By David Hulsey
Winter is a great time to trout scout or find new sections of streams to fish before the warm days of spring arrive. Not having to deal with vegetation that covers your feet just enough to obscure your view of rattlesnakes, copper heads, and my all-time favorite-yellow jackets, is a huge plus! Better weed-free views of the creek can help you find new ways to get to the creek without cliff diving. The stifling humidity and heat of summer here in the Appalachians is not present and this can enable you to cover more ground and water without a heat stroke. There are literally thousands of miles of trout streams here in the South that can be accessed with a little shoe leather and this month is a great time to get out and find them. Areas that are less accessible can be more easily checked out to see if a return trip is worth it.
The cold ultra-clear water can also help you find big fish in those deep holes you normally can’t get a good look at. Less pressure at this time of year makes it more likely that old brown trout might be more out in the open instead of tucked up under a big flat rock in six feet of water. I find a lot of big fish surprises in small streams right now. Larger trout have figured out how to evade and stay out of sight of anglers or predators, but winter can make them let their guard down a little bit. Stalking a pool is much like big game hunting and can be just as rewarding.
Carrying a small pair of binoculars is also beneficial on waters that require an up-the-hill view of the stream features and they can also help you distinguish better between a twenty-inch brown and a twenty-inch river sucker! Trails in the Smoky Mountains National Park follow the creeks for miles upstream and give you great views of the stream from an elevated position. The same can be said about the streams in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia. When a pool inhabited by a larger fish, or a section of stream that begs for a visit during the dry fly season is found, be sure to mark it on a map. Mental notes have a way of slipping away from our old brains but an x on the map can always be found.
Give David Hulsey a call at (770) 639-4001 to book a class or a guided trout trip. See his website at www.hulseyflyfishing.com.