While you're out, make sure to have a camera on hand to capture the colors, the wildlife in transition, and changing weather.
Western New York - Linda Yates
Columbus, Ohio - Dagmar Wolcott
Ozark Mountains, Missouri - Karen Lacey
Huntsville, Utah - Jeff Rivera
Fishlake National Forest, Utah - Jeff Rivera
Endless Mountains, Pennsylvania - Charlene Miller
Mascot, Tennessee - Cody Hensley
Upper Susitna, Alaska - Ben Wilson
Iowa City, Iowa - Susan Lafler
]]>
In 2017, I decided to pick up euro nymphing and I found that the claims were true. I could catch fish in more spots on the water, catch more fish overall, and also get into higher quality of fish. It's not my default go to method for fishing, but I do find it to be the most productive method overall. So when I was getting ready for another trip to Alaska's famous Kenai Peninsula back in August, I decided to bring the euro style rig along. Along with my dad and brother, the three of us were ready to chase trophy rainbows, and for the first time in 20 years we were going to try new methods to reach them.
At first, I thought the euro nymphing would just be an option on the trip. I figured we would try it out, see how effective it was, and alternate between that and standard indicator nymphing. Well, on our first day on the trip, we all decided to start out with euro nymphing setups and it was so effective that 90% of our fishing was done that way.
Our first outing was on the Russian River, a fairly shallow stream that fills up with spawning sockeye and silver salmon along with hungry dolly varden and rainbows looking for an easy meal. This is a river that can drive you crazy but also bless you with fantastic days. The combination of shallow depths, some tight pockets, and a lot of salmon to fish around, can make getting into the feeding zone a challenge with indicator nymphing. We found that we could get our beads (egg patterns) to the feeding zone extremely early in our drifts and keep them there. The productivity was amazing, and we were hooking up with dollies and rainbows nonstop. We also noticed a lot more rainbow trout than usual (more about that later).
So day one was encouraging, and we decided to keep using the euro style setups. Day two put us on a larger river. This river is deeper, faster, and is colored up by glacial silt. We noticed an immediate advantage using the euro nymphing here over traditional indicator nymphing once again. Due to the depth and speed of the river, our indicator rigs would spend the first part of their drifts just getting to depth, whereas with the euro rigs we were down much more quickly and could so much easily control the depth of our drifts. Tapping bottom all day long yielded fish after fish. Once again, our decision to bring the euro rigs was completely validated.
And the trip progressed like this. We fished a large variety of water as we moved about the Kenai Peninsula. Everything from small creeks with big elevation drops to larger streams that were more deep and windy were so much more effectively targeted with the euro style rig than we have ever experienced with indicator nymphing. It wasn't just egg patterns, either. Flesh flies fished beautifully with the euro setup, and I managed to land some quality fish leading that flesh pattern through pools and runs.
The real test, however, was when it was time to float the Kenai River. We fished with a guide we've known for over a decade, and we told him we wanted to try a rod set up with the euro rig. He was all for testing it out, so while my brother and I fished indicators, my dad went with a euro setup. Once again, the euro setup was extremely effective and provided longer drifts that were less prone to lift from the bottom of the river on depth changes. It didn't catch dramatically more numbers, but it was nice to see the style translate well to a drift boat. This probably wouldn't work on tons of rivers, but the glacial silt allows you to fish very near to the boat. For wade fishing on the Kenai, euro nymphing was fantastic.
Throughout the rest of the time in Alaska, over eleven days, euro nymphing proved to be our most effective option. We caught more rainbows, and larger rainbows, than we've ever caught in 20 years of visiting Alaska. We even caught several salmon (not entirely intentional) on the euro style rig, which was lots of fun. The ability to target water from six inches deep to over ten feet deep with the same setup was very valuable for a place like Alaska, and the more stealthy approached offered by not having to fish as much weight and a big plop happy indicator was a true boost to our efforts.
I guessed that the euro style would be effective, but I never guessed it would be so clearly superior to indicator nymphing. For anybody that has yet to give euro nymphing a try and has some curiosity about the method, I would give the Modern Nymphing video series a look. You can tie your own leader setups, and you can actually fish those rigs quite well on 9 ft. rods if that's all you have. If you're really enjoying it, looking into a longer rod that's designed around euro nymphing might be worth your investment.
So, if someone asks if they should give euro nymphing in Alaska a try, I would never hesitate to answer with a resounding yes. In fact, once the dry fly season winds down and the fish are keying in on eggs and flesh, I would make it my primary method.
]]>If you have a smartphone, be it an iPhone or an Android phone, you have the ability to save maps and use them even while you're not connected to the Internet. In Google maps, there's an "offline maps" option (see pics) that allows you to select an area on Google Maps and store it in your phone's local storage.
Once you have defined and saved an offline map area, you will be able to access this area on your phone at any time. You can also continue to use GPS location, even while out of data range, so navigating with full GPS support is easy.
If you have an old smartphone lying around that you don't use anymore, it can still be used for this purpose. When I go backpacking, I will actually take my regular cell phone and a backup phone. Both phones have the area I'll be in saved in Google Maps, making it easy to find my way around. It's also helpful when hiking to keep tabs on your progress towards a destination.
Sure, there are more capable GPS units out there, but your everyday cell phone works great without having to spend the extra coin. Many of us have several old smartphones around, so put them to use in the backcountry.
One word of caution, however. Technology isn't perfect, and at times it outright fails us. You should never put yourself in a situation where you must rely on a phone's GPS to guide you. Technology is not a substitute for planning and knowing your routes. Phones can get wet, get dropped, have unexpected battery drain, or just plain not cooperate at times. While 99% of the time you'll have a reliable experience, make sure you still plan for that 1%.
]]>Getting out on Tuesday with my dog was pretty easy. While I missed my family, not having to worry about every little thing my kids might need for such a trip greatly simplified things. I hit the road with a full backpack, some fly fishing gear, and enough food to get by. With all the springs in the Uintas, I would source my water on the trail and at camp.
