Believe it or not we actually ventured out into the cold today. -2 degrees when we finished the morning fish. This was far and away the coldest day that I had ever trout fished, and was curious to see how the trout responded to such brutally cold weather. With the results I’d at least say that the trout held up better than I did.
We were actually only able to fish for only an hour at Duschee Creek before the cold got to us. -2 felt like -25 with the wind blowing directly into our faces. Even with the extreme temps we were able to land 7 trout. The largest being a 14" rainbow. 5 of the fish were taken on a #16 hare’s ear #18 hare’s ear combo, while the other 2 were taken on a single # 16 pheasant tail. All in all I would say that the trout were quite aggressive considering the temps. If we would have been able to handle the weather 20-40 fish could have easily been landed on the day.
The other part of the day we spent checking ice levels on some of our favourite streams. Unfortunately the verdict was not very positive. The Root River near Lanesboro was either completely iced in or froze over to the point fishing would have been difficult if not impossible. Rush Creek looked like it would be awful tough to fish, but was partially open. The Middle Branch of the Whitewater was completely iced over. The Main and South Branch were mostly iced over. There were a couple of small sections that did look fisheable on both the Middle and South Branches. If you plan to get out before we get any extensive warm weather look to fish smaller/fast streams or pack an ice auger.
Winter fishing in weather such as today can be enjoyable and productive, but please remember to take a few precautions. Always take extra clothes and do not fish too far away from the car. It is also a very good idea to fish with a partner when temps are this cold. Stay safe – Good Fishin’.