Catching fish in Winter
It is true that trout love cold waters, but even trout get a little sluggish as temperatures drop. They are most active in water temps around 55 ° F, so last weekend, December 13th 2015, the water was a little cold, (50 ° F), and the fish didn’t start to get active until the sun had been up a few hours.
I arrived to the upper Farmington River and started fishing at 7:30. About 8:30 am the fish started biting, but I only felt very light ticks on my bait. The fish are very picky at this time, since there isn’t a large selection of food for them to eat; the large hatches of insects are over.
If you’re Fly fishing, you’ll get hits on Nymphs and midges, but best flies might be streamers, since the bait fish are a big part of their diet right now. Get your flies or bait low, just bouncing off the bottom. Try not to walk into the water, the fish spook very easily in very clear streams.
I caught this fish closer to 11am in a fast but deep section of the river on a small piece of worm. I had quietly and slowly crept up to a small eddy in the riffles and he hit my line hard, and ran with my drag. It was a very exciting 15 minute fight before I landed him and got this picture.
I Caught and released 7 Brown trout that morning.
