With low, clear water in most free-flowing trout rivers across America, it’s a good time to throw streamers that resemble sculpins, a common food source for big trout when the fish are concentrated in main river channels during late fall, winter and early spring, before rivers rise during runoff.
Above, TU’s Nick Halle ties his Tailout Sculpin, a fairly easy pattern to craft at the vise, and one he uses to fish rivers like the Blackfoot, the Bitterroot and the Clark Fork in western Montana.