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