Dave Coulson

There is little doubt that winter is pounding on the doors. The cold will make it harder to get motivated to fish. However, as long as the air temperatures are above freezing and open water remains, I’m going.

There are a couple reasons why air temperatures above freezing are important. First, fly fishing typically requires casting and retrieving a line. When the air is freezing, water off the line tends to ice up the guides, making casting difficult and requires frequent cleaning of the guides. Second, when fly fishing I don’t care to wear gloves. Above freezing temperatures make this much more tolerable.

Interestingly, I find it far easier to dress warmly to ice fish than to fly fish. This is primarily due to the fact that fly fishing often involves contact with the water, either wading streams or float tubing. Rarely do I fly fish shorelines with open water. In those cases, it’s possible to tog up similarly to ice fishing.

My fly fishing garb for winter fly fishing (assuming water contact) consists of a number of layers, both bottom and top. Typically I start with a pair of thin knee high sock, such as silk or nylon half hose. Next come the long handles. While some of the synthetics are great, I still have a fondness for wool. I next add thin polyester or wool socks, followed by pants and a shirt, preferably wool blends. Then before sliding into my neoprene waders, I add a pair of knee/thigh length wool socks over the pants and a fleece jacket above. Point is I’m clad in several layers that trap air and help keep me warm. Then I don a ski hat, turtle, maybe a thin face mask, gloves, and jackets/coats as appropriate.

Point is I opt to dress in numerous layer that trap air and can be removed or added to as needed to match the conditions. I like wool as it retains some insulating properties when it gets wet. That’s important when playing in/around water. Plus, I favor neoprene waders once the water temperatures drop below freezing. The downside is they don’t breathe so some of the layers need to be moisture absorbing, but the upside is they offer greater insulation than breathable waders in my opinion.

Dressing in this manner I’ve found that I can handle float tubing and river wading for up to six-hour stints or so. Usually my hands give out before the rest of me. When the conditions are near freezing I do carry a couple pair of fingerless gloves to wear while fishing. I also carry a pair of winter mittens that sport a place for hand warmers to warm up my hands on occasion.

When it comes to ice fishing the biggest differences are I sometimes forgo the knee high wool socks. Instead of waders, I opt for a pair of insulated waterproof boots and insulated water-resistant ski pants. Plus I have a bit more flexibility in terms of jackets and parkas.

In either case, when togging up for winter fishing, I carry an extra set of clothing that I keep in the vehicle along with a towel or two. Simply, over the years I have taken soakings when wading, and stepped through the ice. It’s great to be able to dry off and change into dry clothes before heading home. No matter how good your vehicle’s heater is, it won’t dry you out enough to kill the chill before you head home.

Winter fishing is great fun if you dress appropriately. So tog up and join me on the water for some great fishing.