herefishy,

That is just the kind of urban myth that I like people to believe in "that trout don't feed in cold water". Yea, keep on believing it. That way I won't have crowds of fishermen out on the water with me when I fish the Yakima River during the winter.

Trout have to feed every few days, all year long.

During the winter in waters that are near freezing temperatures, you do have to get the fly to flow right by their noses but they do feed and will take a fly all winter. Nymphs and streamers are the main flies for winter with the occasional hatch that may bring out some surface action.

One of my best days on the Yakima River was on a very cold January morning. The air temperature was 9 degrees F, warming up to a balmy 16 degrees F in the afternoon. The water temperature was 32 degrees and there were large ice flows on the water. I caught my personal best Rainbow for the Yakima that day, a fat 22 incher. I also caught many in the 16 to 19 inch range. That was a great day. Most days are a lot slower, but there are fish to be had.

Keep the myth alive -- Trout don't feed in cold water.

Larry ---sagefisher---