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Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:36 pm
by dbarr15
So I spent the morning in the lower section of KLG and hit all my spring/summer/fall spots for just one fish. I imaging with the cold water temps the fish are hunkered down but where?

Care to share some advice on what type of water/depth/speed etc to look for when fishing during the winter?

Doug

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:10 am
by cappy
Deep and slow.

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:29 am
by Jaybird
Aside from water depth and speed I would ask what time where you there? . Remember it's a gorge , this time of year it's probably only getting 5 hours of good sunlight a day to warm things up a bit . A little sunlight goes a long way as far as getting the bugs moving and in turn getting the fish moving .

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:59 am
by njcatchrelease
I like to fish a 2 fly setup this time of year. My bottom fly would be some standard bead head nymph like a pheasant tail or hare's ear and then I would tie on a midge (something like a black zebra midge) off the tag end of the tippet.

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:54 am
by BiggerThomas
I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I enjoy dry fly fishing in the winter.

That means I don't fish too often in the winter, but if I'm going out this time of year and standing in very cold water, I want the added excitement of catching a trout on a dry fly. I try to find days when it's sunny and air temps get over 40 F--then I can usually get lucky.

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:07 am
by CheeseburgerFly
All good advice given.

Any recos on winter dries to use?

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:31 am
by BiggerThomas
CheeseburgerFly wrote:
Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:07 am
All good advice given.

Any recos on winter dries to use?
I've had luck with small (#18-#24) midges and BWOs. And I make it a lunch-time outing between 11-3 so I can hit the warmest part of the day....

Plus it never hurts if a crumb or two from my sandwich lands in a feeding lane :D

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:00 pm
by njcatchrelease
BiggerThomas wrote:
Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:31 am
CheeseburgerFly wrote:
Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:07 am
All good advice given.

Any recos on winter dries to use?
I've had luck with small (#18-#24) midges and BWOs. And I make it a lunch-time outing between 11-3 so I can hit the warmest part of the day....

Plus it never hurts if a crumb or two from my sandwich lands in a feeding lane :D
"Chumming For Trout"

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:44 pm
by Rusty Spinner
CheeseburgerFly wrote:
Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:07 am
All good advice given.

Any recos on winter dries to use?
I recently gave a presentation at the Ledgewood Ramsey Outdoor on just this topic - winter fly fishing for trout on NJ waters. My advice mirrors others' in that the trout will be down deep and not feeding a lot. They are cold blooded, so they just get out of the main current and chill out until warmer weather and more bugs pop. But they must eat some, so you need to poke them in the face most days. The # 1 biggest problem I see anglers have is not being anywhere near deep enough for long enough during their drifts. I will fish two AB split shot oftentimes with higher water and that is whether or not my first fly is a beadhead which is typically is. Flies don't matter much, I just focus on the few insects present in any numbers in winter to a trout. Scuds, caddis pupa, midges, and aquatic worms (San Juan worms) as well as egg imitations all work well. But so will most flies. As winter sets in and the little brown and black stoneflies (LBS) start to appear in early afternoons near the tails of pools, I focus more on flies like Prince nymphs in sizes 18 and 16 (and bigger later into winter/spring).

Re: Winter nymphing advice

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 7:31 am
by the royal coachman
Keep adding split shot until you are hanging up. Sometimes the difference between a good or bad day is one split shot!