Winter Woes

Again it has been awhile since my last blog post but as everyone is aware this time of year can be a tough time to fish.  Whether it's hard to motivate yourself to get out in the cold of if the streams are just blown out from runoff it can be challenging.  However there is no shortage of fishing opportunities going on right now.

Many popular tributaries are currently ice free.  With the fickle weather (as opposed to the deep freeze we had in early January) the fishing conditions are decent.  Larger tributaries such as the Catt are still high and brown wit flows retreating and will be perfect for the weekend.  Other popular tributaries like the Oak, the 18 Miles (both Ontario and Erie), and Sandy Creek are retreating to medium flow with stained water.  However the weather forecast is predicting some colder more consistent weather that will freeze up the slower sections of the tributaries.  Fishing at the dams (the Oak and Burt) will likely be your best bets to find open water as well as fish this coming weekend.  Egg patterns are producing pretty well as well as marabou jigs under an indicator. 

Another great fishing opportunity this time of year is fishing the inland streams for trout.  The one hitch for opting for the inland trout is that the inland species are currently out of season.  However there are a handful of creeks that are open to catch and release during this time.  Oatka Creek in Mumford is one of these creeks.  Fishing for trout can be difficult but small midge nymphs like zebra midges can be productive.  However my favorite way to fish this time of year is fishing with streamers.  These brown trout are post spawn and are looking to put on the feedbags.  They smash streamers and put up an exciting fight in the winter.  Black has worked well as well as olive in clear water.

Be sure to check out my YouTube page for fishing videos as well as fly tying tutorials!  If you are interested in a nice inland trout rod you can email me or see the link below!  Thanks again for reading and tight lines!


Current Stream Information: 

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  January 31st, 2018
Light fishing pressure

Med/Stained Flows
151 CFS

18-Mile Creek (Hamburg):  January 31st, 2018
Med/Stained Flows

3.21 ft 

Cattaraugus Creek:   January 31st, 2018

Muddy Flows

1000 CFS

32 ⁰F

Oak Orchard Creek:   January 31st, 2018

Light Fishing Pressure

Stained Flows

390 CFS 

Oatka Creek:   January 31st, 2018

Stained Flows

281
CFS   

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St Croix Imperial 3wt