Winter hatches in Ohio are very few if existent at all. Once we get to late winter, the end of February and into March, we see the first hatch that the fish actually key in on. Winter Stones, Little Black Stones, Snow Flies… they have many different local names. These small aquatic insects have always gave me hope that the depths of winter are soon to be over. Showing themselves as small black specks on the snowy bank or crawling up your waders, Winter Stones should find a place in your nymph box anytime you are targeting trout this time of the year.
Thinking back to a few situations that stand out in my mind, I am reminded of a snowy evening on my local trout stream. Many years ago I was able to spend a few hours fishing into the evening while large snow flakes fell slowly between the Hemlock and Rhododendron. I love the quietness of snow falling around pine trees and this place is one of my favorites. The fishing is what brought me there, but no matter how the fishing was the quietness is really what I was after. This time I was awakened from the mindless repetition of slowly swinging streamers by a lone rise. I did a second take and the rings on the water proved my questioning. Earlier in the evening the snow banks and my waders were crawling with Winter Stones. I had often seen this event, but never really focused on fishing these flies. As the snow continued to fall many more rises were happening. I waded out to the seam just down stream of the rising fish and held my net just under the waters surface. I quickly saw Winter Stoneflies struggling to get out of the water and crawling up my net. The next few days I stood waiting in the evenings for more of the Stoneflies to return to the water to drop eggs. Even though there were plenty of freshly tied dries in my box no more risers were witnessed.
The dry fly game with Winter Stones is not something to focus on with great success…at least not in this area. Fishing the nymphs though will provide much greater success. The nymphs do not swim or drift up to the surface, but crawl out on shore and then hatch. As they crawl, they fall or get washed into the water. Trout and Steelhead will key in on these bugs big time. We will often switch to a black stone when the typical egg bite stops suddenly for Steelhead. March and a little sun on a riffle is sometimes all it takes to make these bugs wake up from their winter slumber. Give a Winter Stone a shot when things slow down this time of the year and you will most likely be surprised with the results.