Winter trout fishing | Post Tag | Trout and Stream

Winter fishing for trout

Vytautas — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 17:13:04 +0000

2020 started of slow. Five fishing trips all with the same result. No trout, few bites and a lot of guesses why the fish are not biting. Finally on the sixth trip (in March, so technically spring) I catch the first trout of the season. Compiled a small video of my searches.

Hope you enjoy.

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No trout

Vytautas — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 10:15:55 +0000

January 1^st

As tradition January 1^st is spent trout fishing. Found a small river I have never tried, minimal info on the web, going in blindly. After a 40 minute drive of which 10 are on forest dirt roads I arrive. First impression - positive. Not shallow, not overgrown. Casting is not difficult, pleasant scenery. Cast after cast I have no bites. Textbook trout areas – empty. I check about 3km of the river with no luck. So I head home.

January 3^rd

Another river, this time I know for sure there are trout living there. Reaching the river, involved a bit of trekking. Water is very low. It does have plenty of fallen trees that block the current and create little pockets for the trout to hide in. I check as many as I can with no luck. I cannot help but think I started the season too early this year. 0 bites in two days was disappointing. Still spending time in nature is always better than sitting at home. I could have headed for a licensed river patch where a catch is a 100% guaranteed. But it is not as fun as finding a gem of river in the middle of a pine forest. Maybe will come back to try again in late spring. Hopefully the water rises and luck will be on my side.

January 5^th

I and two of my friends agree to try our luck for some sea trout. Never fished for them and my gear is not suitable for it. But it was more about seeing old friends again. We head out early and around 9:00am we arrive. The river is much larger than I am used to fishing. I was the first to prep my gear. No time to lose I start casting, temperature is around -1 degrees and my rings slowly freeze up, will have to defrost them throughout the day. Three of us check river patches quickly and keep heading down stream. Occasionally we stop to share fishing stories and have a bite to eat with some hot tea to keep spirits high.

After a 5km stint downstream we have zero bites between the three of us. We ended the day as the sun set. Tired and disappointed the journey home was sleepy and quite.

January 10^th

Not losing hope I head 120km to try my luck in a picturesque river. It has steep, high banks. And curves threw a pine forest. Felt like fishing in a fairy tale. I have an optimistic start and see a small trout leaving the deep, jabbing my lure and fleeing. First trout of the season…sort of… With the luck I have been having I was ecstatic to even see a trout. 3km further and having rotated 6 lures I still do not have a solid bite.

I stop occasional to sip some hot tea and contemplate what the hell I am doing wrong. Lure not diving deep enough? Cannot be, I keep hitting the bottom. Too early in the season for trout? Facebook is littered with trout catches. Is the weather to blame? Who knows? I keep plowing forward. As the day drew to an end I get another bite or maybe my lure hit a floating branch… after such a start to the season I might be imaging things… I end the day.

And that was the start of my 2020 season.

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Overview of Winter

Vytautas — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 17:33:55 +0000

Winter trout fishing

Winter is over, well sort of...the calendar indicates it is spring, but reaching hidden streams still requires trekking threw a snow covered forest floor. This winter has been challenging. 5 rivers fished, 22km of bank covered 5 lures left behind, with a tally of 5 trout. Some might think it is a disappointment considering the effort and time invested, but it is not always about the catch. Experiencing nature and learning new lessons along the way is priceless.

January 1st.

Trout season is open. While most were making their way home from a night of partying (reminded a scene from the walking dead) I was already at the river. Heavy snowfall and gusty winds made casting challenging, I managed to land two trout in 2 hours. Then I fall hip deep in ice cold water abruptly ending the fishing trip. Although bummed out that my clumsiness ended what might of been many more trout it was a great start to the New Year. A pleasant surprise was that the harsh weather did not affect the trout whatsoever maybe even helped. Next couple of trips I tried finding new hunting grounds with no luck. Rivers looked promising, tons of depth changes, river bends, obstacles for trout to lurk in, but no fish, my only guess that the fish might of been further upstream closer to their nesting grounds.