The day was gorgeous, and I didn't run into a single person hiking into my destination. As I left the trail a mile in in favor of a more direct approach and a more challenging ascent, I left any hope of running into fellow backpackers far behind. My dog was all in for the adventure as we hopped deadfall, scrambled over boulders, crossed small streams, and skirted around small lakes. Eventually we made it to our destination, and the setting was gorgeous. I pitched my tent, assembled my Orvis Helios 3, and tied on a small renegade dry fly. I thought I should tempt the local brookies.
Within a few minutes I had a gorgeous 16" brook trout to hand. My dog was a little confused when I turned it loose, but I already packed food for the night's dinner. We teased the edges of the lake for a while more, hooking into a few more fish, before the light began to run out on us. A spring ran into the lake directly out of the mountain, and I filled up my water bottles and drank the cold water until I was water logged.
A quick fire, a small dinner, and some star gazing (the stars at 11,000 feet are spectacular) rounded out the night as the 3rd spilled over into the 4th. My first time using a Klymit pad for sleeping was a big success, that little air pad is magical. Highly recommended.
On the morning of the 4th it was silent out, and we spent the morning catching a few more fish, soaking in the serenity, and then finally making the hike back to the car, a few miles away. On the way out, we did come across one other hiker, who gave us a friendly conversation for a few minutes. Like us, he was looking for a quieter experience for the 4th of July.
After getting back to the car, driving home, and unpacking, there was still a few hours of daylight left. I knew the bang and clatter of fireworks and BBQs would be starting up, and I was still feeling the desire to be away from it all. I showered, changed into wet wading attire, and hit the road once more where a short hike would lead me to eager trout. I couldn't resist.
The evening fishing was fantastic. I got home fairly late, and only a handful of fireworks were still going on. While I love a good aerial, a hamburger with a side of watermelon, and some apple pie, I think the backcountry's draw will pull me back again next year.
]]>I definitely own too much fly fishing gear. I have small packs, large packs, and medium packs. Tucked into various tubes and caddies you can find fly rods that range from 1 wt. up through 9 wt., with many multiples in the 2, 3, and 5 wt. classes (with one more showing up in the mail soon). I have four sets of wading boots and over 10 fishing reels, with multiple spools for most of them. I could go on, but I think you all get the idea. Why do I have so much gear? Well, aside from being a self-proclaimed gear junkie, it's mostly because I've gone out and bought a lot of situation-specific gear rather than a smaller set of all-around gear. I have fallen into the unitasker trap. I might be going about things the wrong way, and here's why I'm starting to think so.
I fly fish in a lot of different ways. I use standard indicator nymph rigs, I Euro nymph, I love throwing dry/dropper combos, I fish large dry flies and tiny dry flies. When conditions are right, or when I just feel like it, I'll throw streamers in a wide variety of sizes. I fish from drift boats, from pontoons on a lake, I wade upstream, I wade downstream, and I wet wade in warmer weather. For each activity, I have tried to have my preferred gear for that specific activity. This means I have a dedicated Euro nymphing rod, I have a streamer/stillwater setup, I have a short rod for small creeks, I have longer light presentation rods for bigger stream dry fly fishing, and a ton of different fly lines. Usually I bring enough gear with me to have the "best" rod, reel, and line for the situation.
Well, recently I went out on a fishing trip where I headed out with a friend and I was the passenger, so I was a little more judicious about the pile of gear I was going to load into his truck, so I grabbed two rods (Euro rig and my streamer rig), a couple of reels, my pack, and wet wading boots. I figured I should be covered...except for that we hit a small creek. Now, the final choice of where to fish was up to me (which we made after loading up), and I definitely was responsible for choosing the water, so I can only point to myself for having to take a Loomis NRX on a creek that was 6 feet wide, windy, brushy, and full of very spooky trout. My fishing partner had a more all-around setup, rocking the Helios H3F, from Orvis.
Five minutes in, I knew I was in trouble. As Spencer laid out beautiful and delicate casts on a dime from distance, I was slapping the water roughly and struggling to hit an area within a fish's feeding window. I could see my casts were spooking fish, and I was into the brush at a rate that would made someone think I was new to the sport. Trying to lay out casts with this cannon of a rod just wasn't happening. Had we been tossing streamers or working larger water, I would have been better equipped, but the outing turned into the first time I've been skunked in years. Spencer, on the other hand, fished well and brought a gorgeous wild brown to hand that seemed a little too big for the creek we were in.
I've put myself in similar situations before. I've taken rods too long for a situation or rods too light for some fish. Few things will give you more heartbreak than seeing a fish on your line that goes over 24" and you can't bring them to net because your rod is lacking backbone. What I'm coming to find is that hyper-situational gear is great when situations are ideal, but all-around gear might be better in the long run.
Does that mean that I'm going to ditch my current lineup of rods to invest in a small set of great all-around rods (Helios 3, Loomis Asquith, etc.)? No, not exactly. I love having "the perfect fit" for each situation, but I'm going to have to be better at planning, and probably adding one all-condition rod to my lineup. Without a good do everything rod, I don't have a reliable go to setup. I'm always thinking through what I expect to run into, and I'm often thinking about what I might have to just do without if conditions change. Rod manufacturers love a sucker like me, who buys several offerings in their lineup that are great at single situations rather than something that's adequate, or often very good, in most situations.
Maybe I need to stop buying the equivalent of ten different banana slicers for fly fishing and start looking at just a very sharp knife. Or two. Or three.
]]>
This one sounds obvious, but sometimes it's tempting to jump into a stream or lake when you're a few miles into your trek and it's a warm day. While temperatures might be in the 80s or warmer in May and June, water temperatures in streams and lakes are still lower than they'll be later in the season. With runoff still happening from snowmelt, waters can be deceptively cold and can cause you to cramp up quickly. Increased flow rates also make for less stable footing in rivers. If you must cross a stream, do so with caution and avoid deep areas. Otherwise, save the swimming for a later trip out.
With higher than normal water levels, the edges of lakes and rivers are soft and more prone to erosion. Adding your weight to a riverbank can cause the edge to give way and you can easily fall in unexpectedly. The outside edges of a river bend are particularly unstable at this time of year, so approach the edges of water where you won't be standing over an undercut bank or on a steep incline.
