My last post was about a month ago. That post talked of non-committal brown trout while streamer fishing. Since then, the streamer bite ended completely. Cold weather patterns over the last month dropped stream temperatures quickly to 35-37 degrees and pushed trout to winter mode. That being said, fly fishing has been quite good.
Since the last post on November 8th, I made it out streamer fishing with my cousin, Alan, on November 10th before the weather really turned cold. Our Wives were running a half marathon, so we took to the stream. Alan brought a real nice fish to the net and rolled several others. I rolled several decent fish before landing a dandy of brown trout we admired and snapped a few pictures of before releasing. The water temperature that day was 38-39 degrees. It was a great morning spent on the water. We caught and released several trout. Putting the rods down against a tree and taking a break, we sat on a couple of boulders and sipped on hot coffee to take the chill off. This was the last day I saw trout actively chasing streamers as the weather turned cold in the ensuing days and weeks.
November was a big duck hunting month as well. Duck and goose hunting is a sport I really enjoy. The northern zone closed this past weekend. It was a tough season start to finish. Admittedly, I didn’t shoot well and blew some chances, but waterfowl numbers weren’t there either. Bag limits were decreased this year due to declining numbers in the flyway and it’s easy to see why. Mallard numbers are down. Canada goose numbers are down. Diving duck numbers are down. Numbers across the board are down, at least from my perspective hunting the northern zone this fall. As we swing into the middle of December, I’ll turn my attention to hunting the western zone through this month and into January. I am hopeful to have a few decent shoots before the end of the year. I’m interested in seeing what kind of numbers are around for the late season hunts. I’m also thinking about a weekend hunt in coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod to extend the season a bit.
A few fly fishing trips yielded good results and some good sized trout via nymphing. As I mentioned earlier in the post, trout have moved to winter mode. Catch and release fly fishing is open year-round here in Central New York and good conditions are found all fall and winter long. Low and slow was, and continues to be, the name of the nymphing game. Slow, methodic, and carefully place drifts have been producing beautiful wild trout. Fish are lethargic and working hard to present the nymph deep is important as the trout are not moving much. That being said, if you get the fly in their face, trout are eating.
I know I’m two weeks late, but I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate too much food. Thanks for reading and look for more posts in the coming days and weeks as I’ll be better about posting. Upcoming topics, tips, and articles will include winter nymphing, fly selection, why winter is a great time to fly fish, duck hunting, being skunked and frozen in the duck blind, ice fishing, steelhead fishing, woodworking and opening up the other side of my business, tying, gear reviews, and what’s new for 2020.
Thanks again for reading! Please stay tuned and follow along on the website, Facebook, and Instagram.
All the best,
Brian Lansing
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