February 3, 2021 – Snowshoes, Cross County Skis, and Me in Chest Waders – Valley Creek

Some smalls in the snow to break the seal on February

Yeah, it’s been a while.  Ron beat Ward this time to the, "Are you okay?" message.  All good. It does feel like ages since I’ve fished, though!  I have just been busy with work and school ramping up, and then there was the cold snap that lasted a good long while, followed by the best snowfall we’ve had in years, it seems.  I didn’t check the stats, but it certainly felt like more precip than we’ve had in SEPA in a few winters.  Cold, clear and windy sucks, but snow I like.  I had to get out today even though it was only going to get to 35 degrees.  The overnight temp was only 29, so that was a good sign, and snow melt would not be an issue.  Cold clear water is nothing new in the middle of winter, especially on Valley, but I was helped by cloudy skies until at least 3 PM.  No size, but I did land maybe 10 trout, and 6 of them were on a bugger, so I had fun out there. 

More snow and smalls

I moved around and covered a big section of creek, places I had not been to in a year or more because of the Covid crowds.  That was not an issue today.  There were no crowds, unless you count the huge number of ground feeders using the bare banks close to the water to find some food.  A few might have been trying to snag a midge or two from the snow, as well.  There were risers in a couple spots, but the spots were marginal spots that YOY tend to frequent, and the risers big enough to see looked about as big as the fish I landed while nymphing and tossing a small streamer.  I was hoping to find at least one bonus fish over 12 inches or something, so I stayed out there until close to 5 PM, even though the swipes trailed off shortly after 4:30 PM.  I saw one or two walkers out all afternoon, and there were tracks in the snow from snow shoes and skis, one plastic sled track from a gung-ho parent—me when the boy was 3 or 4, if I recall!  None was a bad idea, as covering ground was not easy with 10 or 12 inches of wet snow on the ground. 

They never got any bigger than this....

I stayed in the creek most of the time, hugging the banks, and shooting the bugger under wood and close to deep undercuts.  I was warm covering so much water.  The hits were not hard on the bugger, but at least I wasn’t standing still weeding through suckers with a bobber and a zebra midge.  I did chin a sucker, the best fish of the day, while hopping a jigged bugger through a deep quiet hole.  I was hopeful for a second that I found that bonus fish, but today I had to be content with just being out fishing in a beautiful setting with few spectators.  An arctic blast was called off, so I am hoping to take advantage of a couple more days in the next week, maybe even Sunday with Eric.  The snow melt will be an interesting variable, but at this point in the winter, fishing is fishing, and just getting out is a good time.