Week of January 5th 2025: Happy New Year!
Week of January 5th
Happy New Year, everyone!
The new year, for anglers and rivers, is a new beginning in a unique way. It is cold, as January typically is, and the forecast has temperatures hovering just below freezing for the next several days (as of Sunday). The river life slows down with each drop in degree and angler are forced to focus on moving a drifting midge or nymph in slender slots where a fish is likely to be.
It is a new beginning as the previous year’s trout tally (for those who keep track) is reset to zero. I have no idea how many trout I catch year to year, but I look forward to the first. One angling goal I do try to keep is to catch one trout in each month of the year. Fortune has led me to live minutes or mere hours from quality fishing, so it is an attainable goal and adds some pressure to get out when I am feeling lazy.
Life under water never ceases, but on the river bed it is a period of slow, silent growth and gestation. Our next batch of mayflies are developing along with all other life down among the rocks and debris. All life needs sustenance, and we can only do our best to match the macroinvertebrates and bait fish and whatever else remains in the depths until spring returns and the cycle continues.
Speaking of sustaining life, take extra care to layer up! We carry some fairly hi-tech gear from Patagonia that allows layering without getting too bulky. A wading staff is a very good idea in these conditions, too.
As far as flies, some favorites are the most simple: zebra midge (black or red), WD40, and Rainbow warrior midges. Nymphs - Hare’s ear, BHPT, Princes in #14 - 18 make good lead flies. For tighliners and Euro Nymph rigs, we have perdigons and other tungsten bead patterns. Cone Head Zonkers can help sink a streamer right through the seam where trout like to be.
Fly Tying 101 began this weekend with brand new hands and some others looking to brush up on basic techniques. After learning the names of tools and materials, some stumbles with the vice, locking in the hook, and taking on the elusive whip-finish we constructed two very-fishable fly patterns. It is a struggle to articulate using words how the tool works to finish a fly with the whip finisher. Like most everything, it takes some practice. Soon, what seems like magic becomes familiar.
It is the start of a New Year. Endings may be more difficult than beginnings. Reset the count to zero and get ready for the first cast, again.
See you out there, Roy B.