Even lightweight clothes are better than wet clothes. If you accidentally get wet, having a change of clothes can make your trip much more comfortable and safe. Have a small dry bag in your backpack that includes a change of socks, underwear, a shirt, and pants. Even if you don't fall into water, late spring often brings unexpected rainstorms that can be heavy enough to drench your clothing. It's worth the small extra weight trade off to have an extra set of clothes.
It's easy to know where the creeks, ponds, lakes, and streams are going to be, but early in the season snow melt can create a lot of standing water and mud. Even well-worn trails can see large muddy stretches or get inundated with water. Early in the season you need to plan your shoe or boot choices around the idea that you'll be trekking through mud and water. Avoid shoes that are likely to cause blisters when wet or shoes that saturate when submerged. Those Pumas you love are best left at home until later in the year when trails are dry.
If hiking in a group, stay close to one another, especially around water. With lower temperatures and swift moving water, it's important to help someone out of the water as quickly as possible should they fall in. Getting separated will delay help or make it too slow to arrive entirely. If you have kids along, keep them close and warn them clearly about staying out of the water or walking along river edges.
This is a general safety rule for any time you head into the backcountry or even out on a well-worn trail. You should always let someone you trust know where you plan on going so they can send help if you don't return when you are expected to be back. If plans change, update your contact. And while it's not always possible to inform someone if you do change your plans (lack of cell coverage, they're not answering calls, last minute plan change), the I Went Hiking Safety Magnet is a simple way to leave a marker on your vehicle or at your base camp. If help needs to come for you, it's always going to arrive faster if people know where to look.
Use common sense while out on the trail. If something doesn't look or feel safe, avoid it. Don't take risks, even if it means that it will cut your outing short. Come back later in the season to revisit areas that aren't quite ready to be approached safely. Getting a major injury early in the season could shut down the entire summer and fall for you, and even worse, you could lose your life taking risks that just aren't necessary. The backcountry is amazing, but it's not without risks. Be careful and always do everything you can to return home safely.
]]>As I was doing my last check on my fly boxes and fishing pack in the parking area, another car pulled up. The driver hopped out, followed by a large dog with a boxy head. It snarled at me as it ran towards me, until the owner growled at it to come back. The dog reluctantly returned to the car. I figured it was a driver making a quick stretch, so I ignored it all and made my hike down to the water, about half a mile below.
An hour into fishing, I had just finished releasing a beautiful cutthroat, when a huge impact almost sent me tumbling into the water. I turned around and that dog was snarling and snapping at me. Luckily I had my long-handled net and I was able to hold it by the hoop end and jab at the dog with the handle end. After catching it in the eye a couple of times, it backed off and ran back for the trees. My heart was racing and I sat there in shock. Luckily when it attacked, my pack had taken the initial bite, because that dog could have easily put me in the hospital.
I continued to fish, and when my time was up, I had allowed the beauty of the area and the quality of the experience to put the incident behind me, though I spent the rest of my time keeping an eye on the tree lines. As I started the hike to my car, I noticed three fishermen floating Powerbait under a bobber. Another clear violation. Frustrated, I chose not to engage the men, and I continued up to my car, picking up bottles and cans along the way in my Bring it Out Bag (shameless plug, I know).
When I reached my car, I noticed two things: the dog that attacked me was locked up in the car next to mine, and that my fish pack was open and I was missing a Tacky Fly Box full of flies. There was also litter scattered about in front of the car. At this point I decided that this place was too special to just let things stand. I'm not usually the most confrontational person, but since I was going to need to backtrack steps to look for my fly box, I figured I would have a word with the men down on the water.
As I approached where I had been fishing when the dog attacked, which I figured was what had caused my pack to open and make the fly box fall, one of the three men that had been fishing with bait was in my spot, just getting ready to toss out a neon-green clump of Powerbait. Noticing my fly box on the ground, I picked it up and then approached the man.
"Excuse me," I begin. "Were you aware that you weren't supposed to fish with bait here? It's artificial flies and lures only."
"Yep," he responded with a sarcastic tone. "You want to take my pole from me? If not, I'm going to keep fishing how I want. Go get cozy in your Patagonia and yoga pants."
He clearly wasn't going to be swayed, and then he went into a cuss-filled rant about snobby fly fishermen wanting to control all waters and so on. I knew there was no point, so I headed back to my car. He wasn't interested in hearing that fish mortality rates were very important on this water, as the cutthroat were used as brood stock for the state's fish stocking program and native population restoration. He surely didn't want to hear about what I thought of his dog. So I left.
I could have dug my heels in and got into a heated argument with the man, and it very well could have escalated into something uglier, but there's no point in that. Instead, I made my way up the side of the mountain, got to my car, and calmly called and reported the incident to the local wildlife management authority. They're trained to handle confrontations with people who ignore regulations, and they were appreciative of the report.
Regulations are in place for good reason, but it's not up to us to enforce them on others. I have had tense conversations with others violating regulations in the past (trespassers, keeping over the limit, illegal baits, ignoring slot limits, etc.), but it has never been productive. And when it comes down to it, I don't have the authority to enforce these rules, and everybody else knows it.
If you find yourself witnessing anybody in violation of regulations, call and report it. While it's never fun playing narc on your fellow outdoors enthusiasts, often times there are very important reasons why the regulations are in place. Even if the person doesn't end up getting caught, it's good that local wildlife and fishery management enforcement knows that these violations are being witnessed on waters with special regulation.
When it comes down to it, the job to manage proper use of our natural resources falls on all of us. We can do our part by always knowing the regulations and following them. When we see others in violation, we can report it if the situation won't allow for a gentle reminder.
Get out, enjoy the wild spaces around us, and help ensure that they're being used responsibly.
]]>If you're going to be backpacking, you probably spent a good amount of time planning your routes and what gear to take. If fishing is a main part of your trip, especially if it's the focus of your trip, you'll need to really spend time before you go researching which lakes are worth your time. Just because there's blue on a map, it doesn't mean that fish are in there.
