How to Catch Stocked Trout on the Fly in Cold Weather

Lakes Are a Winter Trout Oasis

It’s February, which means ODFW’s stocking season is officially underway on the coast and in the Willamette Valley. While fishing a stocked pond off I-5 might not be everyone’s cup of tea, many of Oregon’s stocked coastal lakes offer beautiful scenery and mild weather. Crowds are also sparse this time of year, making it a great time to explore new waterways in solitude.

If you’ve chased stocked trout on the fly, however, you’ve probably had the experience every angler encounters at some point — fish are seemingly uninterested in your fly, and very interested in the

Stocked trout, like any other, are prone to cyclical feeding behavior. Sometimes they’ll be keyed in on a food source you aren’t prepared to provide, and that’s just life. But those instances are rare. For the most part, there are tried and true methods for targeting stocked fish on the fly. Here are a few you can try to up your numbers in winter and early spring:

Tips for Winter  Lake Success

1. Streamers rule the roost. Stocked trout are reactionary creatures, and they are bred to compete when feeding time rolls around. Something about a stripped streamer triggers that competitive instinct — they need to be first to the prize. While you’ll typically want to strip or troll your streamers slowly in colder weather, trout that have just been planted are more prone to a fast retrieve. With wind a common companion on our local lakes, we like to employ a full intermediate line when fishing streamers to achieve the best possible presentation.  A basic fly pattern we love to use on lakes, is incrediby simple to tie, yet highly effective.  Watch this tying tutorial for the Balanced Leech.
   
   
   
   
2. Arrive late to the party. It’s easy to get keyed in on stocking dates, and the desire to be first on the water after a new shipment of trout arrives is understandable. But if you’re willing to wait a week or two, the holdover trout that are still around will have started to acclimate to their surroundings. They will be far more interested in the natural food sources replicated by your flies than they are in PowerBait. And once a waterbody has been stocked multiple times, you can take advantage of both the new, excitable fish and the pickier holdovers. 
3. Fish dries. Music to every fly angler’s ears, right? Sure, it’s February — but still, water trout are active on the surface year-round, provided it's not frozen over. And one thing a bait angler can never replicate is the presentation of a dry fly. That means any fish feeding on the surface is yours to target and catch. Your best bet this time of year is to fish a single midge cluster pattern on a long, light leader. But if you want to target trout on top and subsurface simultaneously, a dry-dropper rig with a big, bushy top fly can be deadly. Don’t stress too much over the color or pattern, this attractor dry is intended to bring fish to the surface by offering up an unexpected high-calorie meal. 
4. When in doubt, get wormy. Worms are a consistent presence in trout habitats during the winter months, when rain washes them into the water in droves. Bait anglers also lean heavily on nightcrawlers for stocked trout, and fish are on the lookout for these low-expenditure, high-calorie treats. Trout love nothing more than prone prey when water temps are chilly, and worms top the list. Remember, Squirmy Wormies and other soft plastic worm patterns are considered bait in Oregon — so for the most part, we carry traditional chenille San Juan Worms in our boxes to ensure compliance on streams and lakes that don’t allow bait fishing. But nearly all of Oregon’s stocked coastal lakes allow for bait, so this is one time you can safely make an exception!
5. Get off the bank and on the water. A float tube, kayak, raft or rowboat can make all the difference in the world for a fly angler in search of stocked trout. The fish that hang around the shoreline, within easy casting distance, are likely to be caught by bank anglers within the first week or so after a plant. The smart fish will escape to safer waters, where they can’t be caught on foot. Some sort of small watercraft will get you into their range. And if you are relegated to the bank, be sure you’re prepared with the right gear to reach the fish with limited back casting room. Our tool of choice is a 10” 5WT, overlined with a six or seven weight line to help achieve more distance with your roll cast.

If you’re new to lake fishing, check out our still water tactics video, then come into the shop and let us help get you setup for success!