Garden State Trout

Mid-teens here this morning and I'm looking forward to it warming a bit before heading out. The 'bows have been biting lately. Anyone else going to be wading through the snow to fish this weekend? I saw that the SBR water temp. flat-lined at 32 degrees the other day. Does it ever get too cold and adversely effect trout feeding activity, I wonder?

If it effects the bugs it effects the fish . Not just talking about emergence , just movement or river migration , bugs move . I'd wait til the warmest part of the day .

MickyFinn wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:51 am

Mid-teens here this morning and I'm looking forward to it warming a bit before heading out. The 'bows have been biting lately. Anyone else going to be wading through the snow to fish this weekend? I saw that the SBR water temp. flat-lined at 32 degrees the other day. Does it ever get too cold and adversely effect trout feeding activity, I wonder?

In a word, yes. Trout are cold blooded, and that means they slow their metabolism when it gets too hot or too cold. Anything below 50 F or above 70F means reduced feeding. The colder it gets, the less they feed. So water temps at the freezing mark are as tough as it gets fishing wise.

Don't be discouraged though. they still eat sometimes in the cold, so have at it and good luck. Look out west. The Madison river is a bug factory, unlike what we have on the east coast. Guys catch fish on dries in well below freezing temperatures. Not like our NJ streams but the fish are fish and do what fish do. I love winter fishing, no one is around...especially if it just starts snowing while you are out. Remember hand and boot warmers as they will help you enjoy the surroundings more. I wouldn't expect a double digit day, but is that why we really fish at all?

In winter fish slow and keep your nymph just off the bottom. You have to hit them in the nose with your fly sometimes to get a strike. I enjoy winter fishing. There are few anglers and sometimes you have the stream to yourself. As has been said, dress warm. I bring a phone and extra set of clothes just in case. Midges work well as do eggs and scuds. If you go with a regular nymph think small. Fish the warmest part of the day which is more comfortable and allows the water temperature to heat up so the fish will be a little more active hopefully.

oddly some of my worst and best days are during mid of winter, usually always quality over quantity. Ive had some days tho where nothing seems to be alive nor biting in WTS that normally do good for quantity.

Ive fished in days that the eye's on the pole freezes up & caught many......

Troutman wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:49 pm

Ive fished in days that the eye's on the pole freezes up & caught many......

It's a rod...

lightenup wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:59 pm

Troutman wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:49 pm

Ive fished in days that the eye's on the pole freezes up & caught many......

It's a rod...

If a worm's on the end, it's a pole; if a fly, it's a rod.

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:30 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:59 pm

Troutman wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:49 pm

Ive fished in days that the eye's on the pole freezes up & caught many......

It's a rod...

If a worm's on the end, it's a pole; if a fly, it's a rod.

well I use a rod & pole . Since I do both

Troutman wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:22 pm

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:30 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:59 pm

It's a rod...

If a worm's on the end, it's a pole; if a fly, it's a rod.

well I use a rod & pole . Since I do both

And if its bamboo its a stick!

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:30 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:59 pm

Troutman wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:49 pm

Ive fished in days that the eye's on the pole freezes up & caught many......

It's a rod...

If a worm's on the end, it's a pole; if a fly, it's a rod.

Spinning rod...
Spinning pole?

Fishing rod...
Fishing stick?

Fly rod...
Fly stick?
I have a fly stick made by J.D. Wagner? It cost $750.00 used...thankfully it was a gift...I won't call it a stick!!!;)

I'm just playing here fella's don't get offended.

lightenup wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:06 pm

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:30 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:59 pm

It's a rod...

If a worm's on the end, it's a pole; if a fly, it's a rod.

Spinning rod...
Spinning pole?

Fishing rod...
Fishing stick?

Fly rod...
Fly stick?
I have a fly stick made by J.D. Wagner? It cost $750.00 used...thankfully it was a gift...I won't call it a stick!!!;)

I'm just playing here fella's don't get offended.

I stopped reading after I saw "Spinning"

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:14 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:06 pm

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:30 pm

If a worm's on the end, it's a pole; if a fly, it's a rod.

Spinning rod...
Spinning pole?

Fishing rod...
Fishing stick?

Fly rod...
Fly stick?
I have a fly stick made by J.D. Wagner? It cost $750.00 used...thankfully it was a gift...I won't call it a stick!!!;)

I'm just playing here fella's don't get offended.

I stopped reading after I saw "Spinning"

You musta been smacked with a "rod" to many times when you was a kid

Troutman wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:16 pm

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:14 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:06 pm

Spinning rod...
Spinning pole?

Fishing rod...
Fishing stick?

Fly rod...
Fly stick?
I have a fly stick made by J.D. Wagner? It cost $750.00 used...thankfully it was a gift...I won't call it a stick!!!;)

I'm just playing here fella's don't get offended.

I stopped reading after I saw "Spinning"

You musta been smacked with a "rod" to many times when you was a kid

Damn TM, I just pissed myself

Again, thanks for the input!

Got out on Saturday--the coldest day for me so far this season--and got a lot of practice at dealing with ice in the guides. (Every time out is a learning experience.) Saw some fish, but none of them wanted to take the flies I offered.

Went back out on Monday, same venue but above-freezing air temps.--and I knew where they were holding from the other day. It took a very slow, cautious approach through the noisily-collapsing snow to get near the waters edge--and long casts and drifts from a kneeling position--to fool one of the spooky fish in such thin, crystal-clear water. This was in the first 5-10 minutes of starting to fish and it was the only action of the day. Small flies did the trick, though.

I fished yesterday and managed to net 2 which for me is about right for winter fishing. No sun and it felt cold. Next week is going to be cold but I hope to get out again before I have to renew my license.
I was using egg and midge combo.

Troutman wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:16 pm

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:14 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:06 pm

Spinning rod...
Spinning pole?

Fishing rod...
Fishing stick?

Fly rod...
Fly stick?
I have a fly stick made by J.D. Wagner? It cost $750.00 used...thankfully it was a gift...I won't call it a stick!!!;)

I'm just playing here fella's don't get offended.

I stopped reading after I saw "Spinning"

You musta been smacked with a "rod" to many times when you was a kid

That's the problem with kods today...they need to get smacked with something more often

lightenup wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:42 am

Troutman wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:16 pm

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:14 pm

I stopped reading after I saw "Spinning"

You musta been smacked with a "rod" to many times when you was a kid

That's the problem with kods today...they need to get smacked with something more often

thanks for the compliment... I wish I was a kid again

Troutman wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:41 pm

lightenup wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:42 am

Troutman wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:16 pm

You musta been smacked with a "rod" to many times when you was a kid

That's the problem with kods today...they need to get smacked with something more often

thanks for the compliment... I wish I was a kid again

Not you, just kids in general..Ive been waiting 50 years to say this...Damn kids...