Scour backpacking forums, fishing report forums, check social media for mentions of lakes by name, and ask around. While many people are hesitant to give away their favorite fishing spots, usually you can piece together small bits of information to form a good picture of what a lake holds. Take spectacular fishing reports from a single source with a grain of salt, but also realize that many will downplay success just as often as they overstate it.
Many states have fish stocking reports easily available for public review online. Lakes that are stocked often aren't always the best places to hit, but they will definitely have fish when you go if a stocking was recent. Stocking frequency is often a result of fishing pressure or whether or not a lake suffers regular winter kill. Lakes that are never stocked should probably be avoided unless you can find confirmation that fish have been found there recently.
Here's how I find lakes I want to target in the backcountry. Not all of these are hard rules, but more helpful guidelines. If a lake is able to check the boxes on most or all of these factors, you better believe I'm putting on my hiking pack and checking it out.
Lake Depth
You don't need a deep lake for large fish. In fact, shallow lakes often hold larger fish due to an abundance of food sources at lower elevations, but at higher elevations, deep lakes help fish to avoid winter kill. In the high mountain elevations, shallow lakes are more prone to freezing solidly or for suffering dramatic oxygen loss. Lakes that freeze solid and have a high winter kill mean that, even if the lake is stocked well throughout summer, that the fish will never grow to large sizes. Deeper lakes allow fish to hold over during the winter and allow for fish to get bigger.
Source of Water
Most lakes exist as a result of one or more inlet streams, but in the high mountains many lakes might form from snowmelt or natural springs. Lakes with healthy water sources are for more stable in regards to fish populations. Lakes that rely old snowmelt alone will run dry on lean years or they might get so low that they freeze solid over the winter. Look for lakes with inlet streams, but don't limit your search to them alone.
Spring fed lakes are often a sign of hidden treasure. When a lake is made up primarily of spring water, the temperatures in the lake are more consistent, enjoy a more reliable oxygen level, and will be far more resistant to winter kill or drying up in summer. Spring fed lakes will often support better levels of aquatic bug life for fish to feast on year round, as well. If you can find a decently sized spring fed lake, mostly in regards to depth, that shows up on fish stocking reports (especially if stocking is infrequent), you're most likely onto something worth checking out. Some of the biggest fish I've ever caught in the backcountry were on lakes that have no visible inlet stream, but they were deep enough to avoid winter kill. The lake pictured below was small in surface area, but it had decent depth and was fed generously by springs. It was also home to some very large brook trout.
Surrounding Plant Life
If plant life is scare around a lake, it's hard to believe that the lake itself will be supporting much animal life. While you don't need tons of trees, grasses are a good sign. Many high mountain lakes will have boulders around them due to glaciers carving up the landscape, but among them look for signs of plant growth.
Structure
Fish really do need some sort of structure to grow. Smaller fish can do well surviving on bugs, but larger fish feed on smaller fish, and without structure they don't have many opportunities to ambush prey or rest. Some structure can come in the form of terrain, so lakes with large boulders around their shores are sure to provide good underwater cover.
Lakes that have a lot of timer on their edges are also great to check out. I've found some impressively large cutthroat and brook trout hiding just a few feet from shore that were cruising along downed trees.
Stocking Reports
Stocking reports will indicate whether or not a lake is managed as a fishery, but they don't always tell the story of how many fish or the quality of fish you might find. As mentioned earlier, frequent stocking ensures that fish will be there, but it also might indicate heavy fishing pressure or that lake's inability to maintain populations well. Infrequent stocking can indicate a few things, but you're going to have to explore a bit to find out what the story is.
A lake that isn't stocked often may do a great job maintaining its fish numbers, which would mean that you're likely to find healthy populations of fish there. On the flip side, a lake that isn't stocked often might not get tons of attention due to the difficulty in stocking the lake because of its remote location. If you call the Division of Wildlife Resources, they might offer up the answer to that question for you. The lake below shows up regularly on the DWR stocking reports, and I found it a big help. This lake is home to some healthy cutthroat, feisty brook trout, and some surprisingly large rainbows which will give you some amazing battles.
If a lake has no history of fish stocking in the high country, you're not likely to find fish there unless native fish are very common in the area and the lake has some sort of inlet and/or outlet connecting it with other waters.
High mountain lakes are fickle. With wildly swinging temperatures, rapidly changing weather, and other fluctuating conditions, lakes can have off days, even when conditions seem ideal. Give a lake more than one try before you write it off. Some lakes will also have their prime time of the year earlier or later than others, especially based on their elevation. It takes a lot of patience to find the hidden gems in the backcountry, but they're well worth the effort. The lake below was a bust the first time I visited it, but it was a riot the next time and I was able to hook into some bruiser brook trout.
It's a good idea to save notes about your trips into high mountain lakes and to jot down what kind of weather you had, what the wind conditions were like, the date, and the water temperatures you measured, and what flies or lures were particularly effective. It can take a few years to form up a reliable picture of what turns a lake on or off to great fishing, but it'll pay off big time for when you want to try new waters out. I keep a Google Doc that I add to after each trip.
All these tips are just my personal rules for choosing which new lakes I want to target, and they have been a pretty good predictor of quality fisheries. As you get to know the backcountry better, you'll start to form your own set of guidelines. As conditions can vary greatly from lake to lake, stick with the personal rules you come up with and refine them as you go. I am confident, however, that using the guidelines I've laid out here that you will have far more success than randomly picking places to try or chasing the latest brag post on Facebook or a fishing forum alone. There are many sources of information out there, so much sure to use everything you can to increase your odds of success!
]]>Legality of these laws aside, these waters don't need to be closed down to anglers, but a lot of landowners are tired of many of the problems anglers and hunters bring with them. And it's really hard to blame frustrated landowners when you really look at all the issues that they have to deal with. Everything from litter and property damage to fences being left open and theft are far more common than we'd like to think. So when a landowner exercises their right to shut down foot traffic across their property, it's disappointing, but understandable.
