I know it isn’t even December yet but we need to start
thinking about our fishing trip(s) for 2013 if we want to have the best trip
possible. Here are a few simple tips
that I think will help you have a great 2013 fishing season.
Be as flexible in
scheduling your trip as you can possibly be. For
many people last year’s trip was a complete bust. Nearly every area of the west was in drought
conditions. Rivers were too low to float
and the water was too warm to fish. It is much too early to be deciding on when
you are going to make a summer trip out west.
It will still be too early in the middle of January to mark your
calendar. I generally hold off until
mid-April. By then the maximum amount of
snow has fallen. If you don’t have
scheduling flexibility and have to determine your dates soon, you can make an
“educated” guess by checking USGS gauging stations in the area you are
interested in and seeing what the long-term runoff hydrograph looks like. Remember that long-term value is the median
values for many many years of record. The
last two years are perfect examples of variability in stream flow. 2011 was an extremely heavy snow year. In the mountains there were still patches of
snow into August.
With all the
snow, both the volume of runoff and the duration of the runoff season, was
greatly extended. For the Encampment
River the optimum fishing flows were not reached until almost the 1st
of August.
2012 was the
opposite of 2011 for both snow fall and runoff.
This past summer with the winters
exceeding low snow falls the Encampment's optimum fishing time was weeks earlier than normal.
All the folks that made their plans based on what they knew or expected from previous years were very disappointed.
Information on
snow levels throughout the west are readily available for the US Department of
Agriculture’s SNOTEL system.
First click
on the state you are interested
in, say Wyoming. On the state map you can click on the SNOTEL stations in the area you are planning to fish to see what the snow levels are. Start doing this now and return every few weeks to see how the snowpac is progressing.
Start doing this now and return to the sites every few weeks to see how the snowpac is progressing. Generally by early April you will know what the runoff potential will be and be able to mark you summer fishing calendar.
Define your trip
objectives and set realistic expectations.
If your trip is taking you to a new location, on your own, an
expectation of lots of fish and lots of big fish will likely be a recipe for
disappointment. In a new area, on your
own, you can often “figure” the area out.
But if you are going on a family vacation and expect to be able to get
enough stream time in to learn the area, you are likely to be disappointed. If finances permit hire a guide. Guides know the area and the subtle nuances
that make a day on the stream more rewarding.
But don’t expect you guide to give everything up to you. There is a sixth sense that lets us know when
clients are just trying to find your locations.
I learned this hard way in Chile.
Getting the
information you need. There are a lot of book out
there about where to fish and even more magazine and online articles about
specific regions or rivers. They have a
place in the trip planning process but should not be the considered the
definitive word. A couple of years ago
there was an article in Southwest Fly Fishing about the Encampment River. A longtime client told me about it. I’ve been fishing and guiding on the
Encampment River for 25 years. The Encampment is one
of the wests best if you know it well.
But if I had based my trip – timing, locations and techniques – on that
article I would have been very disappointing. How can someone who may never have fished a river system be able to provide reliable information.
Fly Shops are
often cited as a great source of local information. And, to some extent, they are. But fly shops see crowds of people during the
season and often don’t have the time to offer you valuable advice. Don’t forget that most fly shops also run
guided trips. You can be pretty sure
that they are not going to be sending people to locations where paying clients
will be going. Your best bet for getting
valuable information is to establish a relationship with the shop. Call them during the offseason and ask about
the best times to be there, what are the predominate hatches and the like. Stay in contact with them. If there is a local special pattern buy a few
from them to use as models. When you
show up during your trip, remind them about your previous contacts. There is a very good chance that you will get
information that someone without any history with them will.
A couple of
years ago Duane, my friend and fishing buddy, set off on a fly fishing quest to
not just complete the California Heritage Trout Challenge but to catch all the
catchable species. We did it with a 10
day 2,800 mile road trip. We were able
to do it so quickly for one reason: We had insider information. By that I mean we talked to the fisheries
management professional for the areas where the different species occur. They were more than happy to tell us exactly
where to go in their area to find the trout we were looking for. Often times the local manager has a location
he or she is especially proud of and will happily tell you all about it. This “insider trading” has led me to some
fantastic and unexpected fishing locations.
How about an old irrigation ditch full of Colorado River Cutthroats!
If you hire a guide: The guide is
working for you. You have the right, and
responsibility, to have a qualified and compact-able guide. When you are booking ask about the guides,
their experience and knowledge of local conditions. A guide may be great as a float trip guide
but lousy on a walk-wade trip.
Your
responsibility to the shop and the guide is to be brutally honest about you
experiences, skill and physical ability.
We once had a client tell us that they have 10 years of experience only
to find out that really meant was about 20 days on the stream over a ten year
period. It was a long day on a stream
that was rather technical. Now we quiz folks
about what 10 year really means. The
same goes for skill level. Perhaps the
most important consideration is you physical ability, especially on a walk-wade
trip. Wading all day in even moderate
current is strenuous. Add altitude and
perhaps a hike in and out and you have a serious workout. Day one might be OK but the remainder of the
trip might be HARD.
Winter trip planning may not be a good as actually being on the water. But if you do your homework while there is snow on the ground you will have a much better summer trip.
