Winter Fly Fishing

Last winter I was often asked “have you been ice fishing yet?” Most years I do get out on the ice a few times. Fish Lake is my favorite ice fishing destination. But last year I didn’t go ice fishing even once. But, I did go fly fishing every week. The Provo and Weber rivers have great winter fly fishing, especially for white fish.

Perfect days are not the pretty, bright and sunny days, but rather the nice overcast, mostly cloudy, almost ready to rain or snow days. It is nice however, if it is not actually raining - also if it is at least above freezing. Not that it’s too cold to be out on the river, but that the ice on the guides is hard on the fly line and the ice makes it hard to control your line, either to get a drag free drift with a nymph or to strip line with a streamer.

Dressing appropriately is one key to enjoying winter fly fishing. One thing nice about waders is that they keep you dry from your chest down. OK, a second thing is they keep you nice and warm. Make sure you have some good polypropylene, polyester, fleece or nylon pants. Sweat pants work great as long as they are not cotton. I do insist that they have a back pocket for my wallet which contains my fishing license (and driver’s license) and front pockets for keys, cell phone or whatever. Blue jeans are the worst when it comes to keeping you warm and dry. They just hold moisture and keep you cold. Same thing for socks. Thick fleece or wool is my favorite. Remember, no cotton. If it is lightly raining or snowing, make sure you have some rain gear. Keeping dry is critical. If it is windy, keep your ears covered. I usually don’t need gloves and if I’m active my hands stay warm just fine. If your hands are cold, neoprene or fleece gloves work great. You may even be able to get away with fingerless gloves. I’ve got a pair of fleece mittens where the finger section can bend back and become fingerless gloves. I use these if I’m actually ice fishing and not keeping active like I do when fly fishing. Dressing in layers is a good idea. After you get used to the cold, or after walking a bit you may get a little hot and sweaty. I know this happens to me all the time, even on cold winter days. It helps if I can take off or unzip the outer portion of my coat and just keep on the lining or a sweatshirt. Then if you stand still for a while fishing a hole or if the wind picks up, you can zip up or put the outer portion back on. Wearing a hat also helps tremendously.

An important item frequently neglected in winter is polarized sun glasses. Just like in the summer, a good pair of polarized sun glasses is a necessity. I have gotten snow blindness before in a snow storm. My eyes started watering and I couldn’t see a thing. So even if it is snowy, bring your sun glasses. You never know when the sun will shine through and all the snow around really makes things bright.

There are quite a few advantages to fly fishing in the winter. A lot of times you’ll have the stream all to yourself. There are not as many fishermen out in the wintertime. Because of this, the water is usually undisturbed and the fish have not been spooked. You will not have to be on the river bright and early. In fact, the middle of the day when the water has had a chance to warm up a bit is when the fishing is usually best. The fish are more active when the water has warmed a few degrees. This is also when the midges start hatching and the fish take notice of the insect activity. At the same time, don’t leave just because the sun starts going down. I have caught some of my biggest browns in the winter just after the sun goes down.