I keep watching the weather forecasts for a day over 30 degrees and no wind. That’s all I’ll need to get me to grab my fly rod and head for Rocky Ford Creek near Ephrata. Winter is my favorite time to fish here. There are a lot of other options to fly fish in the rest of the year, but Rocky Ford runs ice-free all winter long. It’s not just the open water that attracts me to this mile-long stretch of the creek. It’s the big rainbow that are lurking in it. I have measured rainbow that I have landed and my biggest was 27 inches. There are several ways to get these big trout to strike, but favored method is to cast a floating line with an indicator and a small Scud pattern fly. Some like to drift an Egg pattern below the indicator. I also like to cast an intermediate sinking line with a Mini Leech and a Scud behind it. I strip this in and catch fish on both flies. An exciting way to fish is to cast a White Bunny Leech and strip it in fast. The trout, especially in the afternoon or early evening will attack this pattern.