I feel like the path to increased river access is forged by creating better relationships with landowners. If you're fishing private land, make sure it's always with clearly granted permission. Trespassing damages angler-landowner relationships quicker than most other things will. Beyond gaining permission to fish private land, here are other things to be mindful of during your time passing through a landowner's property.
This is an easy rule to remember and follow. If you're passing through a gate, leave it how you found it. Don't close an open gate, and don't leave a gate open that was closed. Many landowners have cattle and gates are left opened or closed by the landowner for a reason. If you're opening a gate to pass through, always secure it in the same way you found it (never lazily secure a gate).
Maintaining good fences is a very time consuming job for landowners. If you need to cross a fence, look for a gate or step over structure. Bending barbed wire down or up can weaken areas in the fence, so it's best finding a suitable place to cross fences. Absolutely NEVER cut a fence. It's crazy that this needs to be mentioned, but it's common to find cut barbed wire or chain link. If you accidentally damage a fence while crossing, notify the landowners ASAP and offer help in fixing it or paying for the damage. Usually it's not a big deal if the damage was accidental, and they will appreciate the offer and honesty. Letting their animals escape is not appreciated, obviously.
I don't need to explain why leaving litter is terrible. Just don't do it. To go the extra mile, try to bring a bit of extra litter out with you. Even if it's just one or two things, leaving the land better than you found it helps. Our Bring it Out Bag is easily packed along to help you bring more out than you bring in.
If you get permission to fish on private water, don't assume that you have an open green light. Always ask for permission on each trip, and if you're coming with someone else, make sure that person has their own permission as well. Landowners like to know who is on their property and when. Be respectful in how you ask and how often you ask for permission.
I know, it's not always fun tattling on others, but if you're on private land and you see trespassers, give the landowner a heads up. If those trespassers cause damage or any problems, you can cover your own backside a bit. Beyond that, trespassers need to be held accountable so we can help curb the behavior.
I personally rarely keep any fish, but if I'm fishing someone's private property, I never take anything unless the landowner specifically asks me to. Sure, the landowner doesn't technically own the fish, but it's a bad look to bring out a limit of fish every time you gain access to their land. Save the "limiting out" for fishing trips on public land and when you're on put and take managed fisheries.
Whatever the laws may be, always try to show your appreciation for the landowner that allows you to fish their land. A quickly spoken thank you on your way out, a friendly wave, or even a small gift is not out of line. After a season of fishing multiple times on a landowner's property, I'll often drop off a multitool, a nice pocket knife, or some small token of thanks as an opportunity to show my gratitude and speak with the landowner face to face. It's opened more gates to me over the years than just about any other thing I've tried.
If you're unable to get access to a stretch of river on private property, go find other water to fish. Arguing won't help, and it may only damage future attempts by yourself or others. A quick "no problem, I figured I would just ask" and a quick exit is how to handle rejection, even if it feels unjustified.
Let's work a little harder to not only be respectful of landowners' and their rights to maintain private property free of trespassing, but to also take better care of the land we are given access to. If every time someone crossed the sidewalk in front of your yard was paired with trash being left behind in your bushes and flower beds, you probably wouldn't be too excited about someone asking to cut through your backyard to grab a few apples off of your trees.
If we can increase our respect for the landowners, I truly believe that we'll increase our stream access without having to take things before a judge.
]]>Plastic and rubber make up a big part of the litter found in the outdoors. Unfortunately, plastic litter is also among the most dangerous litter for wildlife. Plastic bags have an uncanny ability to make their way into water, where fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, whales, and other animals mistake them for food (a clear plastic bag looks a lot like a jellyfish) or they accidentally ingest the plastic along with actual food. Plastic can cause animals to have intestinal blockages, fill their stomachs, and cause them to die in a variety of ways.
In addition to eating plastic and rubber, many animals get entangled in plastic packaging or rubber bands. Once entangled, animals can suffocate, lose limbs due to loss of blood circulation, or starve. Everything from plastic rings and rubber bands to hair bands and peanut butter jars can pose big risks to wildlife.
It's hard to go anywhere these days without finding soda or beer cans and bottles. Every lake, river, and hiking trail is plagued with discarded drink containers. Animals, especially smaller rodents, often get trapped in bottles and cans looking for food. As bottles break, it's easy for their sharp edges to cut animals attracted to the smells inside.
Glass and metals can also be a factor in starting wildfires.
Food waste seems harmless as it generally will biodegrade, but it can actually be pretty harmful. Food waste can cause water contamination, lead to increased algal blooms, and make animals that eat it sick. Food waste will also attract animals into areas where they come into contact with humans, which often can lead to bad situations, especially in the backcountry.
Gum is especially dangerous. Gum is a common choking hazard for animals, and many birds will not survive eating gum. Fish will also eat gum and it can cause digestion problems. Gum should be packed out and not left in the wild or in the water.
Another very common bit of litter to come across, cigarette butts are a real problem. Birds, fish, and mammals will often eat cigarette butts and they can easily cause intestinal blockages or choking.
Discarding a cigarette has also been the cause of many wildfires. You should never toss cigarette butts aside. Always pack them out.
Fishing line, hooks, and baits are often left along rivers, lakes, and beaches. Baited hooks are often eaten by animals, especially small mammals and birds, though it's common for a hiker's dog to eat a baited hook as well. Ingesting hooks is often fatal for animals.
Discarded fishing line is a major hazard for wildlife. Animals can easily become entangled in fishing line. When changing your line or dealing with bad tangles, it's important that you properly dispose of used line.
Some litter is unintentional, but most of it is just carelessness or a lack of respect for nature. Unfortunately, a few careless campers, hikers, or anglers can really make areas look messy and create a number of hazards for wildlife. Even if we can pack out everything we pack in, sometimes it takes a bit more effort. If we can all pack out one or two things we find during outings, we can have a huge impact. I believe that responsible hikers and anglers vastly outnumber the problematic ones, so a little vigilance can really go a long way.
Our upcoming product, the Bring it Out Bag will make packing trash out easy and convenient. We're hoping to have them available by mid to late April. And even if our bag doesn't interest you, please consider joining our efforts in keeping our backcountry a bit more clean.
