Christmas week is a good time to be on the river. Almost everybody else is doing something else that week. People are caught up in home and family activities; many people travel to visit relatives. In Tennessee the deer rut is on and many outdoorsmen are in the woods instead of the river. It is also the time ducks begin to appear in greater numbers, particularly is there is a bit of a push from bad weather to the north. Duck hunters will be drawn to the lake and the blinds and only a few will venture to float the river. Each year I have fished the Elk River during Christmas week I have had the river to myself.
December on the Elk can be a time of dancing sunshine with temperatures in the low 60's, or it can be bitterly cold with snow and ice crusting on your collar and in the line guides on your rod. If you fish then, you should come prepared for either. I have seen both--sometimes from one day to the next on this river. Either way it can be a time of quiet fishing.
If it is sunny and warm, I often fish dry flies. That may seem surprising in winter fishing, but dry flies can be attractor flies as much as imitator flies. Sometimes that big juicy bug represented by your twisting Elk Hair Caddis or your Hornberg or Maribou Muddler dressed dry can be too much for a hungry trout. Fishing the Elk Hair Caddis dry is standard procedure, it is after all, a dry fly.
The Hornberg and Maribou, however, are "wet" flies--unless you add flotant to them to make them stay on top. I don't fish them this way all of the time, but I have used both this way to provoke strikes by winter trout. Although it may be coincidence, it also seems that they have worked best when I have placed the flies just at the edge of a zone of transition between a patch of sunlight and darker, shaded water. I drop the fly carefully, let it float for a few seconds, and then twitch the line popper style. Then I leave it alone! Too much action will spoil the effect. If nothing happens, give the spot a rest--then come back to it.
The winter river--even when people say it is "all fished out"--is rich in insects and fish. It is just that the winter fish are now veterans and they are hard to catch. Brown trout are difficult to catch under most conditions anyway and certainly don't get easier in the winter. You have to work the river: casting and re-casting. This is a time to work on the precision of your cast. I don't want to make trout fishing appear too difficult, but an inch in presentation can make the difference--often more of a difference than fly selection.
If the weather on the river is cold or wet, I generally fish my Flashback Hare's Ear and my Olive-and-Black Wooly Bugger. One or the other will produce a result, often a brown trout. Winter is a time for big browns and for me they have come to one or the other of these flies. Again, the flies must be fished carefully, accurately. When it is raining and snowing, I head for the snag holes and begin working these flies under them. The snag is the brown's fortress and if you want to catch one for Christmas you need to put the fly right at his mouth.
Be careful fishing any river in winter. Although the water temperature may not be much colder than at other times, the air temperature is lower and wind can create dangerous chill. Wear layered clothing, but don't bulk yourself up so much that you would be unable to dump your vest or coat if you fall in the water. This is not a time for your full summer vest and kit--just warm clothes and a few flies. Protect your hands. Wool fingerless gloves keep you warm and also allow you to tie clinch knots.
Be sure to eat before you fish, take a small thermos [I like the cheap plastic ones because of their lighter weight] of warm beverage with you. If you get wet or start to shiver, get out of the river. If you are fishing in a deer hunting area, wear your blaze orange vest. If you are fishing alone, leave a note on your vehicle about your expected time of return. Be sure to call TVA for generator flows before you enter the streambed.
One of the prettiest Christmas presents I recall on this river was a brilliant 16" rainbow. Its back was deep green and the lateral strip was a brilliant red--all wrapped for Christmas. It came to my Wooly Bugger in the first turn hole below Tims Ford Dam the day after Christmas. My gloves were frozen to my rod, and I couldn't feel my fingers until I poured coffee on them. I don't remember the ache of the cold, but I will never forget that dazzling red stripe.
Gerald L. Smith
Sewanee, TN