Winter fly fishing in Bozeman and Big Sky, Montana provides a very special set of skills…and attitude! Here are some tips for winter fly fishing in Bozeman and Big Sky, Montana.
Solitude is Wonderful in Winter
The days of flip-flops and single dry flies are gone. Now it is the double-nymph rigs, shelf ice, and access issues. Fishing in the winter is not mysterious, it just requires more effort. The silver lining is that fewer people are willing to put on the many layers of clothes, and that translates to having most of the best fishing holes to yourself.
Be prepared
Dress in layers and wear quality waders and wading boots. Hats, gloves, and outerwear will work best if they are windproof and water-resistant (see tips on page 30).
Go deep
If you want to stand a chance of catching fish in the winter, you must go subsurface. Fishing weighted flies or adding weight to your leader will help. You want your leader and tippet material to include fluorocarbon in sizes 4X and 5X.
Learn the water-haul cast
Also known as the tension cast, this is effective for fishing clunkier rigs. At the end of your drift, allow the fly line to straighten out downstream. Raise your rod hand head-height, ensuring your submerged flies rise to the surface or slightly under. Then, turn your wrist so your palm is parallel to the water’s surface and make a normal forward casting motion, stopping abruptly like you normally would. As you stop, be sure not to rotate your wrist any further forward and keep your thumbnail pointed up, not forward. Then watch as your weighted fly plops down into the water. It’s not pretty, but if it were pretty Taylor Swift would be singing about it, and everyone would be doing it.
###
Need some great reading material, check out Pat’s books or feature stories: