What do fly fishing enthusiasts do in winter? Well, some are taking advantage of southwest Wisconsin's New Year's day opening to fish for trout.

It's not as off-beat as it sounds. They have discovered that trout take flies at least as readily in winter as summer.

In northern Wisconsin much water that is cool enough for trout in summer because of adequate shade, is frozen over all winter. Down-state where they are more exposed, most trout streams rely on spring flow to keep summer temperatures within tolerable ranges. The same springs keep them ice free in winter.

Scientists tell us trout are arctic natives that moved southward ahead of the ice sheet at the start of the Glacial Epoch. When the ice receded many followed it back, but some stayed. Their descendant's metabolism is still geared to low temperatures.

Unlike many fishes that become semi-dormant in frigid water, trout stay relatively active in winter when food is the least abundant.

They are oily fish and insects are the principle supplier of fat in their diet. Remember how greasy your windshield gets from bugs in summer? Large trout eat small fish of course, but the need for the fat that insects furnish is always there.

For instance, studies show that in our area wild trout are dependent on land insects for about one third of their food. These are either blown or fall in from stream side vegetation. The rest of their diet is mostly aquatic insects and small crustaceans.

Winter weather drastically curtails the supply of terrestrials and at the same time activity of aquatic insects lessens greatly as hatches virtually cease. Trout have to forage through bottom rubble and vegetation for victuals that the water is teeming with in summer.

In the last few years, Mike Cufaude and I have managed to fish a stream or two in Grant and Iowa county at least once each winter. Mike is one of the many good fly fishers I know.

One such foray found us more or less accidentally on a Grant county brook trout stream early one New Year's morning. I recall thinking that there must be a providence that looks out for fly fishers and similar innocents. We had left home before dawn heading for a well known brown trout creek in Grant County. Shortly after crossing the Grant-Iowa county line icy pavement caused us to forsake the highway for a less slippery gravel road.

Sometime later, after negotiating a long winding downhill grade, we came upon a small creek just in time to see an angler lift a trout over a bridge railing. This got our attention and stopping, we found ourselves looking at as pretty a stream as we had seen in a long time.

We asked permission to fish at a nearby farm house, then parked down-stream from the bridge and got our gear ready. Both of us had confidence in silver nymphs so we each tied one of these (in a size 14) to a 4X tippet.

This pattern, although relatively obscure, is a consistent producer for us on Wisconsin streams. It is especially effective where good populations of fresh water shrimp or caddis exist.

We knew that in winter the best trout seek out spring holes and the deepest parts of pools (temperatures here are most nearly to their liking), so we weighted our leaders with a little lead wire just above the tippet knot.

The slight weight of a single overhand knot of lead wire doesn't effect casting and in these little streams, still takes the fly down where it can swim just off the bottom. Be sure to nip off the tag ends. If they are left extended, the leader is apt to twist badly from the current.

Mike was already bundled up in a ski-suit. I had brought chest high waders to help keep out the cold. While I was tugging these on over heavy clothing, he made his way to the creek.

When I overtook Mike he was well on his way to being "Champion New Year's Day Trout Fisher". He was taking and releasing brookies with nearly every cast. He said it was the fastest fly fishing he had ever had.

Moving slowly, he crouched low or on his knees to stay as inconspicuous as possible. He fished each pool across and downstream, systematically lengthening his cast until all the water was covered.

The same tactics worked for me. Those fish thought our flies were just what they were lacking.

They ran eight to nine inches long which isn't bad for area streams. Larger brook trout usually come from ponds or lakes.

All winter trips aren't that successful of course, but I can't recall any when we haven't had good action with flies.

I do remember one to Castle Rock when Mike caught and released at least two dozen browns and I only had one solitary hit and missed that.

The snow was deep and the wind very cold. Mike had his white fox-hunting coveralls on over layers of winter clothing and with a white stocking cap over his head, was all but invisible against the snow.

I guess I should have known better, but I wore a dark coat and cap. You >could see me a country mile against the white landscape and the fish did too.

Between the cold wind and watching Mike catch fish while I couldn't, it was a miserable forenoon.

That's the last time I wore dark clothes fishing in the snow and the last time for being skunked too.

In winter the water is extremely clear and foliage that can make you less conspicuous is gone. Dressing to help camouflage your presence is very, very important. Trout are ultra wary creatures. No matter how hungry one may be, self-preservation is always its primary instinct.

One of the reasons for the early season advanced by fisheries people was that it would do something about the "circus atmosphere" associated with traditional May opening.

A reservation held by most old timers was that it would eliminate resident fish, the big old breeders that replenish the creeks. These tend to hug the bottoms of deep pools in cold weather and so are easy to locate.

Evidently both were right. Very rarely is any creek crowded on New Year's day and the Iowa and Grant county streams that were famous for monster browns now seem to hold only small ones. A lot of them it's true, but small compared to the fish that used to be there.

The exceptions are the two or three fly and artificial lure only, catch-and-release waters. These hold a lot of large fish and are tremendously popular with anglers. Evidently for many, the opportunity to outwit and do battle with adult fish outweighs keeping them.

Another interesting thing is that Castle Rock, one of the "fish for fun only" streams now has a respectable population of brook trout, the first I have seen in water of this size in southern Wisconsin.

Part of the charm of fly fishing is the environment in which it is practiced. This is as true in winter as summer. Many streams run through or adjoin farm woodlots. Squirrels, blue jays, chickadees and nuthatches will check you out.

You will see beaver dams and canals they built to float downed trees to these dams, all frozen over now, but the creek flows along side as merrily as it does in summer. There will be deer tracks, small animal sign and shelf ice you can drift your fly under.

Every bend in the creek will reveal something new.

To you first timers, remember:

Fish the pools;

Fish deep;

Use flies so the fish you return will survive to be caught again.

And be prepared to remove ice from your rod guides often.

The early trout season opens January 1st in certain southwest counties. A trout stamp in addition to a valid fishing license is required to fish trout. Consult the fishing regulation hand book for more information