Washington state has pretty simple match the hatch principles year-round, but winter certainly takes it to a new level of simple.
Busted out the euro rod and a dropshot rig, did that whole shindig. Haven't euro nymphed in almost two years and am not sure what to think about it. It's nice fighting fish without a bobber dragging everywhere, and super nice having a direct connection to your flies.
I still think it's hilarious that folks get mad at people fishing bobbers saying it isn't flyfishing, when euro nymhping doesn't even involve a fly line.... instead, using the weight of the flies to cast a mono line... sorta like.... a spinning rod. Hmmmm.
No hate I just find it goofy. I did retie an indicator rig for a bit and was amazed after whipping a euro nymph rig around all day what it felt like to actually cast a fly line again. Kinda satisfying compared to bow and arrow casting a worm around.
And worm I did. After the bit of high water we had, the fish certainly were looking for them. These are about the simplest flies I tie. Fluorescent bead, UV dubbing, UV worm material.
Despite being a slow day and below freezing all day, I managed a half dozen nice trout 16" and above with an "inquisitive" looking 20" cuttbow, with the euro rig proving pivotal maneuvering flies around some complex currents.
Yep. Between 22-31 degrees out, and I forgot my damn net. Talk about freezing, and my hand towel decided to go for a swim and was useless for the final 8 hours of the day.
And, a big thank you to the rainbows and cutthroat that find each other beautiful and make cutt-bows. Day in and day out these cuttbows are the hardest fighting fish in the system, and they reach impressive sizes much larger than this gentleman.