]]>Missing strikes will happen, no matter how good of a fisherman you are. On some days, multiple misses can start to feel frustrating, and you're left questioning what is wrong with you or your gear. Here are a few things I have done to dramatically improve my success rate when setting hooks. I've broken them down by dry flies, nymphs, and streamers.
Getting good hook sets on dry flies takes a combination of patience and urgency. That sounds like a contradiction, but it'll make sense the more you refine your hook setting techniques.
1. Mind your slack. Too much slack in your line will make setting the hook difficult. In order to set the hook, you only need to move your fly an inch or so, but having to pull an extra 5-6 feet of slack line will delay your timing.
2. Let the fish fully take the fly. When the fish slowly rises to the take, it can be hard waiting to set the hook. You can't set it as soon as the fish breaks the surface, but rather once they have swallowed the fly. Some trout, such as cutthroat, will often turn as they take, and it makes the delay between them breaking the water surface and actually taking the fly a bit longer. If you keep setting the fly early, say something to yourself such as, "there it is" as the fish breaks the surface and then set the hook. This is the patience part.
3. Set the hook immediately! Once the fly has been fully taken, you're on a short clock. The fly won't feel natural to the fish, and they'll spit it out. You have less than a second to set the hook, so don't hesitate. Here is where urgency kicks in.
4. Keep the line between your fingers. As your line drifts, you should be making mends and gathering slack, but make sure that when you set the hook, you have the line pinched between your fingers. Pinching the line helps you create immediate tension on your hook set.
5. React differently based on the fly's position when it is taken. If your fly is floating upstream or across stream when it is taken, a quicker hook set is in order than when your fly is downstream. On downstream sets, a more gentle rod lift is proper.
6. Consider going to barbless hooks. Barbless hooks need less pressure to penetrate and set. A barbed hook is harder to set, and with these smaller dry flies, barbless hooks have a better hook rate.
Hook sets while nymphing are a reaction to a change in your line's or an indicator's behavior. Unless you're fishing crystal clear water, it's rare that you will be able to watch for the moment when the fish takes your fly. Typically your fly is taken, and that causes your line to momentarily pause or shake in the drift. By the time you see this, the fish is already figuring out what it has taken is not food, so your time is already short. Here's how to make the most of that window of opportunity.
1. Slack is a killer. Having too much slack in your line can seriously delay your hook set timing. Only have the slack you need for a proper drift and keep your line mended.
2. React to almost everything. Since you're getting a delayed signal from the fish taking your fly to the reaction in your line or indicator, you need to react to even subtle twitches. Over time you'll be able to clearly distinguish between your flies bouncing on the bottom and a strike, but any hesitation in your drift that can't be easily dismissed as bouncing should be followed up with a hook set. Some takes are VERY subtle as the fish may simply open their mouth and close on the nymph without any additional movement.
3. Set the hook downstream. This one takes some training to burn into your muscle memory, but when a fish strikes, don't lift your rod up, but rather set downstream of the strike. Under the water the fish is taking your fly in the drift, and setting the hook downstream will pull the fly into the corner of its mouth and cause a more reliable hook rate than pulling it up or away from its mouth. If your fly is downstream on the take, set to an angle rather than straight up.
4. Pinch the line between your fingers on the set. See the full explanation in the previous section.
5. Like dry flies, consider barbless hooks.
Streamers can drive you crazy, because you are simply going to miss a lot more hook sets while using streamers than any other type of fly. Streamers will give you many false strikes, where a fish might just be swiping sideways at your fly out of aggression, but not necessarily taking a bite. Some streamers will also get nipped at, but the hooks are never in the fish's mouth. You have to be patient and willing to deal with additional "missed" strikes while using streamers. But for legit strikes, here's what you can do to improve your hook rate.
1. Keep your rod tip low. Once your streamer is in the water, keep the tip of your rod low to the surface. This keeps tension on your line, and any strikes can be more easily detected. When setting the hook, don't raise your rod tip until the fish is already on the line.
2. Strip set, don't lift. When stripping in your streamer, don't lift your rod tip when you feel a strike. Instead, strip the line with a quick short strip. This is the best way to set the hook, and if you miss, you can continue to strip line. Often a fish that misses the streamer will come right back for it. Lifting your rod tip will pull the fly out of the fish's view and is a far less reliable manner to set the hook than a strip set.
3. Once you've set the hook with a strip set, get your slack taken in quickly. With streamer fishing you have a lot of line on and in the water. Many fish are lost right after setting the hook by not getting pressure on the fish. Streamers are shaken easily if good pressure isn't maintained. After the set and pressure is applied, the fight can properly begin.
4. Seriously, don't lift your rod tip. The hardest habit to break for people who don't fish streamers often is to refrain from lifting their rod to set the hook. You REALLY need to do a strip set. Of all things, tip #2 is the most important thing here.
]]>But if fish are handled properly, catch and release is easily the best way to minimize your impact when visiting a stream or lake. Here are the steps you can take to handle fish properly. And while they sound like a lot, they become second nature fairly quickly.
Barbed hooks are actually counterproductive in fly fishing. A carryover from traditional gear where weighty lures, swimbaits, and crankbaits are used, barbs are meant to keep these heavier lures hooked when a fish shakes and rolls. The weight of these lures makes the barb necessary, but when using flies, there's simply not enough weight to cause the fly to need an extra anchor point. As long as you keep pressure on a fish, a barb is not needed. Bending down your barb or using barbless hooks makes releasing the fish MUCH easier, quicker, and does less harm to the fish's mouth. Some areas I fish require barbless hooks, and I've never noticed a higher rate of lost fish while using barbless hooks.
There are actually several advantages to using barbless hooks, and I'll cover those in a separate post. But note: if you are using lures, you will lose more fish with barbless hooks, it's just simply not true for fly fishing.
During the excitement of playing a hooked fish, we often focus on just getting the fish to hand so we can take that quick grip and grin photograph. It's common to "beach" a fish by dragging it up on the river bank or onto the lake shore, but this can be harmful to fish. The dragging on land can remove the fish's slime barrier, or a flopping fish can strike rocks and easily injure itself. Whenever possible, bring your fish to hand in the water or use a net.
