The time when winter meant tying, reeling and reeling is a long past for me ...
To begin with
The time when winter meant tying, reeling and reeling was long over for me. Today I am very nervous when I pick up a permit late in the second week of January and know how beautiful the first weekend I missed. Winter is a wonderful time of year, when nature reveals its secrets in peace. There is no better opportunity to perfectly map the character of your favorite off-trout district. Winter low water level, beautifully lit shores without impenetrable bushes of nettles and other successful plants such as hogweed. Moreover, when the weather is good and the sun shines, I really do not know a better way to enjoy a beautiful day. Yes, the winter days are short and the weather often changes from hour to hour, but it is a mistake to think at home behind the oven that there is no point in going to the water. Often even a short lunch walk can prepare a big surprise. This January I encountered collecting white fish, especially large fat fish, who responded quite actively to hatching insects, almost all afternoon.
Select a location
Hunting grounds, but mainly places I visit in winter, I choose according to several important aspects. Of course, it must be non-trout water. I like to try stretches under trout fishing grounds, where it is almost guaranteed that fishing will be livened up by grayling or occasionally trout. On cold winter days, fish collect in deeper, slow-running sections. A good place is usually an overpass, also a section under the outlet of industrial buildings, or tanks, for example, where the warmer water is constantly leaking and the sections are not so often frozen. Very interesting are small coarse rivers, where we quite well select a suitable place for fishing and in the case of numerous fish stocks, white fish are very active almost year round. Certainly I prefer backlit sections, where on sunny days the fish react almost the same as in summer. A little different is catching on stagnant waters, where the decisive condition is ice thawing. Sometimes it may not even thaw the entire surface of the tank, for example, the buffer tank under Lipno. Several times I have dragged myself to a place with wandering ice floes. Catching on the large Lipno lake is best after a defrost. Most often, however, I visit smaller lowland ponds, where I catch white fish almost year-round (unless the pond is frozen).
What kind of fish
The grayling is the most rewarding fish on the rivers all year round. I catch trout randomly, but I mainly focus on white and weed fish. Most of all I catch chubs, streamers, perch and roach. Occasionally pleased pike or ache. I also caught the barbel and double-barrel this year, but it was more of a coincidence. Early spring bream, bream and pearl can also be caught.
Still waters are a delicacy for me. Half-frozen carp or crucian carp is an interesting variegation. Otherwise, of course, I mainly catch white and weed fish, the most rewarding of which is pearl, roach and perch. As the water warms a little, catches of crucian fish begin to increase. Thanks to the numerous fish stocks, rainbow trout is also a pleasant revival.
Ways of catching
Definitely not the rule that the greater the winter, the weaker the line. The most important condition for success is to be as loud as possible and also to be noticeable. Since the water level and visibility are mostly low, the fish knows about us much sooner than in the summer season. I usually catch nymphs on the rivers in combination with wet flies. When fishing white fish, it is important to use the longest and most accurate throws possible. I usually use a dry cord, preferably an old one, so that occasional frost does minimal damage. I run the flies perpendicularly or obliquely downstream and try to catch as much water as possible with a minimum of throws. The shots are very fine, but fairly honest. This year, some January nymphs were caught in the esophagus when catching in January. The fish tend to be cautious and follow the fly on its trajectory long before their decision to take a shot. The advantage of winter fishing is that most of the fish can be seen. As a rule, the shot comes in the least expected moment. I use Climax line in the strength of 0.12 - 0.16 and I usually catch three flies. I adjust the load of the flies according to the depth, but definitely always use the flies loaded. Successful are cheerful colors, especially shouted pink. Various variations of the Marchflower can be used with success. To emphasize the fly is not a harm to use a smaller goldhead. On sunny days I add one, sometimes two podhladinové flies, such as different midges. Clearly I have the experience that flies need a highlight point, either something shiny or a bead. Dark and dull flies are hardly effective. I picked up the selected sections faster, I return to successful places after calming down. Since fish are only collected in certain places in winter, long stretches are often almost unobstructed. Therefore, winter fishing is rather a pleasant walk in the fresh air.
In conclusion
Fly fishing in winter certainly has its charm. Not only can I at least occasionally take the rod into my hand to remember how it is handled, but catching brings me a lot of new experience and knowledge that I have been successfully improving all season. Anyone who has a taste and also can not last without a fly, I certainly recommend winter walk to the water.
