Why Is This A Bad Place For Trout To Winter?

[LenH]

Let's hear your thoughts?

I have my theory...................

Want some input here.

[PLB]

Too open, not enough structure, not enough current, too shallow??

[U.P. MAN]

Too open, not enough structure, not enough current, too shallow??

X2

[jlh42581]

Its not shallow enough, the water will be cold causing the metabolism of the fish to slow down and not feed as heavy. Deeper pools cause a fish to expend more energy as well, a fish in slow water actually uses more energy than fish in fast water. Fish in faster current can pitch and yaw like an airplane where in slow water every fin moves to hold position.

[jlh42581]

Its also very wide and doesnt have anything to congregate food.

[Spysar]

It's a spring, and the temp isn't right. ..

Or because Len H knows about this spot. No spot Len knows about is good for a trout...

[LenH]

First off I bet you are asking what a “Wintering” hole is. It is typically the deepest hole in the area that trout school up in and spend their winter. There are a few factors that make a good wintering hole. Slow current is required so the trout can hold in place. There typically is a fast water top of the hole to bring in food.

I fished this hole 10 times last March. It was new permission and I was really excited. I thought it looked like MONSTER water. I took friends a couple times because I didn’t believe I was doing so poorly. 10 outs….4 anglers total and ZERO trout.

I was looking at the photo this morning. The hole is clearly deep and it is the deepest hole in the area. The current is slow on the deep section.

There is a current section at the top of the hole. I just couldn’t solve the riddle. I put the photo on close up. I looked at the water first. Then I looked at the rock.

My educated guess tells me the HUGE rock face is facing north and west. This is the direction the winds typically come from in the winter here. There is lots of rock exposed . This rock face sucks up all that cold and transfers it too the water. This rock face super cools this hole.

I looked at the shallows and noted the bottom was very silty and thought about that also. If a trout wants to winter it needs food. Invertebrates need a food source to live there. Silty bottom means no food source for the main stay of that trout’s winter menu.

The water is too cold and there is no food.

[jlh42581]

Im not sure the type of stream but that looks like a spring creek and what I have found is exactly the opposite. I typically cannot buy a fish in slow deep pools mid winter but super shallow water, inches or less I can pound them all day long and I do believe it has to do with warmth.

Also, I have found in those colder temps that you could throw 30 patterns through a holding riffle and never pick one up. Switch over to a monster streamer, scream that baby across and you will catch many.

Silt bottoms are very conducive to midges. Go back, try black, zebra and cream color midge pupa in a size 26 dropped below a small(size 20) blue winged olive if it is a spring creek. My guess is that the strikes are so subtle that you might not even notice it with a strike indicator. If youre familiar with it, no indicator or dropper might also be the ticket.

I think I mentioned this to you before but if you havent seen them, watch the underwater world of trout videos, they pretty much mirror what I have seen first hand.

[LenH]

I can't seem to solve the hole.
I fished 10 times throughout the year.
It took me a dozen stops at the landowner's house to find him home for permission.
Finally after 2 years of trying to get permission I got to fish it and was very disappointed
in the lack of fish.
Some times you lose.

[LenH]

just upstream of the rock face.


I did catch trout in these two holes.

[jlh42581]

Thats gotta be really tough water to fish to begin with, its so slow they have all the time in the world to criticize the drift. You nymphing this or dries?