We had a great first year on our River Ramble, fly fishing the Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams.  We fished 47 of the Top 100 and over 70 streams in all.  We planned meticulously so that we’d not just maximize our time in each location, but more importantly, maximize our quality fishing time in each location.  To do this, we set out a few “rules” for our trip that I’d encourage anyone going on a fishing adventure to adopt as well.

The first of these “rules” was that once we arrived in a new spot in the SaraLinda, right after we’d “hooked up” at the campground, our next stop was to visit the local fly shop.  We’ve found these fly shops via our guidebook, Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams.  At the back of each river description, the author lists local fly shops that service fishermen on that river.  We also do internet searches in each locale for other possible fly shops in the area.  Finally, we’ve been asking other fly shop owners if they have recommendations.  These three methods have proven very successful for us.  We’ve been blessed on our trip thus far with some of the most helpful fly shop owners/staff imaginable.

The shop staff have been invaluable in helping us get the right flies for the local river(s).  They’ve also been great at pointing us to the right spots on the rivers to fish most successfully.  They cannot guarantee you’ll catch fish, but, they can tell you the most likely spots where fishing has been good.  They can also suggest other streams in the area you might fish.  We’ve totally taken advantage of this and have been pointed to some great “other” known streams and “nunya” streams in the area.

Safety is another reason to drop into the local fly shop before heading out to the stream to fish.  There may be high flows that make wading dangerous, or dam generation that changes flows dramatically in an instant.  If you’re kayaking, there may be crossings, weirs and other obstructions in the river that require special navigation.   Safety first when you’re on the river.

The second thing we do is to check in with the guide we’ve hired who will be taking us fishing the next day.  Our itinerary for each river has us taking a guided fishing trip the first full day we are in an area.  This way, we get to see the river and fish the river through the eyes and instruction of a qualified, knowledgable person.  Usually, the guides we hire have many years, if not decades, of experience fishing and guiding on the river.  As with the fly shops, these guides know what flies to use during the day, what parts of the stream are most productive, often pausing at these spots to fish them thoroughly and above all, assuring our safety either in the drift boat (raft) or wading.

We’ve had some outstanding guides this past year and are looking forward to this year.  We have found them via local fly shops as well as through recommendations from other guides we’ve had.  What we’ve found is that the more information you, the client, can give them prior to your guide trip, the better your time on the water with them will be.  I’ve often made the mistake of just saying “whatever you think” or “we’re with you” when a guide asks what we’d like to do during our trip.  While the guide does know files, water, safety and such, they don’t know what you might consider a great day on the water.  Do you like to throw streamers?  Nymphing?  Are you a dry fly “aficionado”?  Do you want a more “technical” guide (focused on fishing techniques) or a more “place” guide (focused on the “experience” and the surroundings)?   A big shout out to Rachel Finn, my guide on the West Branch of the Au Sable in NY, who brought this concept of sharing all this with your guide before your trip.

The days following our guide trip, we typically wade fish the river (and others in the area), taking full advantage of what our guide has taught us as well as what the fly shop has provided us.  We’re often back in the fly shop multiple times to get more flies (yes we loose a lot in trees, submerged limbs and rocks) and get even more information that makes our fishing more productive.  We’ve made really good friends with fly shop owners, staff and guides along the way.

Staying true to our mantra, “Its Not About the Fish”, we really try to immerse ourselves in each local community.  We also try to take the occasional “Road Trip” when we find ourselves near national parks, monuments (Devil’s Tower) or just cool places we’d like to visit.  We’re going to try and do even more this year as we traverse the country.  We’ll be fishing in several national parks (Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains) and will be taking time to explore them as well.  We’ve got a Grand Canyon “Road Trip” on the books already that we’re most excited to experience.  We’ll be doing our own version of “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives” as we sample the local fare from these great fishing towns we visit.

We’re learning every day as we ramble around but wanted to share a few of these “Lessons Learning” in the hope they might help others who go on fishing adventures.  Stay tuned as we continue our journey.

Ramble On!