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In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago.

These hauntingly beautiful Christmas lyrics from English Poet Christina Rossetti (1872) were on my mind as I approached an icy stretch of creek in search of late holdover browns and steelhead.  I’d previously walked three other tiny tributaries, scouting for fish.  I managed a creek chub at one, while catching a small rainbow at another.  Considering the recent rain and melted snow, this didn’t seem impressive.  I even checked out a hot spot culvert which in years past yielded fish.  As unimpressive, was the minimal change in water level.  Our creeks could still use a steady soaking.  It can be frustrating to cover hundreds of yards of water that may or may not contain fish, depending upon the right flow.  I’m ready to give up on one of my favorite Greece tributaries as the past two years have been very scarce w/ fish.

Still, we fish because we are hopeful.  Full of optimism and music, I arrived at my fourth creek and walked to a deeper hole.  An ice shelf covered 80% of the water and there was a 4′ open trough in the center.  I tied on a # 4 white zonker w/ a chartreuse bead head.  On my second drift under the edge of the ice shelf, a steelhead engulfed my streamer.  It was fun to watch the slash/take.  After a decent tussle and a quick picture on ice, I released the fish.  Shortly after, that same creek gave up a larger steelhead and a 29″ salmon in an another hole.

You could say we have entered the bleak midwinter.  No problem, there will still be fish out there to catch.  Target the warmer portion of the day, cover lots of promising water, fish the edge of the ice shelf, stalk your target carefully, slow down your presentation, look for fresh fish after the creeks rise, adjust to smaller tippet sizes, less weight and more natural/smaller egg or fly sizes and you will still be able to find fish.  I’ve put away my two handed rod on these smaller creeks and am happily fishing a 10′ 7wt.  The lighter rod allows for increased control and stealth in my presentation.  Enjoy this holiday season and good luck with your transition to winter angling.

We awoke this morning to fresh blanket of snow.  The forecast predicts more snow on tap.  Between the snowfall, rain during the day, and predicted snow, our creeks should receive a nice boost of water.  Many tributaries will be high and muddy over the next few days. When they settle, I predict there will be some fresh steelhead and hungry browns out there.  If you don’t mind the cold, get outside and make the transition to winter angling.  Fewer anglers, solitude, wintry beauty and a break from the pace of the upcoming holidays are all good reasons to fish in December.

It’s tough to find a more effective fly than egg patterns.  As much as I prefer swinging streamers w/ my two handed rod or presenting a realistic nymph, egg flies catch more fish for me during the bulk of the season.  The cold and snow present a great excuse to tie up some patterns or restock your fly box.  I’m experimenting more w/ various color combinations in smaller sizes.  It’s great how an 8lb lake fish can key in on fly smaller than a pea.  I prefer Fly Foam, but there are plenty of good synthetic fibers out there.  Here is a picture of my fly tying desk during egg time.  Happy fly tying and enjoy the season.

The sporadic rains we’ve experienced the past two days pushed a little water into our tributaries Thursday and Friday.  I decided to leave work early to check out two tiny tribs.  Even though they were only three miles apart, one was higher and more discolored.  I liked the tea colored water conditions of the heavier flowing creek and  started fishing a well-known, deep, wide hole below a drop off that held fish over the past month.  Many times, aggressive fish will hit on the first few casts.  After twenty minutes of no luck, I opted to hike downstream and scout.

I soon observed two large browns on a gravel bed.  Thirty feet below them were a smaller pair of lake run rainbows.  I’ll always target a greedy fall steelhead over a brown.  On my first decent drift, the larger steelhead sucked in my egg pattern.  After a few cartwheels and keeping it out of the brush, I snapped a quick photo.  The other steelie took after a few casts and I admired the great color on these precious fish.  Fun to spot them in shallow water and see their interception of a decent fly.  Egg sucking leeches sure hook their share of fish for me!  A good pair of eyes and polarized glasses sure help too.

With limited daylight left, I drove a few short miles to another creek and hiked directly to one hole.  My fourth cast yielded a 27″ steelhead that took off downstream.  That same hole soon gave up a decent brown and a smaller, 14″ steelhead.  Nice to catch three fish from one spot.  To cap off the day, I removed a trash bag from my fanny pack and picked up trash along the creek en route to my car.  I always keep a few plastic grocery bags in my gear bin and encourage others to pick up trash, especially on private land.  We’re seeing more posted water and a possible reason for prohibiting access is trash from anglers.  At one spot, I picked up a corn can, worm tin, beer bottles, lengths of mono, plastic jigs, etc.  We take so much from these waters, let’s protect them and all pitch in to keep them clean.

Finally, when I arrived at my car I observed a tan caddisfly on the back windshield.  It must have been a size #16 and it hopped around my car.  December and caddis are unusual.   We’ve been blessed with an unseasonably warm Fall and I found this little guy an ironic icon to help welcome Winter!