Winter trout 
kill3ducks1deer
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Winter trout
Sorry to bring the thought of winter up so early but I was just thinking about some things. I am new to fishing for wild trout and was curious if you could still catch them in the winter. Late November around Thanksgiving or so. Only reason I ask is because I don't really have a break from college until then, and that is also when my friends will be back. So if you can still catch them, what do you use? We are planning on going to Erie a day, but I thought it would be nice to go out for wild trout one time.
"Fishermen are born honest, but they get over it." Ed Zern
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troutguy
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/28 22:28:55
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Yeah you'll catch them through late fall and winter. Around Thanksgiving just keep an eye out for redds and spawning fish, but they should be done by then. All your normal flies(if your fly fishing) will work, but the dry fly fishing won't be as good although the last day of Nov. last year I actually caught some brookies on foam hoppers. I don't have much experience spinfishing for wild trout. The streams I usually fish are too small to cast spinners and you'll spook the fish, and little trout are good at swallowing hooks if bait fishing so I'm all fly fishing when it comes to wild trout. I'd imagine smaller jigs and maybe cone/beadhead woolly buggers may work if spinfishing.
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kill3ducks1deer
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/29 22:28:12
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I fly fish for them, so small nymphs and such would probably be best?
"Fishermen are born honest, but they get over it." Ed Zern
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flyingmoles
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/30 06:00:13
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i seem to do well using real small woolly buggers. i slowly bounce them along the bottom. it really nails them in the creek in my yard. i can't say how well it would work other places.
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Frisco
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/30 09:10:51
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We actually fish for trout all throughout the winter down here!
If the weather or wind or flow looks too bad to make the trip to Erie, we usually head up to the Laurel ridge!
Mainly Laurel Hill and the Yough but we also have MD License and head over to the Casselman and find some great fishing!
Just about any regular flies will work! We have used everything!
White dominates but the sun and temp dictates what to use!
Give me a call when you have the itch this winter!
Frisco
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fisherofmen376
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/30 10:57:08
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"Nails them at the creek in my yard"
Dude that's awesome! Trout in your yard!!!
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19
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flyingmoles
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/30 11:37:55
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yeah. it's pretty cool. there are 2 creeks actually. some wild bows and natives in both. they don't get fished for very often. i have been trying to rebuild parts of the small stream. just 2 years after i started, the trout came back into the small stream and have been spawning there. this was the first summer there were trout that stayed in the new pools i built.
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fisherofmen376
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/30 11:57:59
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That is really, really cool.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19
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troutguy
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Re:Winter trout
2012/09/30 15:23:57
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I fished for some wild trout this weekend, probably my last trip of the year. My top two flies were green weenies and EHC. Got some bows and brookies. The only problem was it looked like the brookies were getting ready to(or already) spawn. I saw some nice sized, very colored up fish in the slower pools. I didn't cast towards them, but the smaller fish in some of the faster deeper water took dries with no problem.
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Cold
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Re:Winter trout
2012/10/09 16:52:20
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k3d1d, you can catch trout on flies all winter, provided you can find or create open water.
As others have said, small nymphs and buggers are standard fare, and I've also done well using egg patterns. Very similar to steelhead fishing, even to the point that usually you have to put it right on their nose, as they're in energy-conservation mode, and won't go out of their way to eat. That being said, though, I've taken trout on dries in every month of the year.
Color-wise, white, pink, and peacock have generally produced best for me, and small brightly colored nymphs (hot pink, metalic blue, opal, chartreuse, etc) can be the ticket as well.
For my part, if I decide I'm trout fishing on a day in the winter, I want to be on the water fishing before the warmest part of the day. Usually that's early afternoon, so I'll make sure I'm on the water by 10:30 or so, fish through till 3 or 4, then head home to warm up after that. Sure, a few fish can be taken at any time, I'm sure, but for me, in the winter, the main objective is to cure cabin fever, and cherry picking the warmest hours accomplishes that.
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