Beadhead Cranefly Larva This large rainbow trout was sitting in a feeding lane in the Little Lehigh Creek in Allentown. A well-known limestone spring creek, it is a great winter destination. Use fine tippets and delicate presentations to drift a scud past fish in clear waters. Casting from upstream of a large fish like this one can help avoid disturbing it with line, leader and tippet. Use as little weight as possible since shallow fish may shy away from the “plop” of a splitshot hitting the water. Black Hare’s Ear Light Dress Hare’s Ear Small and deep is usually the name of the game when fishing for trout in the middle of the winter. If scuds are not effective, other small nymphs often work well in limestone spring creeks in the winter. Beadhead nymphs can be particularly good. The Beadhead Cranefly Larva, Black Hare’s Ear, Light Dress Hare’s Ear and Copper John are all good options. Drift them deep and slow to have success in the middle of winter. Wintertime nymphs Copper John The scud performs best on a dead drift. When swimming, scuds move very little and rarely swim in a straight direction for any length. On the coldest days, Pennsylvania’s limestone spring creeks are a great destination for your winter fishing. PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • January/February 2013 11http://www.fishandboat.com