With any luck – and assuming I find all my gear – I’ll be fly fishing the Big Wood River in an hour or two, and though word has it the fishing’s pretty slow, it’s not as if that comes as a surprise.

It’s pretty out – the light and water both evidencing that hard-edged, crystal clarity they acquire in the winter – and the fishing is slow and methodical.

That’s mostly due to the cold-blooded nature of trout, who are moving very slowly. It’s also a good fit with the angler’s requirements: you’re wearing extra clothes, it’s hard to tie on tiny flies with frozen fingers, and falling in usually means the fishing day is over.

This will be one of the few times this year I walk out the door firmly resolved to use lead on my leader, though when you’re fishing a #20 midge pupae, you don’t need much.

Slow & steady win the race in winter, and if I land a couple of trout on a pretty river (with a few too many houses on it), so much the better.

See you on the Big Wood, Tom Chandler.

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