Taking advantage of the winter catch-and-release season, I fished the Root near Preston last weekend. The river was in great shape. Good level, just a little off color. There was enough snow on the banks to make walking tricky but it wasn’t an obstacle.
Conventional winter fishing wisdom suggests using nymphs in the deeper pools, fished slowly and right on the bottom. I started off with a weighted Prince Nymph and Scud combo under an indicator. One small rainbow was the result. Later in the day the water warmed a little and the fish became more active. I had a couple of them splash at my indicator. Based on that I changed tactics and went to a small dry fly (#20 BWO parachute) with a #20 nymph dropper. They ignored that. OK….not on the bottom and not on the surface. I rebuilt my leader and tied on a small wet fly, a #16 Pink Lady. I started working my way down the pool, letting the current swing the fly across the river. That was what they wanted! They’d really hammer that little wet fly, very exciting. Both Browns and rainbows came to hand for another hour before the river became quiet again.
It was good to see quite a few people out enjoying the river, especially those with young children. People were having success with spinning rods and small spinners as well as fly tackle.
SR