January has been a cold month and we are glad to see it leave as it means we are one month closer to Summer. With that being said, January did pose some great fishing if you were able to take advantage of the rare days with warm enough weather. Even Dan himself braved a very pleasant day in January. The river was predictably stable with about 1,000 cfs flowing at the Kirby gauge. The fishing has pretty much been the same game as December, Nymphs being number one and Dries working on select days. The river is starting to look very slushy down towards Ennis.
The nymph game is working well, we have mainly been only using Stoneflies but you could also you use Midge patterns to the same effect. The flies we have been using are Delektable balanced Flashback Mega Princes, Delektable Standard Flashback Mega Princes, Delektable Hurless Stones, Delektable Stonefly Candy, Delektable Twinkles, and Zebra midges.
The dry fly bite has taken a while to come back but can at those times when you see clear blue skies or cloudy over cast conditions coupled with the important part which is less or no “W”. Know that the midges will be hatching in full force and the fish will be looking at the surface of the water to eat them alive. The flies we have been using are the Griffith’s Gnat, Adams Midge, R.B. Midge, and Galloup’s Goober Midge. You could also try a Delektable Teaser pattern in Adam’s or Purple.
It has been easy fishing but it hasn’t been easy weather. So if you are part the brave few put on those waders with plenty of layers underneath and find some eager trout in the river.
