It’s no secret, we know it’s coming: Winter, New Years and those New Year’s Resolutions. The days are shorter, temps are cooler and some of our waters inaccessible. Rather than roll over and take up scrapbooking, pairing socks or channel surfing, here are a few ideas to keep your mind on the great sport of fly fishing and improve as an angler.
Create A Fishing League
Establish a Night To Fish Each Week
While it sounds competitive, it’s not. Borrowing it’s name from softball and bowling leagues, the concept is the same. Pick a day that becomes dedicated “Fishing League Day.” That is, you know, your fishing buddies know and your families know this particular day or evening is your day to fish. It’s on the calendar, you plan around it and, more importantly, it keeps you committed to getting you on the water – which isn’t a bad thing.
Get a few friends to join the “league” and make this your fishing support group. Each week you choose a species, river and section, and the group heads off to fish. When others are involved, it makes it not only fun, but keeps you from bailing out because it might rain or some other lame excuse. It’s also nice to have friends to: share flies, strategies, take turns driving, try a new rod or perhaps have a post-angling beer with.
In Northern Michigan, start fishing in mid-March for steelhead and progress through the year targeting the diverse fishery which includes trout, bluegill, pike, bass, carp, salmon and fall steelhead. In the winter get together and tie flies and tell stories from the year before and make up some new ones.
A customer shared this idea with me and said it was a great way to ensure more time on the water and keeping everyone at home happy. It’s not much different from the leagues of other sports – it’s a day not only to plan your week around, but also look forward to. Don’t be caught saying, “I just didn’t get out enough this year” – get out and fish.
Tie Some Flies
Take a Class or Get With Friends Each Week
This is a great way to spend those cold nights after your snow blowing chores are complete. Not only will it give you more ammo for the upcoming season, but it will make you a better angler as it provides an introspective to flies, presentation and the hatches. Never tied flies before? Take a class at your local fly shop. Experienced? Sign up for advanced or specialty classes and learn something new.
Tie for a trip. Got a trip planed for later in the year? One of my favorite things in preparing for a trip is researching the local patterns and bugs and filling up a box or two. Not only will you have the right flies, but you should gain a better understanding of how and where to fish them at certain times of the year and perhaps learn a new technique.
Nothing planned? How about filling a box for a trip you have always dreamed about doing but not scheduled yet? Tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys, British Columbia Steelhead, Bass Fishing in Mexico, Bonefish in the Bahamas or a long overdue trip out west – regardless of the destination and species, fill a box with flies. Having a box of flies tied for a different region or species might just be enough incentive to finally make that dream trip become reality.
Read
Read – How to, Stories, Novels or Trip Planning
Golf is the only sport with more published reading material than Fly Fishing. Between books, magazines, and the Internet – information is available for whatever you are looking for. Novels, how-to’s, destination information, fly tying and more – this is great way to spend some time this winter thinking about fly fishing and becoming a better angler.
A note on magazines: never before have there been so many magazines published on the sport. If you are like me, you find much of the information recycled from years before. Don’t let that keep you from reading them again. Here are a few reasons why:
- Often, we forget about a minute detail that can make a huge difference
- Perhaps it didn’t make complete sense the first time we read it years ago
- New advancements in tackle and fly patterns or environmental changes can make a difference to when, where and how we fish.
Don’t want to buy another magazine? Try these free online magazines for a different twist on content and media:
This Is Fly Magazine • Catch Magazine • Midcurent • Moldy Chum
Not a reader? The ever increasing popularity of DVDs offers similar variety and entertainment as books but in a different, entertaining format.
Get Organized
Get Organized and Ready
This goes beyond taking the candy bar wrappers out of your vest. It’s time to clean lines, return broken rods in need of repair, and long before the season starts up, replace missing flies in your boxes, restock leaders and tippet, repair holes in waders, etc.
Fly boxes are often in need of re-organization and if you need to buy some boxes to accommodate your ever expanding selection of flies – do it. How about getting that gear bag in order? Spend less time in the parking lot looking for things and more time in the water fishing.
Click here to read more on how to maintain some of your fly fishing gear and equipment.
Practice Casting
Practice Casting in the Off Season to Keep Sharp
Each winter we are fortunate to have a few sunny and windless days that feel down-right warm. Get your rod out and practice while taking in some vitamin-D. Regardless of whether you are an advanced caster or a rank amateur – we all need practice. More importantly you need to keep that surface rust off of your casting joints, since it probably has been a while since you last cast. Weather not cooperating? Try the Fly-O from Royal Wulff products. This practice tool tells all and can really contribute to your casting skills – and you can do it indoors.
Go Fish
Winter Steelhead Fishing
It’s a good time to have local rivers to yourself and spend the day without cabin fever. There are some sections of rivers in the area which are open all year for those looking to catch a trout or steelhead and some fresh air. Or you can fish somewhere warm, say in some saltwater along our southern coasts or trout fish in South America. There are lots of deals with lodges that might have become affordable over the past year. Going out west skiing this winter? Take a rod and a day off of the slopes to trout fish the many rivers near the resort towns.
Winter doesn’t have to be a time-out from this sport. There are plenty of activities that can make the long but short days go by a little quicker and make you a better angler.