Winter Fishing the Mile

Winter time fishing can be rough without question. Many people associate the Miracle Mile as always producing numbers, and that is true for most of the year, but not the winter. The winter is a whole different beast. For the coldest months of the winter, especially in the early months of the year, Mile fishing becomes less about numbers and more of a trophy hunt. The rainbows get in pre-spawn mode and the little fish seem to disappear. Streamers on the Mile are always killer but in the winter months nymphing is king. Egg patterns and midges are the go to. The midge hatches can be epic and it may take some patience but eventually you might hook into a beast. During the winter I am either drop shot nymphing (specifically high-sticking) or using a New Zealand strike indicator to increase sensitivity. If your an indicator guy like me, you like to always know what's going on below the water. Using yarn or that "special" New Zealand Wool will increase your sensitivity dramatically and in the winter it is of the upmost importance. Those fish are going to barely move when they take your fly, many takes look like your split shot ticking bottom, so what yarn is gunna do for you is magnify the impact of that take. Even the most delicate bites do not go unnoticed. It is a wide section of river though and you have to really break apart those micro-currents to find fish. This year most of the fish we found were holding in walking speed runs about waist deep, keep in mind this changes according to the conditions. Make sure that your split shot barely ticking bottom and your distance between flies on tandem rigs is strategic. Using an attactor pattern like a tan san juan next to a smaller fly such as a midge of baetis is always killer. Many guys I know have a set distance they keep their tippet from fly to fly, remember to adapt. During the winter I fish the smaller fly closer to my attractor than usual because those fish are not likely to move far for a small pattern, but they might for the worm. The right gear is so important. Gear up as if your ready for a blizzard, because you have to be. Fishing Gloves, Polartec clothing, a down coat, wading jacket (or rain coat), sweat pants, wool socks, and emergency aquaseal are important. All that said, the Mile is always an adventure.