nonsense on the message boards is a rewarding feeling.  For me, I missed the best fishing of the fall because of school.  I have to get out and try for one more fish at every available opportunity; I need to scratch the itch.  It was a balmy 30 degrees yesterday so there was minimal slush in the water which made it possible to get a decent drift.  I fished all types of water and only had one hook up in a slow deep run near a downed tree.  The fish was on and off in a moment, but the brief tug on the end of the line made the day even if I didn’t land that fish.  I spoke to two other anglers who had no luck at all.  As I was leaving, I took this picture of a lone angler fishing a deep pool at a bend in the river.  Now that is what winter steelheading is all about.               

Ice out

I finished finals earlier this week and all I wanted to do was to go out and go fishing.  I had read internet reports of ice and slush.  I had heard that the rivers are all locked up for the winter.  Then I drove by the upper part of the river, there was some open water so I figured I go out and give it hell.  I fished for about three hours this afternoon.  The air temp was 24 degrees and it was sunny out.  There was a lot of shelf ice and slush flowing in the water.  The only water I could get a decent drift in was too fast to hold fish when the water is this cold.  All the slow winter holding water was either solid on top or had major slush flows.  Icy guides and ice on the fly line and leader was a bit of nuisance, but you deal with it.  I tried breaking up the ice and pushing it down stream to open up some water.  I put on a twice the amount of split shot to penetrate the slush, I did everything I could think of to get the fly to the fish, I fished hard.  It just was not meant to be today.  I didn’t even get a bump.  Even with out any fish, it was really nice to get out.

I think the only place I'm going to find fishable water durring my break is to find some spring fed creek in Pennsylvania.  I'm thinking about heading to State college and fishing for some trout.

Lower river frozen solid... this is what I expected to find when I got to the river 

 

Winter warrior... all geared up for 24 degrees

Icy guides were a pain

Open water, but slush everywhere



Day Dreaming...

While I have been spending long hours in the law library preparing for finals next week, my mind inescapably drifts to fishing.  Between the rains, I know I have missed out on the best steelhead fishing of the season.  I am itching to get out there and hooking into some fresh chrome.  My day dreams started by thinking of fresh Ohio chrome and began to wander into thoughts of wild brook and brown trout.  Lately, I have been thinking about planning trips to places near and far.  Pennsylvania is so close and offers more trout fishing than I have time to pursue.  But then, my thoughts drift out West to places like Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho… even Alaska.  In the near term it will be PA, but hopefully I can plan a trip out West in the summer of 2012. 

Started thinking about catching chrome...

...then I started thinking about catching brook trout

...and these guys

I want to fish here...

...and I really want to plan a trip to places like this.



Daydreams are keeping me sane right now...