Our yard is under siege by robins and starlings today. I wonder what they are getting under the snow? I don’t imagine there are many worms out in 20F weather and we don’t have any berry bushes. I will post again if they start breaking through the windows like a Hitchcock movie! Better get the shotgun ready… – Posted using BlogPress

I had a great outing today on the Lower Provo River in Provo Canyon, UT.  It started off rather sketchy as the day was really snowy and I wasn’t sure if my 20 year old Honda Accord was up to the task, but I figured if I just took it easy I could get there without any issue.  My usual 40 minute drive was more like 80 minutes, but once I got there I found I had the whole stretch to myself.  I went to Vivian Park and fished up from the bridge.  Given then weather I determined I would be nymphing.  It was about 18-20 degrees Fahrenheit and a constant snow was falling.  I had in mind to fish a fly I haven’t used in a while; a big, juicy cranefly larva pattern about size 6.  I trailed it with a size 14 red fox squirrel nymph.  For weight I used a BB size split shot and an 8 ft leader with 5x tippet.  On my fifth cast of the day, I took a nice brown trout about 15 in long.  It took to the air straight away after being hooked.  Once I landed it, I could see that he had eaten the cranefly larva.  Over the next 10 minutes minutes I landed two more fish both were mountain whitefish of decent size and both foul hooked.  I think they were taking the cranefly and I was hooking them with the RFSN.  The cranefly was big enough they couldn’t fit it in their tiny mouths.  I hooked 3 or 4 more browns ranging from 11-14 inches and all on the cranefly.  The fish of day had to be the 18 inch rainbow that was a healthy slab of … Continue Reading

A couple months ago I went fishing on the South Fork of the Snake River with my cousin. He brought along a killer addition for a snowy day, ThermaCare heat wraps for our lower backs. We happened to be fishing on one of the few snowy days in October. We were floating with a guide which usually means a lot of casting giant streamers. This tends to be pretty exhausting on my lower back now that I am getting old . The heat wrap kept me going all day without any problems and had the added benefit of providing some heat to my waders. Last week I picked up a couple of boxes from Wal-mart since I knew I would be fishing today. I put one on before leaving my house and by the time I got to the river it was nice and toasty. After a few hours standing in the cold I was very thankful to have deployed my ThermaCare Lower Back Heat Wraps. Pick up a few for your next cold weather trip!

Today while taking out the trash I spotted a flock of about 30 Cedar Waxwings sitting in my neighbor’s tree.  I could hear their unmistakable winter whistling.  Seems like the only time I ever see these birds is winter time and I can only spot them after hearing them.  Despite their pretty splashes of color, they are pretty hard to spot in leafless trees against the winter sky.  Nevertheless, I always enjoy seeing them when I can, from their crests, their buff colored bellies, paint tipped red flight feathers and similiarly yellow tipped tails, they are real beauties.  Read more about them here: Cedar Waxwing.

Today we got a pretty good snow in the Salt Lake Valley. About 4-5 inches I would guess are on the ground at my house. I had to go run some errands tonight and it was pretty slow going, but got most of what I need to done. I am hoping to get out fishing next week after Christmas but snow doesn’t bother me too much. I recall one winter fishing outing where the outer fabric of my neoprene waders froze solid at the knees as I was standing in shallower water. I had to gingerly hobble back into the river to thaw the ice and then remembered to keep moving!