STAY WARM OUT THERE – How to be Comfortable when Fishing in Cold Weather

Fishing during the winter can be some of the least crowded times of year and it is a great time to escape ‘cabin fever’ and hook into some nice fish. How you prepare and deal with the cold, however, makes a world of difference in your experience.  Here some tips and tricks to stay on the water:   

• Dress in layers – Wear multiple wool or synthetic layers on bottom and top. Never wear cotton, which gets wet and stays wet (“Cotton kills”).  Add a warm hat, buff, and fishing gloves. Hooded waterproof jackets are the best choice for an exterior layer. Bring extras of everything in case you fall in.
• Remember the snacks –  Snacking warms up your core by engaging stomach muscles and when your core is warm, more blood gets pumped to the your hands and feet.  
• Fill a thermos – Hot chocolate or coffee provide a welcome bit of warmth.
• Use chemical hand warmers – Place them on top of your hand inside your gloves. That is where the blood flow is and makes it easy to hold your rod. Newer technology has added rechargeable hand warmers, and hand ‘pouches’ that have a rechargeable warmer.
• Bring a small towel – Drying your hands immediately after getting them wet is key to keeping them warm! When handling fish, be sure to take off gloves before putting your hands in the water. .
• Use a Catch & Release tool – You don’t have to get your hands wet or touch the fish.
• Rig rods at home – Rig up the night before in your warm garage. Cold fingers get colder tying knots. If your vehicle is not long enough for your rod, you can still double over the last section (or 2) and have your rod rigged with flies. Anchor the flies on the cork and wrap the tippet in-between the flies around the cork.
• Take a break – If you get cold, get out of the water quickly. Move around to warm up, grab some of that coffee from the thermos, and then get back at it! 
• Prevent iced up rod guides – Apply paste, lip balm, or Lemon Pledge wipes to help prevent ice from forming on the rod guides on your rod from icing up. I usually do that the night prior to fishing.

Take advantage of good weather regardless of the season!   Many anglers avoid fishing during the winter, but some days can be really comfortable and actually better than some spring days when it can still be cold.  Get after it and have fun winter fly fishing!

Tom Caprio

Senior Guide 5280 Angler

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