Streamers in the Snow

I needed big water. I needed brown trout. I needed big ugly streamers, deep water, tough wading, and fishing that took work. Down in Arkansas they're smack dab in the middle of streamer season. Here the streamer fishing is pretty slow right now, but I needed to try. All those things I needed, I got.

The only fish I caught today was a holdover brown, probably stocked last April. I cast a conehead Barely Legal into a slow back eddy and let it swim. I kept the line high and let the water and the fly do all the work. I looked down to adjust my footing and when I looked back up the fish was already hooked. I landed it fast, took a few pictures, admired it's sharp healthy teeth, and let it go. 

I kept working for a few hours, but to be honest, with the water at 30 degrees and flowing high, I was not to surprised that I didn't hook any more fish. It was just nice to be out, practicing my streamer technique.