Trout Source

Baby It’s Cold (Catskils, NY):
Today is extremely cold-about 12 was the high.  Rivers are now starting to freeze over and winter is here with a bang.

…and icy (Catskills, NY)
There was some ice floating down the Willowemoc this morning, but all it takes is a couple of warmer days to get things back on track.

…and icier (Yakima, WA)
Currently, MEGA ICE Flow throughout the system.

…and windy (Yellowstone, MT)
With the strong gusts we have been having here in the Gallatin Valley lately, the Yellowstone doesn't seem appealing right now.  Try to find a spot were you can hide from the wind is the key.

…and snowy (Trinity, CA)

…”Snowpocolypse 2012 is upon us”

…but the trout don’t care in Michigan:
With overnight lows licking the zero degree mark, and all the doors of the truck frozen shut, I was hopeful we'd get a trout or two.   Instead, the fishing was awesome.  …A few cold nights really tends to concentrate the fish.

…and it “ain’t that bad” on the San Juan (NM):
There's a lot to be said for fishing this time of year when you can still do it without your guides freezing on every other cast and dealing with frozen boot laces in the parking lot, when it's all said and done. And how can you really complain when you can still go out and catch rising fish on dry flies, for the larger part of the day, and still be warm enough to have your fingers function to tie knots in 6x tippet? So; all in all, it really ain't that bad, and I've seen a lot worse in my time.

…but it really was that bad on the Gunnison once – minus 35:
I'll just try to remember that time my friend and I decided to fish the Taylor River above Gunnison, Co., because no one else is probably going to be there in January. Well, we were right about that part, but didn’t quite think through the other part about why. The night we arrived, the temperature gauge on the clock at the bank downtown, broke and stayed stuck at minus 22 degrees. The next morning when we stopped at a convenience store for coffee on the way to the river, the clerk acted a little surprised to see someone in waders and offered us the cheerful news that the thermometer reading at her house that morning had been a balmy -35 below.

Flows jump 100-fold on the Smith (CA) in 36 hours – after dry early winter – 8”-12” of rain expected:
For the last couple of weeks we have been praying for rain to open many of our rivers that are closed due to low flows. I guess we need to be careful what we ask for…

 

…more on the Northern California storm carnage:
Only the hardiest of the die-hards are challenging the elements… As of this post the rowdy weather has also knocked down major transmission lines, shutting down Lewiston’s electrical power. Phone lines are also down and heavy icy snow fall makes cell service sketchy at best. Road closures, limited travel, no work, no shop sales, no fishing reports, and no whiners, all unusually quiet on the northwestern front, a mandatory mountain and country style time out… I attempt to gather these thoughts in a dimly lit work space highlighted by a narrow beam from a Stanley flashlight. I chuckle aloud as I reflect back on our past when we first started. No computers, no cell phones, no up to the minute river conditions reports. Back then fishing was a true blind faith adventure based upon gut instinct, hunches, hearsay reports, local knowledge and or a willingness to gamble. As I hand write this blog I find the rhythm odd, out of date yet strangely very comforting. Despite the harsh weather impacts we somehow find a way to move on and discover that things can still be done just as effectively, the old fashioned way, and still with a smile. Life is great in Trinity County!

...while wolf OR7 circles fly fishing waters
A On Jan. 9, he was within five miles of Burney after he earlier skirted the towns of McArthur and Fall River Mills as he made his way down from eastern Siskiyou County, Stopher said. In Siskiyou County, the wolf passed through Lava Beds National Monument and came within miles of Medicine Lake before heading toward Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park and McArthur.  From there, he traveled past Burney and walked nearly to the Pit River Arm of Shasta Lake near Big Bend and Montgomery Creek before he doubled back and headed east. He meandered past Lassen Volcanic National Park on his way to Lassen County.

Exact current whereabouts witheld for "wolf's safety"
The most recent one puts OR-7 about 35 miles south of Alturas, Calif., heading toward Nevada...  In the interests of the wolf's safety, the department will delay posting locations on the map.

State of California: This wolf's movement pattern...has so far been unpredictable...
DFG provides these maps to show the route that Wolf OR 7 has traveled since his entry into California. The maps will be updated periodically as additional data becomes available. However, there will be an intentional delay in posting new map information to protect the current location of this wolf. This wolf's movement pattern, in terms of timing, direction and distance has so far been unpredictable. Therefore the maps will provide useful information on where he has been recently, but not where he is now.
 

Death Match Against The Aquatic Devil – hurts steelhead fishing:
Attempting to stop sea lamprey with an electric barrier has become a thing of the past on the Pere Marquette River... The federal agency recently announced it no longer will operate its electric weir there and will resume treating the river only with chemical lampricides...  “We’ve reduced the larval populations (sea lamprey) in the river to 10 to 20 percent of what the average is without the barrier, but that is still thousands of larvae that still require treatment,” said Greg Klingler a biologist with the FWS Marquette Biological Station.

Update on James the Trout (Au Sable, MI)
I saw the shadow move but I didn't say anything.  But Matt was watching his line and it went straight and he struck: fish on…James wasn't as big as we thought…This was a fish that had baffled Matt, Kyle and myself all winter and now, well, it's time to find another to spend a month figuring out.

Lost and Found (Au Sable, MI):
A kind angler found a fly patch and left it. Flies are rotted now.

Broken rods?  No problem (Au Sable, MI)
Everything was busted in just about every way you can imagine. …So the hell with it. I just went down to the river and hung out knee deep in the river with my friend. Honestly, it was good enough. For me that’s as much a part of fishing as are the fish.

Winter rainbow (MT)

Fighting Unemployment in Montana – “Hardcore Fly Fishers Wanted”
Interested in working in one of Montana’s best fly shops and fishing the waters around West Yellowstone every day of the season?  We have an opening or two for knowledgeable, friendly and hard working shop employees for our 2012 season.