Hi Chris, I've fished for trout in winter conditions and have had some great days. First I found my best pattern to be a heavily weighted Bead Head Woolley Buggers. Secondly because of the small chunks of ice floating down the river I found a slow sinking line to be most effective. I could mend the line before it sank. By sinking it did not become hung up on any of the ice floating in the river. When I used a floating line it felt like I was getting a take every time a piece of ice hit the line. In the interest of fish conservation do not remove the fish from the water if you are going to release it. Imagine a wet fish being landed on a sheet of ice at the river's edge, like sticking your tongue on a frozen piece of steel. I prefer not to use a landing net, a hook release tool comes in handy, it can be placed over the leader and slid down to the hook and a simple flip of the wrist removes the hook without ever handling the fish or removing it from the water. Use extreme caution when winter fishing. A dunking in sub zero weather can be a serious event! Regards Mel
"Chapman, Chris" wrote: > In New Hampshire the trout season opens up Jan 1st for rivers. > > Does anyone have any techniques for winter fly-fishing and patterns I should > try... > > Thanks. > > Chris
