Composed by: Chip Swanson, Breckenridge Outfitters
Many individuals are shocked when I discuss I’m a year-round fly fishing guide up in Colorado’s high nation. Sure, fishing in -15 ° can get cold, and snow blowing in your face provides difficulties. However fish are still starving and tailwaters are still streaming, no matter the weather condition or the season. I’m not stating that winter season fishing is simple. It can be darn difficult, and if you do not understand what you’re doing, one not successful and cold day on winter season waters will most likely have you swearing off winter season fishing for the rest of your life. Do not quit! To increase your success, I provide a few of my go-to flies in winter season tail waters. Keep in mind, the size of flies is very essential in the winter season, so if you do not have these sizes in your bag, do yourself a favor and visit your regional fly store or invest a long time at the vise!
1. Zebra Midge ( sizes 18-24)
Zebras pay the winter season lease. This pattern simply flat out puts fish in the web. Duration. Colors I greatly utilize are black, brown, red, purple and olive. I tend to have great deals of self-confidence in black and red. My go-to size is 22, followed by sizes 20 and 24, depending upon the existing hatch. I constantly bring the complete size variety in my bag. I actually connect numerous these in the winter season. This is a terrific pattern to try out also.
2. Supersecret Midget ( sizes 20-24)
This Pat Dorsey fly is a terrific emerger replica. I have actually had this fly produce in every tailwater in the West. I utilize the basic brown with white ribbing, however I likewise connect these up in black. You can dead drift these, swing them, or perhaps fish them in the movie. I utilize size 22 usually.
3. Bling Midge (size 18-24)
The top place I keep in mind utilizing this fly was down on the San Juan River in New Mexico. It worked so well that it has actually ended up being a preferred. This is simply an extremely easy thread midget with a small hot-spot flash collar. As far as colors, I utilize black, white, and red. The secret to this is that it’s sporadic and extremely low profile, connected on either a straight or curved hook in sizes 22 and 24 with 10-12/ O thread.
4. Rainbow Warrior (size 18-20)
This is a magnificent attractor fly. I will likewise utilize this fly as a dropper behind egg patterns as a browsing rig. I tend to utilize the Ranbow Warrior in red and pearl colors, however in some cases the black variation works finest. The fancy body cover, the little motion in the little tail, and the glass bead that includes the shimmer and appeal of a bubble on an emerging fly make this a terrific micro-attractor. If you connect, this is another fantastic pattern to mess around with. Attempt various colors (like purple), utilize various products, get rid of tails, or perhaps include locations. I like to utilize size 18 and 20 hooks, considering that I’m utilizing this as the “Come Consume at Joe’s” indication.
5. Double Down CDC Pheasant Tail (size 18)
This fly need to be called the David Blaine or David Copperfield due to the fact that it’s magic! It’s a cross in between Randall Kauffman’s CDC Pheasant Tail and Charlie Craven’s Two-Bit Hooker. My fly boxes are loaded with these in all sizes. That stated, in winter season I just utilize size 18. Yes, its a another damn Pheasant Tail, however it has the life-pulsing CDC covered collar that includes a myriad of magic. However the genuine dark magic here is that this fly is a slim double-beaded fly, so it sinks faster than my appeal in high school when I began driving a maroon ’78 Buick LaSabre. So unlike me and the Buick, it’s a terrific attractor and looks natural amongst its peers.
Chip Swanson, the 2019 Orvis-Endorsed Fly-Fishing Guide of the Year, works for Breckenridge Outfitters, in Breckenridge, Colorado.
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