The Hunt for Open Water

I fully had to admit to myself that I had no idea exactly what I was looking for. All I knew was that it was 35 degrees outside and the sun was trying to poke through the clouds. Pretty much a perfect winter day in the North Country. Maybe I’d been watching too many Flylord’s videos on youtube but I had my fly rod in the truck sitting next to me. October was the last time I’d had my fly rod out so I guess I decided to take it for a ride. With my truck telling me I had 157 miles till empty I decided to head east on the hunt for open water.

Crossing the Grasse River bridge near the mall the water was frozen over but I did know that it was wide open down in the village. Next I crossed the 37C bridge, one side was covered with slush and ice but the other side was open and flowing.

This crazy idea of fishing open water just might happen, I thought to myself as I rolled through the backcountry of St. Lawrence and Franklin County listening to Time Warp with Bill St. James. At the Westville bridge I found the Salmon River to be flowing with a melting ice shelf near the bank. It was starting to look really good for this adventure. I drove down the road to one of my favorite fishing destinations and found that the DEC angler parking area was full of snow.

Guess they don’t give too much thought to fishing this time of year either. I pulled off to the shoulder of the road and took a quick look around. No one had walked across the field in months, I couldn't find a track anywhere. I slid into my arctic muck boots and broke a trail. The 400 foot walk wasn’t too bad. Most places I only sank down 4”-6” into the snow.

Before I even made it to the bank I could hear the water flowing. I was anxious to see if this was going to be feasible. As I reached the bank I could tell that the water was high but not running too fast. Huge chunks of ice lined the bank across the river. A sign that the river was frozen over not that long ago.

On my side it wasn’t too bad and there were a few places I could cast from. Working my way back to the truck to grab my gear I pondered my passion for fishing. It’s been with me since I was a young boy but over the last couple of years it slowly has almost become an obsession. I had to wonder if winter fishing was just one more step closer to becoming a true trout bum. I assembled my rod and opened my fly box. I really had no idea what I was doing so fly selection was going to be a challenge. I decided on a small bead headed fly and tied it on.

As ready as I could be I made my way back to the river bank. Before casting I took a moment to become part of the environment. In the light breeze I could pick up the scent of the river. Every body of water has a distinct smell to it and even with the cold weather it could still be noticed. I made my first cast and mended my line down stream.

I’m usually standing knee deep here but today it was all about fishing from the bank. After 20 minutes of casting with no luck I decided to take a break. I found a dry piece of land and took a seat. Chickadees softly chirped around me as small chunks of ice floated by. I noticed some small bugs dancing along the bank as the sun's rays peeked through the clouds. Not exactly a spring hatch but it was just enough to show that mother nature was slowly working on closing her winter chapter and thinking about starting spring. After 10 minutes of watching the river run by me I picked up my rod and started casting again. Cast after cast I watched my line gently drift downstream. Occasionally I had to work my fly around the ice as it flowed by.

Other than the birds occasional chirping, the only sound was the river's flow. It was so peaceful just listening to nature. No phones, pagers, or televisions, just the wild world around me. On one cast I did feel a slight bump to my fly. Was it my bead head bumping bottom or a sluggish trout trying to eat. I will never know. It didn’t matter anyway this trip wasn’t really about catching fish it was all about being on a river bank again and trying something new. After an hour and twenty minutes I decided to call it a day. No stunning fish pictures from this trip but a lasting memory of the first winter fly fishing trip I’d ever taken.

About this Location:

This time of year cabin fever starts to settle in. The warmer days give us hope that spring will be on the way soon. People start to feel the itch to get back outside and enjoy the sun. We look for different things to do other than shovel the driveway. All over the North Country there are people out ice fishing on days like today. They live for the excitement of pulling a big northern pike up out of the ice. There are hundreds of great ice fishing locations all over the North Country. I have often entertained the idea of getting the equipment and giving it a try but I just haven’t done it yet. However after watching all sorts of videos on winter fly fishing I decided that today would be the day to give it a try. I really had no idea what I was doing but that's never stopped me before. The toughest part was finding open water. Just last week it was -25 degrees out. Those harsh temperatures can freeze over some of the fastest running rivers.

I got lucky and was able to find some. I really thought today's adventure was going to be driving all over the North Country just looking for open water. To be honest that wouldn’t have been a bad thing either. Wide open roads and the warm sun beating through the windshield, I would have been ok with that. With the 2022 DEC regulations offering more trout fishing opportunities, year round fly fishing is really a viable option for the winter blues. So I figured I’d give it a shot. I would encourage anyone that has a passion for fishing to look into this, it just might give you the Northern NY Adventure you have been looking for.

Aaron Hardy

Northern NY Adventures

“Make Life an Adventure”