Why I Love to Fish in the Winter

by Les Albjerg
(Caldwell, Idaho)

It is 14 degrees as I type. I was going to take my son to Wilson Creek Springs today and fish even though it was 3 degrees when I woke up, but he is sick. Chris said in his last trip report that he doesn't like winter fishing much anymore. I LOVE WINTER FISHING It has become my favorite.

The picture of my fishing buddy Kyle's fish is what we go after in the winter on the South Fork of the Boise River. These large rainbows are following suckers up the river from Arrowrock Reservoir feeding on eggs. Egg patterns are the fly that trout take 65% of the time. Stonefly nymphs are their second choice. The second picture is a Bull Trout (endangered so you have to let them go quickly and you can't target them) and the third is an average rainbow that I caught last year.

The water levels are low, the other fishermen levels are low, and the amount of fish are high. We also catch a lot of mountain whitefish and they can put up a great fight too. I am so looking forward to fishing with no ice in my guides because my Keiryu rods don't have them! As long as the wind isn't blowing it is awesome fishing. I am looking forward to my first winter with my Keiryu rods.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.