To be completely honest, I often put the fly rod down and throw a spinnerbait when the water is higher than usual, and with any significant color to it. Particularly during the pre-spawn period—sub-60 degrees, or so. I usually opt for a chartreuse and white combination, ½- or 3/8-ounce, with a big gold Colorado blade for the deep vibration and flash. Given clearer water, I might move to all white with the more subtle willow leaf blade to ply the banks with. Spinnerbaiting is

I got to the put-in earlier than I needed to. Christmas brought with it a blast of arctic air that nearly had the river on its knees. Snow had accumulated in the high elevations, and the wacky weather—highs of 55 alternated with highs of 20—was pumping 33-degree snowmelt into the already cold water of the upper New River. I took the temperature at the access to make sure I didn’t need to pull an audible and go further north looking for warmer water. My thermometer showed just