Believe in Unicorns

Now, we play the game of river conditions. There is too much rain, not enough rain; Steelhead anglers are like farmers, always complaining about the weather with no way to change it. Watching the forecast, looking at river levels, and reading the signs in tea leaves at the bottom of our cup before we grab our gear and head for the door. We take one last look into our crystal ball and launch into the darkness, hoping that the trend we envisioned comes to fruition, making for the perfect day on the water, with a dropping river, good visibility, and nobody else on the river.

If we waited for the "perfect" day, we'd never leave the house and miss all opportunities to cross paths with the unicorns of winter. The best day to go fishing is when you can. Some days are just better than others. Sure, we can increase our odds by being better prepared for the conditions, but since we can't control the weather, the best mindset is to simply deal with it. Unless the river you plan to tackle rises to flood stage, there is still hope.

While high, off-colored water is not the most productive; one can still find fish using the proper techniques. Contrary to a popular misconception, high-water conditions don't require fast sink-tips and heavy flies for success. When the river is up and filling its banks, fish are pushed to the sidelines and seams out of the main turbulent flow. You'll hang up every time if you try to chuck your chunk of T-14 and heavy fly out to swing into the closer holding spots. Loop on a slower sinking tip and focus on fishing in close with a fly the fish can see. In cloudy water, darker flies show up better. This is a great time to double-stack simple marabou tube flies, a bigger profile that won't hang up as it moves closer to shore.

On the opposite end of the winter Steelhead spectrum are the low clear conditions we've seen in the local area the last few weeks. While better than flood stage, it still presents challenges than need to be overcome. If these conditions are paired with colder temps, fish go deep to find comfortable holding water below the flow. While it may seem counterproductive, fishing deeper and slowing down the swing can crack the code in low, clear conditions. This is also an excellent time to break out those red/orange patterns the guys talked you into last year.

Now, if the tea leaves read true, the stars align, and your horoscope says you will find success with wet feet, don't waste time practicing your cast, changing flies, or posting selfies of you on the river. Just put your head down and swing it like you mean it. Focus on consistency in your presentation, and cover the water. Most importantly, believe in unicorns.