Before picking the fish up, quickly wet your hands. This will make for a more gentle interaction and help the fish keep its slime barrier in place. If your net has been hanging from your back, give it a quick dip in the water ahead of netting the fish. The quick dip will cool the mesh and make it more slick.
Avoid nylon/rope knotted nets as they will harm a fish by removing scales along with the slime barrier. These nets are inexpensive, but they are brutal on fish. Look for a rubber mesh net for more gentle fish netting.
While removing the hook and getting the fish ready for a quick picture, try to keep the fish's head and gills in the water. Holding your fish in the net while cameras are readied is greatly beneficial to the fish. Pull the fish from the water only to quickly take a picture and a brief look.
Try your best to keep total out of water time to 10 seconds or less. Try to release a fish within 30 total seconds of landing it. Quicker releases are MUCH better. If a fish is particularly difficult, cut your losses and let it go. Don't sit and wait for it to calm down. That calming down might be a sign of exhaustion and distress from lack of oxygen.
When holding your fish, do your best to hold it as lightly as possible. Squeezing the fish is harmful and may actually cause it to struggle and flop more. Keep the fish calm with gentle handling, but if it flops, let it flop rather than squeezing it. To avoid squeezing out of reflex, try not to wrap your fingers or thumb around the fish. Hold the fish over water so that if it flops, it falls into the water and not on the ground or into the boat.
NEVER TOUCH THE FISH'S GILLS! Fish gills are literally the lifeblood of the fish, and touching them can easily damage them or introduce bacteria into them. Hooking a fish by the gill plate for a picture is highly dangerous for a fish. There's never a good reason to stick your fingers into the gills of a fish that you intend to release.
Tip: If you hold a fish on its side in the water, it will often quickly calm down.
Note: I wetted my gloves before lifting this fish. The impact of dry gloves on fish is still being debated, but cotton tailing gloves are showing potential signs of harm. More research on gloves needs to made, and I will act according to emerging data.
When releasing the fish, hold it gently in water until it is ready to swim away under its own power. If there is little current, slowly move the fish forward and backwards. When the fish is ready to leave under its own power, let it swim away and try to watch it go. If it turns sideways or upside down, see if you can get a hand back on it to steady it for a while longer. Never throw a fish back to the water as you won't have the ability to gauge its readiness to swim under its own power.
When it comes down to it, the faster and more gently you can release a fish, the better off it will be. Keep the fish in the water as much as possible, protect the fish's slime barrier, and avoid letting the fish fall on or strike hard surfaces. Everything listed above supports those three main points. Catch and release fishing is a great way to go about things, but it's only effective if practiced properly.
]]>Most salmonids (trout, char, whitefish, grayling, salmon) reproduce in rivers and streams, though the time of year in which they spawn varies. Most of these fish usually look for similar river features to spawn in as well. Knowing a little bit about how and when trout spawn can make it easy to locate and fish to these exposed trout, but should you? Should you stay off the river entirely during spawning seasons?
The answers to those questions are complicated. If you know how to responsibly fish during spawning periods, you can absolutely fish year round without having much impact on future generations of fish, but it does require you to be mindful. Here are a few tips on how to fish responsibly during the spawn, as well as some general information about when trout spawn and in what type of water.
This is probably the easiest and most important pair of rules to follow when fishing during spawning season. Redds are areas in the river that trout of prepared for laying eggs. They are found in gravelly areas on the stream, typically in flatter water, and very often just above a hole or plunge. You will notice that redds have a lighter color to them than the surrounding areas on the river due to the fish fanning their tails to clean out the river bottom. Trout will stack up on these redds while the females lay eggs and the males fertilize them. Trout will be VERY aggressive while on the redds to protect the eggs and their spawning territory.
Walking across a redd can crush literally thousands of eggs and dislodge countless more. A dislodged egg has zero chance of hatching, and obviously the same is true of a crushed egg. If you have trouble identifying redds, only cross in rocky areas of the river; avoid gravel as much as possible.
Fishing to trout on their redds is also harmful, and many people (including us) will tell you it's unethical. Yes, these fish are highly susceptible, but catching one may ruin their efforts to spawn entirely. When you catch a female from a redd, the stress of the catch will cause her to immediately start dropping her eggs, a reflex action. While you're netting a fish, eggs dropped at this time will only end up drifting freely in the river. Males caught will also drop milt in the same sort of reaction. These fish will waste their reproductive abilities while you set them free.
During the spawn, other fish in the river will be extra aggressive. Fish, including very large fish that aren't actively spawning, will be in the river preparing to spawn or to feed on eggs in the drift. You can catch some amazing fish during the spawn while avoiding redds entirely. Fish deep holes, undercut banks, or shallow edges during the spawn, and give the actively spawning fish in the gravel runs a chance to do their thing. The fishery will be all the better for it.
Different species of trout spawn at different times of the year. Some trout will spawn in the spring through early summer (and even to mid-summer in higher elevations), while others will be on their redds starting in early fall through mid-winter. You can look below for the timing of spawns by type of trout, but realize that your elevation, water temperature, and local climate can affect those time periods.
In the spring and early summer, water can often be a little off color due to higher runoff conditions, so you really need to be careful where you step. Spotting a redd might be harder than it is in the fall, so pick your river crossing locations carefully. Never walk upstream nor downstream through the water during spawning season. If you need to change locations, walk along the banks.
In the fall, water levels are often low and the streams tend to have a slower flow to them. Water will also tend to be more clear, so use this to your advantage to identify redds before stepping into the water. With lower flows, try not to kick up mud and silt as you cross the river. Silt settling over eggs can be a death sentence. If you cross the river near a redd, it's always better to cross downstream than upstream of the redd.
As mentioned earlier, do everything you can not to catch fish on redds. If you know it's time for fish to be spawning, change your targeting technique to target another species or be careful not to pull fish from the redds and look for them in other spots on the river.
