Bundle up

nation's river

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Four Mile Run is about the only bet left in town. 

Fish the discharge pool with a sinking or intermediate line with a #2 clouser or crayfish pattern or work the power poles and rip-rap with small clousers and streamers on an intermediate or floating line. 

If nothing big offers, tie on a pheasant tail or small crazy charlie and clean up on the robust blue gill and sunfish population. Don't be afraid to scale down your leader/tippet combo as these fish have been pressured all winter and are starting to get weary....

 If you're up for the challenge of sight fishing carp, this is a good time of year to do it but be prepared to fish through some crowds.

Stay fly.

trout water

While fishing in the District and our Nation’s River has taken a backseat to our region’s trout water in the past month or so (since our river has been mostly frozen over during that span) – action has been solid nonetheless. Bundle up!

This time of year I really tend to focus on the trout game, particularly the spring creeks and tailwaters (Mossy, both Beaver-VA and Beaver-MD, Gunpowder, and Lower Savage) as these fisheries tend to be the most consistent temperature and production wise in our area.

 That said, free stones and delayed harvest streams can also be very productive this time of year as well since these fisheries are typically stocked throughout the winter (Passage, Stony Mill, and Hogue Creek are a few within an hour or so drive) and FISH GOTTA EAT.

 As long as they aren’t completely frozen over, you can catch fish.

Recent trips to Beaver Creek VA, Mossy Creek, and Passage Creek have all produced quality hookups–even with highs comfortably sitting in the low to upper30s for most of the past month. When the temps drop (aka WINTER trout fishing) you can go two routes to stick a few fish – chuck meaty streamers on sink tip or full sinking lines or nymph deep and thoroughly.

 While nymphing definitely will produce this time of year and is for the most part the “comfort method” by most –streamers ultimately find your actively feeding fish….and on average, your bigger ones.

As you probably know, it’s a pain in the ass switching out your sinking line and steamer get up for a floating line and double nymph rig… and vice-versa…so while it can be a burden, I will often start out the day carrying two rods with me in the winter.

 If one technique clearly trumps the other, the less productive set up goes back in the car around lunch time or whenever I can ditch it safely.

Employing the two rod technique will allow you to effectively cover every water type without FOMOP (fear of missing out on pheesh). That said, you’ll still have to re-rig your nymph set up when it inevitably snags a rock or gets hung up in a spiteful branch…..

Every fish caught gives clues as to what they are reacting to on a given day. Sometimes it’s a certain color that sets them off. Other times, it’s all about the swing or the speed of your retrieve. In my experience, trout (and most fish this time of year) really aren’t into expending a ton of calories when the water is chilly…unless the meal they’re pursuing is worth it. And to my knowledge –it’s pretty hard to resist taking a bite out of a steak dangling in front of your face…..

Enter the protein-packed streamer.

But when the streamer bite isn’t working, whether it due to lock jaw or evil fish, get your nymphs out and try to get down as deep and as drag free as possible. Try a combination of an attractor nymph (San Juan, Y2k, flash back hare’s ear or pheasant tail) with something tiny and natural (#18-22 zebra midge, cressbug, small pheasant tail, or hares ear—no flash). The key is getting your flies down where they need to be.  if you’re not getting bit with the indicator, remove it and fish naked. You won’t feel the takes per say (at least on the better fish as they simply suck in nymphs and chill), but by anticipating where and when you’ll get bit you can set appropriately. It may feel like you’re randomly setting without rhyme or reason, but I promise this technique produces…especially on more pressured waters.

A few staples in my fly box this time of year are my golden retriever variation (#StarFox), black or olive wooly buggers, and a larger sculpin or fingerling trout imitation. Ranging from size #2-6, these patterns are effectively fished in a variety of ways. Swing em, strip em back slowly, or dead drift em through your favorite runs and deep pools near the bottom to find actively feeding fish.

 On top of those morsels, I keep a number of small, home-brewed midge and stonefly patterns in the #18-22 range in case I’ve got to get my hands dirty and chuck small stuff.

Don’t be afraid to try out multiple patterns in the same hole.

Now on to some HotSpotting:

Beaver Creek VA fished well at the end of December as we timed up our trip right as an oncoming front was approaching the Valley. Pre-front and frontal conditions are incredibly hard to beat on the Shenandoah Valley spring creeks. As a rule of thumb, the better the weather – the worse the fishing.  Fishing through the mild weather and rain, new FlyTimesDC sniper Connor Donnovan and I managed to stick 10 big rainbows up to 21” with the big fish of the day coming unbuttoned on a size #18 purple and black #Remidge in the first hole of the day.  As the weather system moved through and we shifted to more of a post-front pattern, the bite died off almost entirely. Swinging #Starfoxes got the majority of the bites, but Connor’s homebrewed articulated leach in olive and black scored him a solid 19” bow when swung underneath a footbridge. An olive and chartreuse #Runwayspecial dead drifted in the riffles also produced a few takes.

Passage Creek VA known as a quick fix with fairly thrashed stockers (no color or tails), Passage has actually gone up in my book this year as it has produced a few fish pushing 20” in the past couple weeks. Fishing the C&R section on a Sunday with a few members of the FlyTimesDC crew (Kevin and Connor)- Kevin stuck a few very nice fish dead drifting his homebrewed golden retriever in the deeper pools. While the water remains tantalizingly sexy and deceptive in that it looks easy to read, the key has and always will be getting your flies down DEEP AND ON THE BOTTOM. The gradient and fast flows can make that somewhat simple sounding task difficult. For streamers, a sinking or intermediate line is a must for getting your flies down in the deeper pools where the big, holdover fish live. For flies, the #starfox has been on fire this winter but any gold retriever or black or olive woolybugger can get the job done. It’s all about getting that fly down. If you lose confidence with the streamer game of openly see fish giving you the fin, switch up to a double nymph rig and throw the tiny stuff (#18-22 midge, pheasant tail, hare’s ear, etc).

Whatever you do, dress appropriately and above all else,

Stay fly.

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