Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2013 - 10

Fishing the Scud
by Carl Haensel
photos by the author

Heading out and fishing in the coldest months of the year is a reason to get away from it all, escape the indoors and have a chance at solitude. Winter fishing is not known for producing trophy trout, but if you play the game correctly, it can produce fish in numbers you can only dream of in June or July. On the coldest days, Pennsylvania’s limestone spring creeks are a great destination for your winter fishing. The groundwater that feeds them keeps the waters free of ice, and lets the fish stay a bit warmer. Sometimes, a few degrees of warmth is all it takes to get the fish feeding. In January and February, trout are not spread out across all parts of a stream as they may be in the summer. Colder water temperatures lead to sluggish fish that are less active. Look for pods of fish in deep pools. On warmer winter days, fish will move into runs and glides and begin to more actively feed. Anglers will rarely find winter trout high in thin, fast riffles since it requires much more energy.

Regardless of their position in the stream, casting to trout with a scud in winter is a good idea. While some flies can be fished in multiple ways, the scud performs best on a dead drift. When swimming, scuds move very little and rarely swim in a straight direction for any length. A dead drift best copies this movement as a dislodged scud drifts down the stream with the current. Scuds are naturally found in organic materials in a trout stream. Look for them in areas with submerged aquatic vegetation, as well as on woody debris in the water. Scuds are found less often

Drifting a scud

in rocky riffles. Pick up some vegetation when arriving at your fishing destination. Find a few scuds, and match the size and color of the natural with your fly. Look for actively feeding fish working lanes or channels. Fish to these trout first, since they will more likely bite. They will also be more likely to scare. For truly sporadic fish, anglers can try dead drifting their flies from upstream down to the trout. This “fly first” presentation is used on spring creeks throughout the country to fool fish that are very particular. As always, stay out of the stream or river during winter as much as possible. This is not only to keep warm but also to avoid disturbing the fish with sediment or wave action. If it’s a cold day and there are no fish in runs or glides, focus on large pods of fish in pools. Sometimes, you may find hundreds of trout clustered together in the bottom of a pool, because they have found a location that allows them to rest and expend as little energy as possible. These fish are certainly catchable, but they will move very little to take a scud or other nymph. When fishing to these types of situations, make sure that you have added enough weight so that your fly moves through the pod of fish and not over their heads. The fly must go along the bottom of the pool to attract attention. Keep your splitshot at least 8 inches from the fly so that it does not drag it into muck or mud. When fishing still pools, make a long cast, starting upstream of the pool of fish and slowly drifting into them. This will allow you to use less weight and will disturb fewer fish.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • January/February 2013

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2013

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