With the air cold and the winds whipping, they weren’t good omens for me and Joel Watson. We met up to fish and for me to show him some new water. But, we had a feeling there would be few anglers out on the water, and that was enough to get us motivated.

There’s no rush to get on the water in the winter. The fish are just as cold as you are. And you strive for those rare moments when a low-orbiting sun hits you and warms you, and that doesn’t happen until late morning.

I arrived first at our spot and caught a rainbow on a weighted-egg pattern I’ve been tweaking. Then, I stopped fishing both to get out of the frigid water and to give Joel a shot at the runs. He came over in due course, and he floated the indicator while I played the Euro Streamer Game.

The high point of the day for me was when a big fish slammed a lazily-pulsed jig streamer. I knew it was a good one as soon as it took off and as I felt some massive head shakes pulsate through the line and to my Thomas and Thomas Contact 2. One of the advantages of a Euro-specific rod is that it does a great job of protecting tippet by absorbing head shakes and sudden surges.

I raced to get below the fish to improve my angle and felt much better when I did so: fish rarely pop off after that. It was one of the nicer fish of 2021 for me.

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The brown taped at an even 19″ and later slid off into the deep to fight another day. Joel stuck to the indicator game and also saw a good brown that taped nearly 19″.

After that, it was slow-going for me. I landed another brown, and some others swiped at my streamer but failed to really commit. But, it was a great day nonetheless to be outside, see some browns, and challenge ourselves to fish when the weather is challenging.

I hope everyone has some great winter holiday plans. Don’t forget to check out our 2021 fly-fishing gift recommendations. We do earn revenues from affiliate links there, but note that 100% of our profits continue to go to charity.

Tight lines….