Monday, February 12, 2018

Where Have All The Winter Stones Gone, A Long Time....

Winter stoneflies, those little black critters that cover the stream banks on some of the coldest day of winter. These flies that have been about as mentioned in a couple of blogs as being prolific this winter. As for me I have not seen even one. I have put some time into my winter outings, and have seen some trout rising but they were feeding on those flies that one can't see, "midges". So again I tried to find my first winter stone on this outing.

The "starling and purple" has worked for me in the past as a good winter stone imitation, so I selected it, and gave it ample water time to "get it done"


No winter stones here, only winter wood. Beautiful though.


Here is a trout holding spot if ever there was one. I know from experience they hold here and they feed on winter stones. Ten drifts with the starling and nothing...then another ten drifts with the bomber and the same result.


I fished pretty much the whole stream, perhaps three hours and nothing. I did not see even one winter stone. Was I frustrated? No way, these kind of days happen in the winter. This is usually where I stop fishing this stream. There is a small brook that comes into the stream and it is here that I've had success in the past. I cast the starling and purple along the soft seam, it drifted just under the surface. It had moved only a few inches when a trout moved on the fly, but did not take.


A half dozen more casts and "bam" hit and hook. A highly spirited brown took the fly. He pulled and ran to every place he could...in the end he gave it up and glided into my hand. My three hour plus day was a success. A handsome wild brown sipped my winter stone...P.S. I still have not seen a winter stone.








30 comments:

  1. My home water, the Gunpowder Falls in Maryland, used to have prolific hatches of the little black stone on warmer days in the early part of the year. Some amazing fishing days for sure. But not recently. I wonder what has caused the change.

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    Replies
    1. William Shuck
      Thanks
      Bill they were a reliable insect up until two years ago. I have a suspicion that because of the drought summers of a few years ago may have caused this problem now.

      Delete
  2. Alan - I've seen a couple here and there fluttering about but I would not say that I saw a lot of them this winter or winter's past for that matter.

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    Replies
    1. Mark Wittman
      Thanks
      Mark I have seen any. I hope it's not the same with the other hatches we see on the small streams.

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  3. Replies
    1. spike
      Thanks
      It only takes one to make for a happy angler, especially me.

      Delete
  4. Since the season is closed out here, it's nice to follow your adventures during the Winter.

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    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark come along with me anytime.

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  5. Alan
    Beautiful brown. May need to warm up a bit to see the stone flies.

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    Replies
    1. TROUT1
      Thanks
      Pete those winter stones have been active in January in previous years...there's a reason.

      Delete
  6. My dog Harley (Pug)and I took a walk along the Hammonasset R. this morning. No stoneflies there either.

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    Replies
    1. John Dornik
      Thanks
      John that's not good. How's the Hamo looking these days. Been awhile since I've fished it.

      Delete
  7. nice read again Alan, and a pretty fly too.

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  8. I love the simplicity of your flies. They are great.

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    Replies
    1. Kevin Frank
      Thanks
      Kevin most times simplicity works and when it doesn't bring out the bombers and Mickey Finn's.

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  9. One of my favorite patterns for little black stones and dark caddis. Your patience paid off with a nice brown trout!

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    Replies
    1. NJpatbee
      Thanks
      Pat walking along a stream on a decent winter day and having a chance at a trout is worth the effort. The brown was a big plus. Are your NJ streams seein less of these winter stones.

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    2. I haven't been out this year but last year the early stones did get some fish feeding.

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    3. Pat, I saw my first winter stone today, and it was the only one!

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  10. Beautiful wild brown, Alan. I have only been out twice since December so I can't add much to the conversation on the stoneflies, but I will say I saw zero insect activity those two times out. You may have the answer with what you posted above that the drought may have affected them. Last year in March I saw a prolific amount of stoneflies where I fish on the Swift. Hopefully I'll see them this year too.

    Sam

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    Replies
    1. Parachute Adams
      Thanks
      Sam I appreciate you looking for these flies on the Swift. I would not be overly concerned if it was only one stream, but it's all of the streams I fish.

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  11. Alan,
    Starling and Purple (I like the jazzy purple knot of dubbing under the hackle! Nice touch for sure!) has been a winter time staple for many years on the bluegill ponds in my immediate area. Surprisingly, we do have a fair hatch of stoneflies during the winter and early springs months. The smaller the imitation, the more effective they seem!
    The beautiful brown as you have caught and captured on "film" here surely brightens our day! Keep us fed Alan!
    Dougsden

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    Replies
    1. Dougsden
      Thanks
      Doug, that is a bit of ice dub, flashy for "Fat Tuesday"...now Ohio is doing OK with the stones.
      I'll get to the bottom of this.
      I'm thinking that brown in his mind said better grab this stone before they are all gone.

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  12. Alan, love your persistence. Nice reward for not giving up. I always feel like you've invited me along on your adventures. Love the photography. The spider on the bottom photo is real neat, does it have a name? Thankyou. On another note I received my new fly rod from mike today, he did a wonderful job, cannot wait to use it.

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    Replies
    1. Brad Basehore
      Thanks
      Brad my persistence when it comes to fishing is top level, not so with other things though.
      The fly is a variation of a black spider. Black thread, mole dubbing, and black hen hackle.
      You are going to love that rod, and I can't wait for your reports.

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  13. I certainly don't consider myself an expert, but I've done some reading lately about usually reliable hatches disappearing all over the country. It's attributed to climate change, water conditions changing, etc. Good job hanging in there. The brown was ample reward.

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    Replies
    1. Howard Levett
      Thanks
      Howard that worries me. As far as other hatches on our other rivers I've not heard to much one way or another. The small streams need every bit of food they can provide.
      We have some mild weather coming our way the next few days, it will be interesting to see if the stones show up.

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  14. Alan
    This trip proves persistence pays off--don't know about you but I ready for spring. Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill I can usually hang on until March, but this year I can honestly say I had enough.
      Maybe an early spring.

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