February 17th.

One and a half trout in 3h. A straight river patch gifted the first. SV Lures spoon did its job. A good 30min later I come across a calm patch of river and the cause - a beaver dam. The area, perfect for trout. I has confident I would get a bit. On the first cast as I was reeling I felt something heavy at the other end. A fatty brown trout. He gave a good 2min fight, before ending up in the landing net, but as a last attempt for freedom he started doing “death rolls” the landing net is quite shallow and I was off balance looking for my footing on the steep bank so the fish escaped. Left me a token - a busted up minnow… Shows how much strength these fish have.

February 27th.

Was the last trip this winter. Icy river banks and high water levels made the conditions challenging, but all the more interesting. Getting the trout to bite was hard, but SV Lures Koketka did the trick. Although just one trout reached the landing net, it was a satisfying day of fishing.

Conclusion

Winter trout fishing is hard and I needed to do more with my lures. I am not a fan of soft baits, but they might of been the key for more successful trips. Also different types of hard lures might of helped - shallow running, mid and deep running. Also need to play around with the retrieve rates, starting and stopping the lures, twitching it more. Could of done the same with the spoons lures, dropping them to the bottom and dragging them with short burst. Plenty more things come to mind, but it is what it is. The more I fish the more I learn.

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Winter trout fishing

Vytautas — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 10:20:55 +0000

Start to the year

Winter trout fishing is always special. It means that the season has opened and it is my first outing for trout in the last 3-4 months. The weather is cloudy, windy the temperature +6C, frozen guides will not be an issue, time to open the trout season. No pressure for a catch just want to be back in nature, casting, breathing in fresh air.

It is 9am first stop a gas station for a 1 day permit and a cup of coffee, which has become a routine of every fishing trip. Something comforting about it. The river patch is about 50km south of Vilnius. Upon arrival first impressions are positive, no ice on the banks, water levels seem the same as autumn, no muddy water. I prepare my gear. Today will be fishing with my Megabass Shoreluck.

First 3 hours of casting zero bites, every lure tried. Starting to get frustrated, the weather sucks, my mind is already wondering. About 15 minutes later the first bite followed by a short battle and the fish is in the net. A beautiful 30 centimeter trout. Couple of photos and the fish swims away. Caught on an all silver Smith Ltd. spoon. Relief after the first fish, energy is flowing feel warmer need to catch one more, but not today. Another 1,5 hours of casting and I am done for the day.

On the next outing, first trout.

Same routine, similar conditions. Identical start. First 3 hours - nothing. Near the same spot I caught last time I cast about 30 meters. I start reeling, 3 seconds later I feel a jolt, something heavy is at the other end of the line. Drag is working, I start moving towards the fish. I battle it for 3-4 minutes and it ends up in my net. A trout near 40 centimeters, definitely my personal best. Could not get a decent photo of the whole fish, as I did not want to keep it out of the water for an extended period of time to prevent damage. I thanked for a great battle and let it go.

The adrenaline whore off and a move further. 20 minutes later, another bite. Lure is about 4 meters from my feet and I am following it with my eyes, a trout rises from the depths grabs the lure, couple shakes of the head and it spits the lure out. Should have given it more line instead of trying to net it. After 2 more hours of casting I finish the day with no more bites. As winter trout fishing goes a pretty successful day.

Next trip my luck continues.

This time I decide to go up the river not down. 2 hours in and a small trout was in my net. Not much I can add. 3 hours of casting later and I am done. Seems more viable to go down river. Winter trout fishing has its specifics and understanding the right lure in the right occasion can mean between 1 fish in the net and 4. Still much to learn, but all in all a successful start to the season.

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Winter trout fishing | Post Tag | Trout and Stream

Winter fishing for trout

No trout

January 1st

January 3rd

January 5th

January 10th

Overview of Winter

Winter trout fishing

January 1st.

February 17th.

February 27th.

Conclusion

Winter trout fishing

Start to the year

On the next outing, first trout.

Next trip my luck continues.

January 1^st

January 3^rd

January 5^th

January 10^th