Addicted to trout and it's hella cold; what are my best options?

[Ashley Frohwein]

I simply must go fishing for trout somewhere within the 1.5 hour drive range this weekend. 

I'm considering fishing passage creek in VA. I know it's a stocker stream, but I checked it out last weekend for the first time (while hiking), and it looks pretty fun and challenging. I figure the cold might keep away the bait chuckers/poachers. It was stocked in mid-December and on January 6. But it's not stream fed, as far as I can tell. Plus, it was running pretty high and dark last weekend, even though there hadn't been much rain, so I'm worried it might be blown out this weekend.

Or, I might just hit up my usual haunt, Beaver Creek, MD. 

Given the cold, could you guys suggest some good, not-too-far-away options? I'm thinking I'm mainly going to be fishing tandem, sub-surface rigs: a small midge below and slightly larger beadhead nymph. 

Maybe the Gunpowder will be fishing well, although I imagine Beaver Creek, MD will be fishing better.

[Misha Gill]

Keep an eye on water temps. Passage is a freestone stream, so if that water temp doesn't rise above 39 degrees don't bother. Spring creeks and true tailwaters are a better bet. Big hunting and the Gunpowder do experience temps below 40 degrees. The online hydrograph for the Gunpowder has a temperature reading, so make sure you check that before you trek up there. That thing was stuck on 39 for 3 months last winter and it was very frustrating.

For some variety I would suggest you go up and fish Big Spring in PA. Big Spring is right at the 2 hour mark. It's got wild brookies and stocked rainbows and browns that can get really big eating the brookies. I've met people from D.C. that used to drive up there every week to fish it. (That person claimed every day but I adjusted his claim for reality.) 

[Ashley Frohwein]

Many thanks, Misha. Although your message sounds like fancy talk for "you're screwed." I'm currently too cheap/poor to buy a permit in yet another state, but I'll def keep Big Spring in mind. And I assume there's no way to ascertain the temp of Passage without actually going there, correct?

[Misha Gill]

Well the only thing you can do to figure and predict the water temp is to look at comparables. Find a similarly sized stream at a similar elevation in a similar area and you can have reasonable confidence in predicting how high the water temp will rise the next day. In the case of Passage, I would look at other Shenandoah flow gauges to see if they have temp readings. I may be wrong but I think one of the gauges on the Rapidan will have water temp readings. 

Seriously though, if there's not a strong likelihood of the water temp rising above 40 degrees, save yourself the cold fingers. I've tried to test the limit many a time. It's amazing what 1 degree warmer can do. Not to say that you can't catch a trout in 39 degrees, but I've managed it so seldom that I don't bother any more. 

[Kevin Huntington]

Passage is probably still fine.  Was out there a couple weeks ago and there were plenty of active fish.  It has gotten a bit colder but we've had a couple warmer days here and there so it'd be worth a shot imo.  I think it's also supposed to be pretty warm this weekend which should help your cause.  It's kind of a slippery wade though so watch your step.

[arthur noglak]

I fished Beaver yesterday. Stuck a few small ones on streamers and one 14 incher on a 22 Adams behind the fly shop. Water was a little high and midges and olives were coming off but not in huge numbers. Very few rising fish.

Art

[Andrew Chaney]

I don't want to be a wet blanket on your plans, but I had the day off today and so I hit up Passage Creek and Stony Creek. I saw a few trout in a couple deep pools, but I didn't catch anything. The water temp was between 36-38 degrees in both rivers.

[Ashley Frohwein]

thanks for the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance guys. I think i'm going to hit up the gunpowder. I'll provide a report. 

[Bob R]

Rapidan was in a good mood on Saturday afternoon.  Everyone else I ran in to along the trail said they had a decent day as well.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 2:26:48 PM UTC-5, Ashley Frohwein wrote:

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Big Spring in the C&R area is all wild fish.  Brookies and Rainbows and both get very large. Browns have never established a wild population there, or only in very small numbers. None were found in the latest PFBC electroshocking survey.  Don't know if they are still stocked in the lower reaches.  Absolutely a good winter option though. Wish I knew of some other spring fed streams besides Beaver and Big Spring (and letort but that's too tough for me).

Also, you can catch trout below 40 degree water temp, but I would agree it is not much fun. But when you gotta get out, better than nothing!  The key is to go when the water is warming. If it warms from 33 to 35, that will bring a few fish out. Fish during the warmest part of the day on freestone streams. 

I tried to go brookie fishing at a Catoctin Moutain stream a few weeks ago but there was no parking due to snow piles. I ended up going to a mixed brown/brookie water, lucked out and found one spot to squeeze my car over on the shoulder, and caught 2 browns and 2 brookies evenly split between a golden stonefly nymph and olive woolly bugger.  Try dead drifting either next to undercut boulders or logjams in the slowest water you can find, something will dart out eventually.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 2:26:48 PM UTC-5, Ashley Frohwein wrote: