Winter Fishing Nymph Fishing Tips
Fish feed 85 - 90% of the time under water.
Terminology
Lead Fly – When you attach a fly to end of your tippet, that fly becomes what is called the point or lead fly.
Dropper Fly – When you add a second, or maybe even third, fly to your line, those additional flies attached are called droppers.
Lead Fly
When winter nymphing, I like to use either a mini leech or flashy attractor pattern like a rainbow warrior as my lead fly to get the fish’s attention.
Dropper Fly
Below my lead fly, I tend to use more earth tone flies. Black is definitely my favorite. Go small! During this time, I’m using size #20 and smaller.
Bring two Fly Rods
If cloud coverage or snow is in the forecast, I always carry both a nymphing rod and a dry fly rod. You never know if you will run into a hatch.
Apply Floatant the Night Before
To save time, I rig up my rods and pre-dress my dry flies with liquid floatant and dry shake the night before. They tend to float better for me when the coating has been given time to do its magic. This tip helps my fingers keep warm on the water.
Connect with Lisa Le
Lisa is an Oklahoma native and grew up spinning rod fishing. It wasn’t until her move to Colorado did she pick up a fly rod and at that moment became obsessed. She is a pediatric echocardiographer and a mentor for the Mayfly Project. She has fished all over Colorado, but especially loves high alpine lakes and the Yampa River. Her favorite catches are cutthroat and feisty brown trouts.
