Fishing in the snow on the AMI

[Cheesesteak]

I braved the snow on Sunday and fished the AMI, I had the whole river to myself south of the Steel Bridge. I had a brand new rod and reel I was dying to test out. The problem was that I couldn't get a fish interested in anything I was casting.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to fish on colder days on the AMI?

I tied a bunch of bright ones: Y2Ks, San Juan worms, I tried a copperhead nymph on a dropper, I tried a copperhead nymph by itself. :bang: I was pretty textbook in my approach, but as I am new to flyfishing, I tend to question if what I am trying out is actually correct.

My sad excuse of a cast withstanding, any suggestions on holes to try or what flies to try is always greatly appreciated.

All in all a day on the river fishing beats pretty much anything else I would have done on Sunday! I still had a great day out there, practicing my casting and knot tying. Stupid trees jumped out of nowhere and ate two of my flies and a leader!

Also does it ever get too cold for the fish for there to be good flyfishing? I figured since I was all alone, people knew something I didn't about water conditions?

[WorthTheWade]

I don't know about the AMI but when I fish on cold days, I go to something big or bright.

The fish need something to entice them to burn up the calories that they desperately need to maintain their body temperature. When the water is cold, the fishes metabolism is slowed down by the ambient temperature, thus they don't feed as heavily.

Fishing a big stonefly nymph or a large brightly colored egg usually will provide enough of an incentive for a fish to take a closer look at your offering. If you see fish pulling in to take a look and then backing away, try fishing a stonefly with something more conventional (small hare's ear, prince, or pheasant tail). This uses the stonefly as an attractor fly and the more conventional fly as the point fly.

[baldea]

If you cannot feel the fly bumpin the bottom then you need to add some weight.

[Cheesesteak]

Do you usually weigh it down with splitshot to fish it off the bottom as well?

thanks for the info - at this point I am like a blank slate any and all suggestions are appreciated!

Baldea- I just saw your reply after I submitted mine above. I tried 2 BB splitshots but I was routinely struggling with my flies getting snagged on the rocks? any suggestions on the length of tippet between the shot and the fly (I was once told 12 inches), but then if I add a dropper onto the fly then its another 12 inches so I tend to struggle with it snagging on the bottom.

[zachgto]

I fished the AMI this morning and did quite well using BH hares ear size 12. I had two .2 g split shot to get the depth i wanted. I would have fished longer than 4 hours but the end of my rod iced over and broke at the tip when I was casting :bang: . I also used smaller nymphs as droppers but had minimal luck on those. hope this helps

[chef]

i fished this morning at the steele bridge , took the fly rod , but used the spinning rod. caught 4 on a big nasty spinner , just let it sink and retrived it slowly. it was cold with some flurries. but they did eat.

[slanham]

whatever you use, weight it heavily...like ticking bottom. Low and Slow through deep water.

[baldea]

Do you usually weigh it down with splitshot to fish it off the bottom as well?

thanks for the info - at this point I am like a blank slate any and all suggestions are appreciated!

Baldea- I just saw your reply after I submitted mine above. I tried 2 BB splitshots but I was routinely struggling with my flies getting snagged on the rocks? any suggestions on the length of tippet between the shot and the fly (I was once told 12 inches), but then if I add a dropper onto the fly then its another 12 inches so I tend to struggle with it snagging on the bottom.


12" is a good general rule of thumb. Or at least thats what I've always been told. You will loose flies, but it gets the fly down when the fish are hugging the bottom. Drift your fly through the feeding lanes and you'll be surprised how many hits you get. Whenever in doubt bumpin the bottom set the hook. Whenever I feel a tick or if I'm fishing with an indicator if I sense or feel anything I'm setting the hook like its a fish.

[slanham]

When I lived in Michigan we used a cold weather set-up like this...6' leader down to 3-4x with large enough split shot (at the terminal end of the leader) to tick bottom. At about 12" above the split shot we tied a 8-10" 5x tippet so that it sticks out perpendicular to the leader with a slip knot so you could adjust height. Tie the heavily weighted nymph on this short perpendicular tippet. This way if the split shot gets snagged on the bottom you can pull it free, breaking off the split shot and not the fly. It's all feel, strike indicator is ineffective due to the weight on the terminal end, but you'll know when it gets hit.

[Cheesesteak]

I just saw the weather report for this week and I'm itching to get out there and give it another go, I've been reading whatever I can get my hands on for hints on fishing in cold weather, You guys are all dead on! I am very grateful.

Another question, as far as leader set up, I usually default to whatI was originally shown when I first got my gear. I am using a 9' 5X leader, I was told to put my strike indicator where my leader and fly line join, I cut my tippet 12 inches from the end and retie it using a Blood knot- this is where I add my splitshot. At the end I put on my fly of choice. I have been experimenting with another 9-12" dropper with a nymph.
Does this set up seem correct for fishing the Ami by Steele Bridge? Thanks again for yoru help guys!
The frightening part is how much I enjoy being out in the river, ShooT I don't know what's going to happen once I figure out where the fish are and actually start catching some!

Thanks again!

[baldea]

Another question, as far as leader set up, I usually default to whatI was originally shown when I first got my gear. I am using a 9' 5X leader, I was told to put my strike indicator where my leader and fly line join, I cut my tippet 12 inches from the end and retie it using a Blood knot- this is where I add my splitshot. At the end I put on my fly of choice. I have been experimenting with another 9-12" dropper with a nymph.
Does this set up seem correct for fishing the Ami by Steele Bridge?

I usually put my indicator 1 1/2 to 2 times the depth of the water that I'm fishing. So if its 3 feet deep, I'll put my indicator somewhere around 5 1/2 to 6 feet above the top fly.

One thing that I have learned is that nobody does it exactly the same. Every situation will call for different tactics. Experiment a little until you get it tuned in. IMHO I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way as long as your accomplishing your goal. Whether if its just being out there, catching a certain quantity of fish or catching that one quality fish.