Winter has yet to arrive in Wyoming, even if my local ski resort has the lifts running and a 50-inch base. There’s little-to-no snow in the valleys, and what little skiffs fell on the plains blew away last week when we had 144 mile-per-hour gusts rip through the state. That doesn’t bode well for next year’s fishing, but it’s also made fishing in the here and now a tall order, too.
It’s supposed to be 57F here today. This time last year, we were approaching the first of a few cold snaps that saw temps plummet to -30. This whacky weather is doing a number on the fish, to the point that fishing has felt rather pointless lately.
Just last week, while floating a tailwater, the temps were close to 50 when we launched at 10am. Midges hatched in thick clouds, and I’m sure fish would’ve risen to them if the wind hadn’t blown the adults off the water. Instead of a winter dry fly hatch, I focused on the staples of winter fly fishing: nymphing through slow, deep runs with small flies.
It paid off with one 20-inch rainbow, but the rest of the trip was surprisingly slow. I caught another 10-inch whitefish, while my buddy put a 17 and 12-inch brown trout in the net. This tailwater isn’t known for lights-out fishing, but during winter it’s more or less predictable. Enough drifts through their usual hidey-holes will pluck a few fish, and often they’re nice ones. Aside from the big rainbow, not much met our usual expectations.
I’m splitting and hauling less firewood than normal right now, I don’t have to scrape my windshield when I head to the post office in the morning, and it’s possible to fish in a light jacket. But the fish are taking notice of this weird weather, and responding by not doing much of anything. The lack of interest in anything is similar to the doldrums of August, when fishing slows to a halt as water temps warm, hatches taper off, and fish seem to wait for the hoppers to finally make their way to the water.
It’s been frustrating to fish lately, because I enjoy the mild weather and the gorgeous floats, but I know that doesn’t bode well for next summer. And if I feel whiplash from the weather, I can only imagine what the fish are experiencing. Water temps have dropped, but bug activity is staying relatively high. It’s got to be confusing for a trout that wants to essentially hibernate, but still watches blue-winged olives hatch (a few of them showed up last week. I’ve never seen that before).
If anything, it’s disappointing, because I look forward to winter fishing. The solitude, the quiet of a snow-covered landscape, the lack of crowds—it’s a unique time to be on the water. There’s even an odd comfort in bundling up in winter coats, knowing the warmth of the truck and dinner are never too far away.
I have yet to experience any of that this year, and I wonder if we’ll even have a real winter. The meteorologists keep saying “it’ll snow eventually,” but I’m not exactly inclined to believe them.