Hi guys,

I know all about the stories i had to crack the ice off the rod eyes etc and still caught a decent amount of trout.

but as a general rule what temperature should u just give up. The air temp at the moment is 7 degrees i am guessing the water temp must be lower than that.

Google reccon 12-13 is best temp and 21 is when trout stop feeding at all.

I been in wales on stream fed lake and just watched trout move slowly along the bottom and were just not intertested in your flies. (you caught the odd one now and again but, i guess one trout getting agressive with the colour of your flie , but by and large it was a wast of time) temp that day air wise was 9 degrees c.

Any thoughts from people who actually like fishing in single figure temperatures?

Hi IceJohn;

The air temperature isn't what determines the activity of the fish but the water temperature. If you are fishing a spring fed lake (underground) then the temperature of the water below the surface will stay fairly constant and the fish will continue to be active and feed. The same theory holds for ice fishing on deep waters and explains why I've caught trout, pike and perch through four feet of ice when the air temperature hovered around -20F before windchill but I was fishing between fifty and ninty feet down.

Take care

Terry

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Are you talking air or water temps there John? I didn't know Google had a fly fishing section?

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Fly Clips & Stands

Hi', Rob. I'd say icejohn is talking water temps. The optimum water temp
range for brown trout is, working from memory, 55 to 65 degrees, Fahrenheit.
That equates to 12 to 18, Celsius. Last time I read about feeding temp ranges, I believe I discovered that rainbow trout stop feeding just a couple of degrees below the temp at which browns 'push the plate away.'
Of course, trout will eat at quite low temperatures, but you will know that, I am certain. For the benefit of anyone who may not, the problem when fishing at low water temperatures is that the trout's body will be at the water temp, and so will the enzymes that break down its food. So, a big meal could remain in the stomach for quite a while in cold water conditions, so the hunger stimulus would not apply if you tried fishing, but aggression or sheer curiosity might cause a 'full' fish to take your fly.
Traditionally, pike fishers are supposed to go out in frosty weather, but I'd say that their chances of finding a hungry pike would be better if they waited until a frosty spell ended, and they then went to the water when the water temp picked up a little, the pikes' last meals were digested, and the hunger pangs kicked in again. Pike fishers please excuse, I'm not trying to tell 'Granny' how to suck eggs. TerryC

Rainbows will feed throughout the winter even in the coldest conditions. Take a look at the rivers they run in the wild which are normally full of ice melt. So don't let the cold put you off. Obviously you need to make sure your chosen fishery is not frozen over first.

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In Canada, we get out of our igloos to fish for steelhead (migratory rainbows) as long as its warmer than -10C. I remember one day I was wading waist deep and I got bumped by a floating ice sheet. Good thing it wasn't flowing that fast so I recovered and just waited for it to pass and continued fishing a #14 black stone fly nymph and got me a nice 5lb'er

And some stillwaters are spring fed and can also be fly fished except in Jan/Feb when the temps stay like -20C for a week or more. This year my 6yr old daughter wanted to tag along when it was a balmy 2C. She lasted 3 hours out there and landed 4 on #12 black buzzers.

The trick of course in the winter is to fish dead slow, as in bung slow

tx for the replies guys,

Looks like i will be giving it a go this winter then.

I was referring to air and water temp since i have always assumed water temp to be colder than air temp usually the case. (exceptions for spring fed lakes etc).

I would have thought though once the air temperature hits 3 degrees or below like -15 then the water temp cannt get any colder than say 3-4 degrees else it starts turning to ice.

I got to say though bung fishing on small still water is pretty boring in -5 as you only get one of two. Has anyone slaughtered em in very cold weather?

Large waters like Rutland Water, (3000 acres) are I'm told, slow to respond to cool air temperatures as we approach winter, & locals say fish up to December 31st.
The down side to that is, in spring, they are slow to warm up
So, if thats the case, smaller waters may cool sooner
But warm up quicker

So all waters should have about the same unproductive period, but at different times..... hopefully.....all being equal.....and all that!!

At the waterside we stand a chance of catching.....in our favourite armchair, at home, we don't.

The temperature you should give up? When your hands get to cold to return a fish! I was out today and returning the grayling was agony.

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only give up when they have to knock the ice of you

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