You often catch more fish during the spawn than during any other time of year. Fish are naturally more aggressive while spawning or preparing to spawn. Even non-spawning fish will be more active and aggressive during these times of the year. Bending the barbs down on your hook will allow you to release fish easier, and you'll have your fly back in the water more quickly between catches.
When playing a fish, try to land it quickly. You can usually put more pressure on a fish than you think, and getting them to your net quickly will keep from exhausting the fish and hopefully keep females from dropping eggs and males from dropping milt. If taking pictures, keep it brief and try to get the fish turned loose in under 30 seconds from landing it. If possible, try to keep the fish out of water for under 10 seconds total. Have cameras ready, and lift the fish from the water only at the moment you take the picture. Always ensure a fish is properly revived before releasing it into the current.
Barbless hooks, nets, and a good hook remover will all reduce stress on the fish. Avoid dragging the fish across the ground, over rocks, or onto grass. The more you keep the fish in the water, the more likely it will be able to successfully spawn. Hold fish gently, and never squeeze them to keep them from flopping. A firm grip can easily damage a fish's internal organs or cause them stress.
Properly releasing fish, especially spawners, greatly reduces the negative impacts of fishing during spawning season.
As a basic rule of thumb, if it's fall or spring, it's spawning season for some species of trout, but whether or not trout are spawning where you're at depends on a few factors. Use this as a general reference, but know that it's a good idea to talk to your local Division of Wildlife Resources for more specific information.
Rainbow trout are spring spawning fish, and can start their spawn beginning in March and will continue through May. At high elevations, the spawn may start later than at low elevations and end later as well. Rainbow trout look for gravel-bottomed streams for their spawning grounds. Their redds can most often be found above holding water in shallow runs.
Cutthroat trout are late spring to early summer spawning fish. Starting around late April, cutthroat will begin their spawn and can be found spawning into July. In coastal areas, some cutthroat have been observed spawning as early as February due to warmer water temperatures. Like rainbows, cutthroat trout look for gravelly riverbeds in shallow water to spawn. At times, late spawning rainbows may spawn with early spawning cutthroat, creating a cutbow hybrid offspring.
Golden trout are also a late spring spawning fish, from late April through mid to late June. Golden trout dig their redds in gravelly sections of streams and are most actively spawning during the warmer parts of the day.
Brown trout are fall spawning fish, usually starting in late September and running through mid-December. In the lower fall water, browns make their redds in gravel-bottomed runs and will often stage and hold in deep holes prior to spawning.
Brook trout spawn in the fall, from September through November in most cases. The brook trout spawn overlaps with brown trout often, but as a typically higher elevation fish, brookies will often start a little earlier. Like other salmonid species, brook trout prefer gravel-bottom runs for the location of their redds. Though rare, a hybrid cross between brook and brown trout may produce a tiger trout.
Bull trout also spawn in the fall, though their timing can vary a bit depending on whether they're found in spring-fed waters or runoff water. Typically, bull trout will begin their spawn in September and can be found spawning until late November or early December. Look for their redds in gravelly, flat sections of the streams. Bull trout are protected in most areas and fishing to them during the spawn and other times of the year is often illegal. Bull trout are highly migratory spawners, so finding them can be a challenge.
Dolly Varden are also fall spawners, starting in early September and running through December. Some Alaskan dolly varden will be in full spawn coloring by early August. Look for dolly varden redds to be found in gravel sections of the river.
Like other char (brook trout, bull trout, dolly varden), lake trout are fall spawners and will be actively spawning from September through December. While most lake trout will spawn in rocky areas of their home lake, some can be found in streams as well, preferring gravelly river bottoms.
Knowing the times and locations that spawning is likely to occur can greatly improve your contributions to protecting fisheries. If you plan to fish during the spring or fall, always check with local regulations to see if certain sections of rivers are protected during spawning. Some rivers are outright closed to fishing during the spawn, while others may carry added restrictions. Do your part to help fish successfully spawn and ensure that each visit to the river is greeted with a good population of fish.
]]>Northern Utah's Weber River is a true Blue Ribbon water with plenty of public access. Despite heavy angler pressure, this stream produces high numbers of brown trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, bluehead sucker, and cutthroat trout (thanks in huge part to Trout Unlimited's tireless work). The high numbers of fish and anglers have an unfortunate side effect: the Weber River attracts a lot of litter.
As someone who probably fishes the Weber at least 100 times a year, the trash I have seen really wears on me. I try to pack a little out every time I go, but the sheer volumes of trash overwhelms those efforts. Everything from cans and bottles to sytromfoam bait containers and discarded pieces of clothing are along the bank and riverbed. And it's not just the Weber River. I see it everywhere I travel, some places better than others, some worse.
All this trash inspired one of our upcoming products, the BIO (Bring it Out) Bag, and my wife, my kids, and I were up on the Weber this past Saturday to test out one of our prototypes. After five minutes, I was happy with the bag's performance, but my kids wanted to do more. We had a few grocery bags in the car, so we spent the next 15 minutes filling them. We stopped because we ran out of bags, not because the trash ran out. In 20 minutes, and in a stretch of river only about 200 feet long, we filled NINE bags.
We can't wait to get the BIO Bag launched. Not only will it help keep our spaces cleaner (more on how it works when we get nearer to launch), but with each bag we sell, a portion of the profits will be donated to Trout Unlimited. Until that day comes, however, we hope that maybe you'll pack a piece of trash or two out at the end of your next outing.
We can do better. We can create a greater outdoors.
]]>As I've spent time hiking, or most often fly fishing, across Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, California, Washington, Montana, and my home state of Utah, I've had incredible experiences in our wild spaces. Along with these experiences, I've noticed that a few small problems could be solved with a few simple solutions. It's my hope that through A Greater Outdoors that those problems can find their solutions.
The I Went Fishing Upstream/Downstream Magnet is the first product to launch that was developed in house, but more are in the works and will be rolling out soon. As those products launch, that focus on everything from helping to reduce litter to improving safety during outings, we'll work hard to continue to find innovative solutions to problems that men, women, and children face on the trail or along the river.
]]>