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Off-the-river fly fishing

Productive ways to keep your head in the game during the winter months
Not exactly dry fly season (photo: Armin Vogel).

My waders came off surprisingly quickly. My icy rod left to dry outside. I rushed into the kitchen to prepare a nice warm tea. The winter months had finally arrived. The last feasible fishing trip had been made.

The days themselves get shorter during the winter months. But for us fishermen, they seem to only get longer and longer. The idea that beneath the ice – fat, rested brown trout are lying – is constantly haunting our minds. Some say the cold helps the brain think clearly. If anything, for us anglers, it only serves to jumble our thoughts.

Belize bonefish basics

A handful of tips for flats first timers
Photo: Kris Millgate

As soon as it snows, I think sand. I haven’t always had such gritty thoughts, but the fetish easily buried itself in my mental makings the first time I fished Belize in the winter.

I kicked off my snow boots with reckless abandon and ran barefoot on the beach chasing bonefish. Fishing without freezing is a delight and I took to Belize winters well. I stopped shivering, I stopped layering and most of all, I stopped whining. Seven days of warm in the middle of seven months of cold is all I need to make it through an Idaho winter.

Your fly fishing go bag

Essential, inexpensive, compact items that can save a fishing trip
Spongebob optional (photo: Tim Lewis).

By now you’ve probably read around 7,000 articles listing all the “must-have” items for your days on the water. Chances are, you also got a list the last time you booked a guide trip. Good wading boots? Check. Polarized sunglasses? Check. Flies? Check. Sunscreen? Check. But what about the little things that you should be carrying, the things that can really save the day and bail you out of a pickle?

Your fly fishing resolutions

Resolve to be a better angler this coming year
Casting into the last light in the canyon on the Brazos River in north central New Mexico (photo: Andrew Miller).

As that last drop of holiday cheer passes your lips and washes down that last piece of pie or Christmas candy at midnight on Jan. 1, 2016, you might be among the many who vow to make the new year a better one by resolving to improve various aspects of your life.

Maybe you’ll try to quit smoking, or drop that holiday weight. Perhaps you’ll resolve to read more, watch less TV or spend more precious time with family. All good goals, to be sure.

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