Fly Fishing In Winter

[BGSH]

Well with winter on the way i have always heard people still fly fishing the bow and stauffer and below the dam, was wondering how do you keep your line from freezing up and water freezing in between your guides, can you fly fish in -20 weather?? as i have never tried this before, but if your dressed right i guess its possible. thankyou

[slivers86]

I am interested in this as well, I love being outdoors in the winter, and if I can't hit the hill, I want to hit the river this year!

[chubbdarter]

The Bow is incredible in the winter....fish school up heavy....20+ fish in a hole is possible. My best is 13 fish on 13 casts.
Minus 10 is my low temp limit, i vasilene my guides to help stop the popsicle syndrome.
Chinooks are so nice!!!!
Big stones are the ticket.
And you have the river to yourself

[Christofficer]

Winter is awesome. You find a deep hole and pull a streamer through real slow and big browns love it. There's stuff you can buy to put on your guides to stop them from clogging with ice, or you can use vaseline like chubb said but I dunno what effect that would have on your line if you're using floating. I haven't winter fished in about 3 years, I've felt intolerant of the cold as of late. Just wade least as possible, falling in the winter is deadly and the ice chunks can be even more deadly. Neoprene rules in winter time, stay away from breathables if you hate the cold.

[Jayhad]

To clean the ice I just dip my rod in the water for 5-10 seconds, the water is warmer than freezing. This way you don't screw up your fly line... as bad.... winter is brutal on your lines any little crack will turn into exposed core after a winter.
Even Vaseline... which won't negatively effect your line can screw your line. most remedies for ice are petroleum based and they love to eat plastic coatings. Vaseline will just coat the line and pick up microscopic pieces of dirt which will cause abrasions to the line and make the line heavier, in turn making it sink. If you are super good at cleaning your lines vaseline will be ok. Or just pick up a cheap Rio Mainstream and use it as your winter line.

You can hit virtually any tail water in the winter if the regs allow it and you're warm enough

[chubbdarter]

Another Huge bonus is the river doesnt Stink as bad and another strange thing happens.....Big Browns jump alot in the Winter.

P.S. iliketrout is the wholesaler for all vasilene in Calgary

[iliketrout]

Originally Posted by chubbdarter

Another Huge bonus is the river doesnt Stink as bad and another strange thing happens.....Big Browns jump alot in the Winter.

P.S. iliketrout is the wholesaler for all vasilene in Calgary

And Chubb is the most frequent customer!

[chubbdarter]

Originally Posted by iliketrout

And Chubb is the most frequent customer!

Puddles dont hijack threads.....at least post some fishing info

[bikerman]

I've had my best days during Chinook weather, especially on the 2nd or 3rd day if it lasts.

[slivers86]

biker i think that leads into an earlier thread - does weather / pressure affect the bite. Chinooks are indeed a big pressure/temperature change and maybe it does affect it. I'm excited for my 1st winter of fishing (isn't that sad at age 25... I was so misguided).

[npauls]

I usually get out to the crow a few times a winter to chuck flies and usually I am there on days where it is just below or above freezing. If it is a bit colder and my guides freeze up I just carefully pop the ice from the guides every few casts.

I am going to try and make a trip or 2 up to the bow this winter. The only problem I have is that I am usually looking for eye or perch through the ice on really nice days.

[Dust1n]

for stauffer i usaly just fish with tiny black midges but good luck getting some winter trout from there anytime the snow comes off the tree it makes a big splash and puts the trout back into hiding. on the bow i usaly just spin as iv broke a ton of fly rods inthe winter fishing. Sceintific anglers 5/6wt and a bunch of walmart rods. so i always carry a gibbs minnow spoon its thick and streamline silver and has a thin blue strip on it. if anyone can find these buy them i cant find them anywhere but they work. under glenmore bridge theres a huge run that leads to slower water a big brown lives there and someone on the forum has the pic of the trout in the spot. its a good spot for a reliable fish because its out of the wind.

[pike slaya]

wandering wut rivers in southern alberta r good and legal for fly fishing in febuary?

[jacenbeers]

Originally Posted by iliketrout

And Chubb is the most frequent customer!

Congrats on being the biggest wholesaler!! I knew you had a new job but I didn't know you left engineering to sell personal lubricant products

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by jacenbeers

Congrats on being the biggest wholesaler!! I knew you had a new job but I didn't know you left engineering to sell personal lubricant products

.