By Karl Ekberg
The holidays have passed; we hope everyone enjoyed time with their families! Now the winter fishing season is upon us, and it is time to layer up and catch big winter fish. At times, with the heavy rains or snow, the rivers will take a few days to subside from extremely high levels and unsafe wading conditions. After this, the rivers will fish extremely well, with many large fish being caught. Donât let the cold weather keep you home, just dress appropriately and enjoy the rivers. We have found using the wicking base layers and the Redington I/O Fleece Pants to be very beneficial, for keeping warm while wading. Letâs not forget about top layers either: Wearing a wicking base-layer shirt, and then a fleece and an insulated coat, depending on the daytime temperatures.
Many large fish are being caught using tandem nymph rigs, with larger nymphs as a lead fly and a smaller nymph as the trailer, tied off the back end of the lead fly hook. Casting these tandems slightly upstream, and dead-drifting these flies through the seams is essential. The seams are those areas where the water is moving quickly and the area of the slower moving water. Many flies to choose from, as the lead flies and as the trailers, we have a tremendous supply in stock, and please check out our âhot list as wellâ.
As for the streamers, big fish are being caught as well. Casting out and across fast moving water, dead-drifting, and then a strip and pause back to you along the seam lines has proved to be extremely effective. Keeping the streamers low in the water column is also a key to success, as with the colder water temperatures, the fish are holding low in the river. The use of a weighted leader, or pinching on a piece of weight a foot above the streamer, will help.
On warmer days, some dry fly fishing may be at hand. Donât be surprised to see rises as the winter days warm from the early-day cold to the 50âs, maybe 60, and fish start rising. Pre-hatch fishing nymphs and emergers on the swing, and then switching to dries will be the key to success.
If fishing in the cold weather outside is not your cup of tea, join us for a fly tying lesson inside our warm shop. We offer one-on-one fly tying lessons for the beginner, or for those that want to learn new ideas at the vise, just call for an appointment. And YES, we offer Guided Trips year around! We hope to see everyone out on the rivers!!
Karl Ekberg is the owner of Chattooga River Fly Shop, located at 6832A Highlands Hwy, in Mountain Rest, SC 29664. Give them a call at (864) 638-2806 or look them up on the web at chattoogariverflyshop.com.