First Fish of 2026

 

Something just doesn’t seem right when we get well into January and I realize that I have not yet caught a fish in the new year. Not wanting to risk that and having no other plans on New Year’s morning, I decided to make a river run.

Temps were in the 20s, and the river was extremely low and clear — not ideal catching conditions — but it’s a heavily stocked section with a catch and release requirement this time of year, so I knew there would be plenty of fish available.

Interestingly, despite ice forming on my line guides every few casts, I found a few fish rising on something too small to see in one of the first pools I fished. Trout were swiping at my lures but wouldn’t quite commit, despite me changing my offering a couple of times. 

I decided to move along to see what else I could find. A couple hours later, having found nothing else, I began wondering if I’d moved from that spot too quickly. And with more anglers arriving, I was even questioning whether I would end up getting my first fish of the year.

Thankfully, my concerns were overplayed. I eventually found the right cast and presentation and caught a couple of brown trout with essentially the same cast. Landing - Lindy Quiver Spoon in a current line across the river, letting tumble in the current, and the snapping it upward, near the bottom was the ticket.

A little farther upstream, I found a rainbow that took a Bobby Garland Mayfly. Then, on the way out, I stopped back by the pool where I saw morning activity and was able to coax one of those fish — a pretty rainbow— into grabbing my Mayfly. 

I only fished the morning, and can’t claim I just tore ‘em up. However, it was a fun New Year’s morning, and I was happy to tally my first two species of 2025: brown trout and rainbow trout.