Winter San part 1: frozen fingers

My second trip dedicated to chasing Hucho hucho (Danubian salmon) was a little bit spoiled by weather.

The real winter came to the Bieszczady region. Air temperature expected to be -4 during the day, and -7 in the night. 

From fishing prospective freezing temperature means, that fly line and rod guides will freeze immediately after contact with water.   But, I came for fishing, so I need to handle it somehow. 

The river looked nice at lowest level,  166 cm and 10 m3/s. But in the areas with slowest current, the ice built up at the edges of the water.

I started at well-known huchen place, pool under the rock.  It's one of the deepest and slowest portions of the river.  Unfortunately, it was not very easy. Rod guides were freezing despite of treatment by Loon Stanley paste.  Particularly it was bad with my streamer rod. I switched to double hand rod and nymph, because it allows to fish at fixed length of the fly line, so guides have less contact with water. 

I fished for few hours with some breaks for warming up with hot tea. No sign of fish, no contacts. Even in famous "huchen hole".