Winter Flies For Swingin'

[lethfisher]

Maybe this should be in fly tying category, but what are you guys planning on tying/using for the spey rod on the Bow in its winter conditions? The forecast looks good for next weekend so I might try to head out. Is it time for the big flies and skagit heads? In winter is it "bigger is better" for swinging? Does it change at all for you guys who swing streamers all year through? Fish are more lethargic in the cold correct? So they should only want to move for a big fly if they think it is worth the swim?

[jdangler]

My streamers patterns dont change except maybe smaller, but I try to slow down the swing if I can find enough open water. If i cant find enough open water I dead drift my streamers & slow the retreive & look for fish in different places, like deeper runs.

[headscan]

Swinging streamers is usually a lower percentage game than nymphing even in the summer. Since winter nymphing is slower than in the summer you can expect winter swinging to be even lower - but it can still be done. The fish are just less likely to chase a swung fly compared to a nymph or streamer that dead drifts right in front of them. The fish are also more likely to be holding in slow and deep water that isn't ideal for swinging through. Since the water flows will be slow you may also want to stick to lighter tips or polyleaders. Last winter I had luck swinging leech patterns and intruders. Had one smaller brown take a hot pink intruder that was almost as big as he was.

[lethfisher]

So best would probably be to dead drift it then swing the end, sounds good.

 

Why is it then so popular to swing flies for winter steelhead rather than nymph for them? Or is that just a completely different ball game??

[agbff]

I've tried the winter swingin thing when I get super tried of nymphing, as previously mentioned... its not really productive. I would think that if you were streamer fishing with bait fish type patterns they would be a little larger, to imitate the fry the have grown a bit since their hatch ? When it's cold, I find nymphing generally easier because your line is moving through the guides more frequently and doesn't have as much time to freeze up between casts.

[Tungsten]

Why is it then so popular to swing flies for winter steelhead rather than nymph for them? Or is that just a completely different ball game??

 

Some of you may have seen this already but i thought it was funny, Caution "R" rated

 

Nymph VS Swing.

[Mykiss]

So best would probably be to dead drift it then swing the end, sounds good.

 

Why is it then so popular to swing flies for winter steelhead rather than nymph for them? Or is that just a completely different ball game??

 

 

Because swinging is the classic way to fish for steel summer/winter....Swinging a wet or swinging a dry...It's about the swing... And acutally its easier to cover big water with a swing rather than a upstream presentation... You have a fixed amount of line and its the cast, swing,step rinse and repeat....If you wanna nymph your better off with a center pin....Plus staring at a bobber for 12 hours would cause some emotional break down I am sure.. Do enuff of that on the bow... Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[toolman]

Some will say that Spey presentations are not as productive during the winter months, but it has been my experience that it can be just as effective as any other time of year. The same goes for fishing nymph presentations during the winter months, it can be equally effective as the warmer months, if presentations are adapted to the conditions.

During the winter months, I use a variety of line/sink tip/leader systems, based on the water/fishing conditions. If I am focusing on the inside, shallow and slow water, then a Scandi shooting head with long Flourocarbon leader and a small/medium sized/weighted fly, might be my set up. If the inside water is a little deeper and/or faster, then I may use a sinking Polyleader of the density required to get deep and to help slow the pace.

When I fish out further off the bank, where the water is faster and/or deeper, I use Skagit heads with T-11/T-14 sink tips or full sinking heads, which swing very slowly and maintain depth very well. I don't add extra pace to the fly (stripping) during the swing when the water is cold, but will slowly strip the fly back along the shoreline at the end of the swing and hook many fish on the retrieve.

As for favorite swing patterns, a mix of small/med/large Leeches, Buggers, Clousers, Caddis, Midge, Stonefly Larvae ect. Use lighter colors or darker colors and try different sizes to figure out what works best each day. I know there are many who believe that only large flies catch big fish, but I probably hook more big fish on the swing, using small/medium flies. Not to say that I don't use large flies, it's just that I use them for different reasons. Lastly, I believe that the fly, is most often the least important part of Spey fishing and the focus needs to remain on the elements of presentation, ie, Stealth, angle of the cast, mending, controlling/adjusting the depth/pace of the swing, searching/reading the water to identify winter holding water and strike zone ect.,

These are always the essentials of success.

[lethfisher]

excellent response Toolman and everyone else! I like the look of traditional spey flies and they are smaller as well, might have to tie some of that type up. Looks like the weather isn't going to improve much by the weekend either

 

Edit: Tungsten, just watched all that guys videos and they are hilarious!

[toolman]

I've been out swinging a Skagit head with sink tips this past week. Darker fly colors have been producing consistently in medium sizes.

Fish have been holding in a variety of structure ranging from the deeper holes, down through short glides into the shallow tail spills, in slow and moderate paced water. A #6 CH Bow Bugger in black/olive, fished on a T-14 tip, was stellar this afternoon. http://www.idylwilde.com/html/fly_gallery....&page_num=3

Going to fish the same water tommorow with a Sink 2/3 or 3/4 shooting head, depending on flow rates, which have been up for the past couple of days.

Lots of drift ice bagging the floating Skagit head today, so the full sink heads will be a little easier to manage once the line gets under the surface.

[WETDUCK]

Great vid lol and bang on the money lol in my humble opinion fishing in the winter is just as productive as in the summer! under the surface anyways. there are unfishable days thou!! and tactics are a little different:) as toolman alluded to, but winter fishing can be off the wall somedayz.