Its cold here on the homewater. I went out today for a wade trip/lesson and uts wicked cold.

The river is low, the banks lined with a crust of snow. The sun peaked out for a bit but the clouds quickly locked in and the temps dropped back close to freezing. The water is 36-37 degrees. Fish are sleeping. Metabolism is at its lowest. Trout don’t move much in the winter. They tend to stay in the same deeper slowest water spots of the river. Typically in large pods and groups. Snorkeling in the winter will give you the opportunity to see the most fish. But its really really cold.

I am tying a lot. Settling into that offseason rythym. When things get cold and snowy I enjoy just staying indoors. Being outside all the time I do enjoy the comforts of a home. The days are slow, wake up late, lots of coffee, texting kids, tying flies, listening to a ton of music, bed late. It may seem boring, but I am getting into that creative mode for tying, I am wanting to sit and tie dozens, fill boxes.

Its making me want to teach tying more. I haven’t done it in a while and its something I miss doing. Being here I have the ability to do it.

The offseason can feel like a lot of busy work. Not the adventurous fish filled days of the season. With not much else to fill up time until trout season focusing on that work and growing my business seems like a good use of the time. I get a week off with my kids soon and then we are halfway through the offseason. Mid February rolls around and its time to stary thinking about trout a little bit more each day.

It was a big and busy year. I checked my annual report and my eyes got wide. It was a big year. Had some negative mixed in both business and personal but what else is new. There are some stresses with this gig that always arise but seeing growth and still feeling successful this season comes through more.

The offseason leaves a lot of time for reflection, adjustments, tuning, planning, expanding, and time for things outside of fishing. Putting energy into new and positive things is what the offseason is for. With a little fishing thrown in on the warm days.

See ya riverside anglers.

Tamarack

Unknown's avatar

Published by tamaracksguideservice

I have been fishing the Yakima River and its surrounding tributaries, creeks, and lakes for 10 years. I have been tying flies specific to this river for 10 years as well. I have guided not only the river but also many of the hiking and mountaineering trails in the area and fished some of the more remote lakes and streams. I love to fish the Yakima River and have been running my driftboat here for 5 years. I guide a little differently than the other services here and have a slightly different philosophy on guided fishing trips. Its all about the experience, and while I can't promise there will always be cooperative trout, there will always be good times. I learned from some of the greatest anglers the Yakima has both on the water and at the vise and I guide to share and pass on that knowledge and expertise so others can enjoy this river as much as I do. I love to teach people to fish, I love to teach people how to read the river, and I love showing people the beauty and art of fly fishing. My service is a bit cheaper but that is because I have no shop taking a percentage. I use a lot of my own fly designs and patterns that no other guide has and have spent the past 10 years fine tuning my tying and patterns specific to this river. I have flies, leaders, tippets, and fly rods and reels, and always welcome anglers to bring their own gear. If you need waders and boots I can arrange for a rental. I support my local fly shop for my trips as well as it is important to me that our local shops stay open. When you take a trip with me it all about fishing and the experiences that happen along the river. I love getting my clients to have great moments with our trout here. Ask me all the questions you can, I want to teach as much as you want to learn. Whether you are an experienced angler or brand new to the sport I love sharing this river with people. I guide the Yakima River and many other secret waters in the area. When you give me a call I will ask you lots of questions as I want to make sure you have the best experience possible while chasing the trout we have here. Whether its a guided river float or a hike and fish, or a walk and wade to the secret places, I can help make your fly fishing experience memorable and fun. Give me a call today and lets set up a time to go fishing.

Leave a Reply