Hey Hall of Fame Family,
As I write this, it is currently 4 degrees here in Missouri. We have not seen temperatures above freezing in about three weeks. Typically around this time of year, the lakes and some rivers will freeze, but not thick enough to sustain any fun ice fishing activities. This year "might" be different though, as Paul and I "might" try getting out on some smaller ponds with thicker ice, but I'm not optimistic.
Anyway, Paul, our cousin Jordan, and I recently took a day trip to a semi-local trout park about an hour and a half away. We left my house early on a Saturday morning, and it was a brisk 8 degrees. The high for the day was 14, and it was 10 degrees when we arrived at 8 am. Ice covered the parking lots and we were reluctant to leave the warm truck. None of us had high expectations, but cabin fever had really set in. We tied on, threw on waders, and headed to the stream. I was using my BFS setup, Paul was fly fishing, and Jordan was using his ultra light. All three of us had bites within the first 10 or 15 minutes, but we hadn't landed any yet. The three of us worked upstream towards the spring, and found a massive school of trout in some fast moving water. To say we wacked them here would be an understatement! After about an hour and a half, the three of us caught around 25 or 30 fish combined in just a small area, all on different baits! Nothing big, but still a ton of fun! Rainbows and brown trout mixed in, too.
We got tired of catching fish in this same spot, so we decided to warm up in the truck, then work our way down towards where the spring empties into the river. We still caught fish along the way, finding more brown trout closer to the river. I don't think we ever went more than 10 or 15 minutes without a bite all day! Remember, it got up to 14 degrees fahrenheit. Thankfully it was not too windy, that would've not been pleasant. Trust me though, it still was frigid!
By the end of the day, the three of us caught a total of 47 trout. This was by far the coldest weather I've ever fished in, let alone had so much success in such cold temps. We pretty much had the stream to ourselves, and I couldn't believe how consistently the fish were biting (I'm so grateful for handwarmers!) So far, this has been the only successful fishing trip I've been on in 2025. Actually, it's the only time I've caught fish in 2025 so far. That'll change! Trout just like the cold more than bass. Thanks for reading!
-Erik Hoffman, Hall of Fame Outdoor Company