Winter Wonderland
Tips to Keep You Landing the Big Ones This Winter

by Landon Mayer

While most outdoor thrill seekers peruse the ski slope to carve fresh tracks in the unbeaten snow, there are the ambitious fly fishers who lay their tracks when driving to their favorite water in pursuit of the sweet rewards of powder days! This white, untouched landscape offers the chance of good fishing in an unstressed and pressure free environment. It’s between you and the fish! Not only can you gain a wealth of knowledge in these conditions, you gain the therapeutic sense of freedom from life’s everyday hustle and bustle.

Winter can bring a new perspective and challenge in fly fishing. These cold conditions make the waters low and clear, and the wary tout residing in them are lethargic from the cold water and become less active in their movements and feeding behavior. The way to overcome these obstacles is to develop a stealthy streamside approach, in hopes of getting the right drift without spooking the target.

Once you have spotted that trout, the next challenge is to get into position to start casting. When you are approaching the fish and getting into position, the most important thing is to keep a low profile. The excitement of seeing a feeding trout in the waters will rattle the nerves of most of us. This makes it difficult to keep your cool and think of observing the area to find the best spot to be in position for casting to the fish. By doing this you reduce the chance that the trout may detect you. If you rush the situation and spook the fish, you lose the opportunity to cast to a feeding trout.

When trout are spooked, it will take them up to five minutes to settle down and return to a feeding lane. While trying to keep a low profile, it is critical to keep and maintain a constant visual of the fish if possible. This will give you the advantage of being able to adjust in case the fish moves while you are getting into position. Another benefit of keeping a visual is observing the fish’s behavior and seeing it take your fly. Most importantly, by knowing where the fish is in the water, you will be able to find the best area to be in and the best place to approach and to cast to the fish.

The 123 Technique
I have been guilty of rushing things when I see a fish. I think the sight of a trout in the water and the eagerness to present a fly in the hopes of hooking it can be hard to overcome. However, this eagerness is what helped me develop a system to approach trout, which has turned out to be very effective in heart thumping situations. When you first spot a trout, stop, and immediately observe your surroundings. By doing this, you start to plan your strategy of moving into position for casting, and you also can scan the water so you have an idea of what to expect in the water if the fish runs after being hooked and you are required to follow it up and down stream.

The 123 Technique consists of choosing three possible areas to approach the fish and get you into position to cast. Mark each spot with a number 1, 2, or 3. What I have found is that this forces you to consider more than one approach, and allows you time to think over the situation at hand. By thinking about where to be positioned to start casting, you will make a more logical decision, which is usually the most effective. This may also help you find an area that wasn’t your first choice but is the most successful one.

You want the position you cast from to be an area that keeps you as undetectable as possible, allowing you to maintain a constant visual, and be in the best location to get a proper presentation. Once you have made that determination, stay low and be cautious. By knowing the surroundings and taking the time to find your spot, you will learn more from each experience and be more effective when casting to trout.

The Advantage Angle
Because the winter months provide crystal clear water, the trout will have an advantage in detecting their predators from above and your rig in the water. I have found the best way to overcome these obstacles is to position yourself where you can make a cast and presentation to the fish with your fly being the only visible object in the trout’s feeding lane. These are the advantage angles that will produce more hookups.

The two most productive angles to be positioned in are the upstream and downstream.

Upstream
The upstream position is my favorite way to present sub surface, and dry flies to wary trout during the winter months, because fish have a hard time detecting you if performed correctly. To do this, you want to be upstream of the fish at a 45 degree angle—or slightly more. Remaining as low as possible where you can still be effective in casting, present your fly two feet or more above the fish with a generous amount of slack line to achieve a drag free drift. This will make your fly the first visual in the trout’s feeding lane, which will result in more hooks and less rejections, because the fish will not be able to detect your leader, fly line, or any other unnatural objects in the water. Being at this exaggerated angle you will need to be cautious of your hook set and allow the fish time to take your fly, and begin to close its mouth. This will allow you to penetrate the trout’s jaw easier and ensure it won’t spit the hook later in the fight. Next time you’re on the water in winter’s bliss, give this angle a try. The rewards will warm up the day.

Downstream
When you are not able to get in an upstream position of the fish, perform the same angle at a downstream location. This will allow you to cast upstream to a location, two or three feet above the fish, and get a proper presentation to the trout. The key to success at this downstream angle is to use a long leader of 10 feet plus. This will decrease the chance of the fish seeing the fly line when your rig lands on the water. I personally use this downstream approach a lot when fishing small midge dry flies during the warm winter days. It allows me the advantage over the fish by staying out of site, achieving a natural drift with the speed of the current, and making the hook set much easier by being at a downstream angle. Try this method the next time you are in a midge feeding frenzy on the water; the trout will never see you coming!

Don’t pass up the chance to fish during the many sun filled winter days this white season can provide. The experience and rewards can make for some great adventures to the four seasoned angler.

About the Author
Landon Mayer is a local guide in Colorado. He calls the South Platte River his home waters. He has been busy guiding and writing his first book this summer, How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life, due to be released in March of 2006 (Wild River Press). Landon guides for The Peak Fly Shop in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as well as Colorado Fishing Adventures. For more information on how to utilize these and other techniques, you can reach Landon at: LandonRMayer@yahoo.com. Or at www.extremeflyfishing.com.