Question? How many fly fisherman in our area?

[MoCarp]

Doing some research, how many fly fishermen?....thats is own a fly rod and use it at least 2 trips a year 

[fishinwrench]

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

Everyone knows you can't catch anything with a fly rod. 

[fishinwrench]

15 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Everyone knows you can't catch anything with a fly rod. 

True, you gotta have line, leader, and a hook.   Without those three things the rod is useless.  😎

[Mitch f]

It's all about the "experience" 

[snagged in outlet 3]

I shared an "experience " with a bunch of Taney's finest today with the whip. 

7 of them between 14 -15 inches and country strong. 

 

[Mitch f]

Great job Pete!

[Al Agnew]

I fly fished today.  The Yellowstone River is now clear, and getting down to a normal flow for this time of year.  It was a gorgeous day, except for a little too much wind, but the sun was out most of the day and the air temps were in the upper 70s.  I was in my little Water Master one person raft, and put in at the house and floated to the Pig Farm.  I was in with a group of four guides and eight clients for the first couple miles, and none of us seemed to be catching anything but whitefish.  I finally caught a couple nice rainbows about the time they went around the bend and out of sight, and I didn't see another angler the rest of the day, which is amazing for the Yellowstone this year.  I was hoping to get some fish to take a hopper, and spent about half the day trying, with only a few very small ones to show for it.  I caught a lot of whitefish, but only those two decent rainbows.

So I was thinking as I got back home...did I really enjoy myself?  The fishing was undeniably slow, worse than mediocre.  The wind made for more tangles than usual, and kept me almost chilly for much of the day.  

But I have to say I did.  Yes, Mitch, it's all about the experience, even when it isn't.  It's about the challenge.  It's about the satisfaction and just plain fun of tossing a big dry fly on a fine rod.  It's about reading currents and drop offs and picking out the best spots to maybe catch a nice fish.  It's about getting that perfect drift with a nymph setup, and then another perfect drift on a line two feet from the last one, and then another...

And...for me it's about rivers.  I love the Yellowstone.  It can be a very tough river to fish.  It can be crowded.  It's not really wilderness, and you're never far from a cabin or a big fancy house next the river, or a highway, or a railroad.  But there are eagles and ospreys, white pelicans and sandhill cranes and common mergansers with a gaggle of half grown ducklings.  

Nope, I don't have to catch a bunch of fish.  The whitefish kept things interesting enough, and it was kinda okay that I didn't figure out the trout.  Fly fishing is its own reward.  Not that I think it's superior to fishing with casting tackle.  I enjoy floating an Ozark stream in my solo canoe and making perfect casts with a casting rod and working a topwater lure just as much.  As long as I'm on a river, I'm happy.

[fishinwrench]

I fish for Trout, Bluegill, Whites/Hybrids, and all River Bass with fly gear only.   Seldom if ever break out "the gear" on those species.  

Lake bass and Catfish get the bubba tackle.

[Mitch f]

Every time I attend a party with my wife's friends in Clayton, I always get introduced as "This is my husband, he loves to fish". Then one of the husbands comes over later holding a glass of wine and says "I've always wanted to fly fish"...happens every time.

I guess to them it's NASCAR vs Formula 1 all over again.