Dress for cold, wet weather.

For millions of American anglers, fishing is warm weather activity, associated with summer vacations and sunshine. Winter fishing, on the other hand, is often seen as a sport reserved for brave northern souls who drag wooden shacks out onto frozen lakes and drop lines through holes cut into the ice. But in places where winter streams and rivers run fast and do not freeze, hardy fly fisherman dress for the chilly weather and head out to their favorite spots to cast flies at the waiting fish, hoping for a strike that will get their blood pumping.

Craig Kulchak is an outdoor writer and Project Management Consultant whose love of nature began in childhood, when he enjoyed countless fishing, hunting, hiking and skiing trips with his family. Kulchak has published a novel and writes for several outdoor magazines, all while sharing his passion for the wilderness with his wife and three sons. Here he offers an introduction to fly-fishing in the winter months:

• Return to your summer haunts.
  In most cases, says Kulchak, areas that are fishable in the summer are also fishable in the winter. So you can return to all your favorite spots and fish them when the weather turns cold.
  
• Lower water, smaller crowds.
  With winter precipitation trapped in snow instead of flowing down the mountains, the water levels will be lower. This will offer you more areas to stand and fish. The colder temperatures will also keep the crowds at bay, offering some pleasant solitude and silence.
  
• Fish with nymphs.
  In Kulchak's experience, winter is not a great time for dry fly fishing. Most of the time, you will want to be fishing beneath the surface of the water with nymphs.
  
• Try a "dead drift."
  When fishing with nymphs, it's important to achieve a "dead drift." This means letting the nymph float naturally with the current of the water, without adding any movement, or "action" of your own. Any unnatural action could turn a fish away from the nymph.
  
• Choose warm natural fibers.
  Be sure to dress for the changing temperatures. Warm fingerless gloves will keep the chill away and still let you manipulate the fly and the line. Kulchak recommends wearing natural fibers like wool because rain or snow can surprise you and wool will keep you warm even when it's wet.
  
• Fish all year long.
  Though conditions may be different from summer fishing, if you dress warmly and prepare yourself, you can extend your fishing season throughout the year.

For more about fly-fishing, check out the following websites:

The American Museum of Fly Fishing
www.amff.com

Fly Anglers Online
www.flyanglersonline.com

Fly Fishing.com
www.flyfishing.com

The Fly Fishing Forum
www.flyfishingforum.com

The Flytyer's Bench
www.flytyer.co.uk