Sunday, Monday... How about Tuesday? Well, that is where we are at.
So, without further adoo... Here's your "Tippets"!!
A little bit of "shelf ice" greeted us that morning...
Heidi was determined that there was a fish out in the great beyond...
Ice clung onto our lines like we were fishing in Nova Scotia!
It was not a day to swing soft hackles...
And then I got barbed...
Oh wait, wrong picture!
Sorry... no picture. Not time when a bling midge gets stuck in your thumb.
"Dr. Haslam" to the rescue!! Between catching fish on his runny nose streamers, he performed emergency surgery on the girl who forgot to push down the barb on her new fly. = ( Thank you...
(I loved the part where he tells me to numb my finger first in the icy river)
Then, it was time to head back to the fly shop, mingle and chow down...
and win a prize in the raffle!
YUP.
So, here's some "tippets" for your winter fly lines
or (anything else) in the winter... I put out the question on Facebook,
"What products do you find best for de-icing?"
- Vaseline. I will apply a thin coat to my guides. It significantly reduces ice up. I have also heard that chapstick does the same thing. Umm...how do you take off the chapstick?
- A plane ticket. Oh, I'm totally in favor of that! Bonefishing in Andros or Christmas Island?
- One word...Tenkara. Did you see what happened with the soft hackle???
- Uncurable...Stay in if it's below thirty. I didn't say that I was sick....
- Whiskey. Generously applied. No, not internally...
- WD40. Oh wait, is this what I can use to take the chapstick off? = )
- The couch in front of the fireplace...or mid May. No, this wasn't a comment from Howard.
Last, but not least... this suggestion.
So, there you have a few ways to survive the winter ice-ups. I'm a pretty hardcore fisherman, I must admit. But, honestly, if you are fishing in a river with floating ice chunks and shelf ice... Be careful out there!! And head to the deep pools of stacked fish and slower current.
Yup, #7 might be a good suggestion for some.
RD
ReplyDeleteThe pain someone will go through to land that elusive trout in condition like you just described. I will go with number 4. Thanks for sharing a frigid report
Believe it or not... I would have passed on this day if it hadn't been the annual event. Dedication..
DeleteHardcore is right! I lived in Provo for a year and got FROSTBITE! Nice to see those mountains again though.
ReplyDeleteKim -Come back in the summer and we will fish!
DeleteI can fish when it's cold, but I think that was just a tad too cold. I've been passing around the idea of snow shoes for situations like this. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteMark-Being a warm blooded person, I can tolerate colder temperatures than most. Actually, it loojs colder than it was. About 25 degree and ice breaking off into the river was the biggest problem fot my line icing up. I use metal clips on my boots all year long for traction! Shoes would make me clumsier than I already am...lol.
DeleteI don't think any of my ideas would fly here or anywhere in Utah for that matter. Generous amounts of whiskey taken intravenously. That way you don't care if your guides get iced up.
ReplyDeleteHoward ~ Yeah, I will go the other route. Preventative measures!!
DeleteReminds me of my time in Idaho. The local fly fishing club would do a Winter Whitefish Contest. Colder than begeebers most of the time, and, ice in the guides. Careful not to strip line and break a guide or splinter your rod. Payoff was double though. Great food over a camp stove and rid the river of a bunch of Rocky Mountain Bonefish!
ReplyDeleteMel ~ I can totally see you doing that. "Begeebers" is a new term. Must be a prerequisite word to use before you advance into Geezerdom. I bet Howard knows this word plus many more... = )
Delete