Thursday, December 12, 2013

A cold day in.........

Yesterday mornings forecast was for sunny skies and light winds with a possible high temp around 35. Looking at the next few days Wednesday was the warmest day of the lot. So I set off to find a few trout willing to play catch and release. The day was truly spectacular, a snowfall the day before left the woods like a wonderland. As I was gearing up and deciding what fly to try first, my eye caught some movement. As I turned to the direction of the movement I saw a hawk burst from the snow. He had something in his talons but I could not recognize what it was.

To the stream. I fished only a few flies, knowing the water was cold most of the activity was going to come from the bottom or very close to the bottom. I must have fished for several hours and all I had to show for it was a solid strike on a small streamer, and endless build up of ice in the guides. The day was still bright but not warmer. I knew this was going to be a day for walking and enjoying that which is around the stream.

I watched a flock of tom turkeys feeding on some winter berries. These guys were very good at picking the berries, some even jumped to reach the ones at the of the bush.


In this slow moving pool near the bank is where I took the strike on the streamer.


About two in the afternoon I noticed a few of these guys on the snow and rocks along the stream. I don't have any real good stonefly imitations so I tied on a Adams parachute, the thought was that if I matched the size and the color was close it would work.

In this pool I noticed some rises. These were along the far side and were not an easy cast. After several attempts the Adams was sucked under. A brief twist and shake by the trout and it was gone. Trout 2, Alan 0. That's OK and I considered this a wonderful cold day along a small stream.




34 comments:

  1. Beautiful day for taking pictures but tough for fishing! Did you happen to check the water temp?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark,
      Thanks.
      Very true. No I did not take a water temp, I've got to put my thermometer in the pack.

      Delete
  2. Mark
    And I thought 45 was cold here as far as fishing is concerned--amazing you got that shot of the turkey's. Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell,
      Thanks.
      Bill it's getting colder all the time. Those turkeys paid no attention to me, seems they were very hungry.

      Delete
  3. Winter Wonderland for sure. Time to bust out my winter stone dries.

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    Replies
    1. Apache Trout,
      Thanks.
      It's beautiful out there. Yes you should.

      Delete
  4. It sure looks like it was a beautiful day to be out. The turkey photo is great! I have fond memories of some icy guide days, it's just another element to the season. Nice job catching the rings on the water in the last shot!

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    Replies
    1. Bill,
      Thanks.
      It sure was. I'm sure you have, but it's part of winter fishing.
      No splashy rises only gentle slurps.

      Delete
  5. really beautiful! and i'm jealous of the wild turkeys. the only kind i see around here comes in a bottle.

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    Replies
    1. TexWisGirl,
      No turkeys in east Texas. That bottled kind is quite good.

      Delete
  6. Awesome pic of the turkeys in the snow. How did you get so close?

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    Replies
    1. Kevin Frank,
      Thanks.
      I used a zoom lens. But I still got quite close and they were not frightened.

      Delete
  7. Almost link my day on Sunday...cold, and snowy, but I got a trifecta (rainbow, Brown, tiger) to hand.... winter trips can be fun!!

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    Replies
    1. Eunan,
      Thanks.
      A tiger, pretty rare in the wild, well done.

      Delete
  8. Hard to believe that trout would take a dry fly in the winter. My experience has been to use a nymph or bust. Learned something new today.

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    Replies
    1. tim,
      Thanks.
      Oh they do. I've had some fine days dry fly fishing in the winter.

      Delete
  9. Looks like a wonderful winter day. Glad you were able to enjoy it since the weather for the weekend looks a little bad.

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    Replies
    1. Savage,
      Thanks.
      Not so good this weekend, unless you like to ski.

      Delete
  10. That stonefly on the snow suggests the way I feel today, but glad that you had a nice cold outing of it, anyway.

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    Replies
    1. rivertoprambles,
      Thanks.
      I can't imagine a bug that small having to exist on such a cold day.

      Delete
  11. Wow, that looks like my yard, still........

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    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz,
      Thanks.
      From your blog...."tired of the white"

      Delete
  12. Beautiful photos. By Monday even less of the ground will be visible.

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    Replies
    1. RKM,
      Thanks.
      It was sure pretty there. So I'm told.

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. Jim Yaussy Albright,
      Thanks.
      Good subjects, good camera, and a novice photographer. Sometimes it works out.

      Delete
  14. A stream and snow covered woods - beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. LQN,
      Thanks.
      Snow covered woods can be so peaceful and uplifting.

      Delete
  15. Things are whitening up here in NE Alan for sure..more coming this weekend? The guides icing up is my indicator that the fly rod goes back on the rack until warmer days..but I'm glad your still getting out..

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    Replies
    1. penbayman,
      Thanks.
      Looking at the forecast Mike and it looks to be a good one.
      Icing is a little bothersome, but worth it.

      Delete
  16. I love the fact that you fish light. When I go small stream fishing even for just a few hours I pack everything but the kitchen sink and saltwater flies.

    Love the pictures and essay. Reminds me of Frost's poem. Fishing in Woods on a Snowy Afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter Carlson,
      Thanks.
      I did the same years ago, then I wised up, well maybe not.
      I'll have to check that Frost poem out.

      Delete