Best US/NA locale for fly fisherman

[pete41]

Now Tom,
You know Montana has access to the highwater mark for any stream that can float a boat.Only the little streams can be posted.
Jellystone Fishing is Wyoming not Mt..Glacier is not a fisherman's Paradise.Even so Montana has more stream access than anywhere but Alaska.
If you love Browns you can't beat Montana.
Period-nowhere nohow.
However if you like easy to catch fish then Idaho is the place or Wyoming.
Personally I preferred a river where 75% of the trout were the mighty brown but 75% caught were the lesser lights like rainbows and Cutts.
Skill fishing to be a Brown[excuse the expression] expert in those waters.
Just teasing -but the access point is true.

 

I fully agree with Tomgamber. to be boring and repeat my vote for Idaho, the Pandhandle, in particular. (Lewiston, north to the Canadian border).
I fish Montana, on an average of 3-4 times a year, from St.Regis to Yellowstone and as Tomgmaber says............ "It's GREAT, if you like your outdoors paved and private". My last trip, (this past Sept.), Bishop and I hit 3 places that we've fished for years on the Biitterroot and 2 on the Madison, that THIS TIME were "Posted-Private Land-Do NOT Enter".
All, 5 places, we're fished as "favorite spots" for the past 11 years.
After trying to avoid getting run over by the stretch Humvees and finding Latt'e shops, where fly shops USED to be, we crossed back over the divide and finished our trip on the St.Joe, Kelly Creek and St.Maries for the the next 6 days and saw probably 10 people the whole time.
Someone said, "read the magazines and see why Montana fishing is so great", (sorry, something to that effect, anyway), and my only response to that, is, "True. IF... you're a big enough "name" in this sport to get yourself invited onto private land, and/or, guided for free.
The only two times in the past year that Bishop and I have been lucky enough to fish water we once fished at our leisure, was a trip we made with Dave Hughes and another, with Henry Hoffman, friends of ours, that "got us past the gates", as it were.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Board,

Since I've never fished there I'm going to vote for Maine.

Brook trout, landlocks, pike even though most people hate them and kill them on sight, and some excellent fishing for striped bass and bluefish.

I don't mind the Winters, anything even being set adrift on a polar ice flow would be better than a PA summer like we just suffered through. :lol:

Since I can speak from experience about the Southern Tier of New York I can say that it's not a bad place by any stretch. The trout fishing in much of New York State isn't equal to what we have in PA, but the smallmouth, pike and walleye fishing more than makes up for that in my opinion.

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[Giventoflyfish]

For me, Maine by far is where I want to be for fly fishing. Water is everywhere and you can fish year round. You have the options for brook, rainbow, brown, salmon, smallmouth, largemouth, pike etc.. Not to mention the salt water fishing. The Penobscot is amazing for strong smallmouth bass (usually can get 50-100 a day).

Less people, more wild life such as eagles, bears and of course moose.

 

[RLeeP]

>>Now Tom,
You know Montana has access to the highwater mark for any stream that can float a boat.Only the little streams can be posted.>>

Well, see Pete... This is why this stuff is so subjective and subject to individual preference and assignment of value. I mean, for me, when you say that it's only the little streams with access problems, to me that's like saying there is lots and lots of atmosphere on Venus, the only thing that's missing is the oxygen... It's smaller streams that are of the most interest to me.

I'll say it again: I've fished a fair amount out west, including a little bit in Montana and quite a bit in Oregon and Utah. For quality of fishing, I prefer Wisconsin. For scenery, I prefer the Blue Ridge. For a reasonable amalgam of all factors together, I prefer Pennsylvania.

And I don't really care what John Bailey thinks...

.
>>If you love Browns you can't beat Montana.
Period-nowhere nohow.>>

Sure you can. It all depends what part of the experience means the most to you. Period..

Cordially,

RLP

 

[pete41]

thought I made it clear I was teasing Tom who was good naturedly tweaking me with the Mt./Idaho bit.
I answered honestly about rod action but if you want to be a whatever ,be a whatever-lol

 

[tomgamber]

pete41 wrote:
Now Tom,
You know Montana has access to the highwater mark for any stream that can float a boat.Only the little streams can be posted.
Jellystone Fishing is Wyoming not Mt..Glacier is not a fisherman's Paradise.Even so Montana has more stream access than anywhere but Alaska.
If you love Browns you can't beat Montana.
Period-nowhere nohow.
However if you like easy to catch fish then Idaho is the place or Wyoming.
Personally I preferred a river where 75% of the trout were the mighty brown but 75% caught were the lesser lights like rainbows and Cutts.
Skill fishing to be a Brown[excuse the expression] expert in those waters.
Just teasing -but the access point is true.

Oh, thanks..that's the other reason...more rainbows and cutts...less browns. I knew there was something else I like better about Idaho. Whew, thanks I almost forgot the invasive species part.

 

[tomgamber]

I hate to do this to flybinder (especially since he's on the Idaho side of the hill) but I was referring more to places liek the South fork of the Boise, Silver Creek, Wood River, Hagerman area, Bruneau river, Jarbidge river and the countless high mtn lakes of the southern half of the state between McCal land SunValley. All of these places are less then 3 hours from downtown Boise...Oh I almost forgot...Boise river thru the middle of town has Bows, Browns and Cutts, as well as whitefish and Steelhead...(ok those are the hatchery kind). But if you wan to tlive near some killer fishing and still live in a city ( I think Boise is over 250,000 by now) You can;t beat it. I'm sorry I ever left, sort of. Oh yeah one more thing..ok, two...two little very important words...
BLUE TURF!!!

 

[SlumpBuster]

I'd have to vote for Idaho too. Twin Falls is in the center of the state and a close drive to most of the well known streams. There are also many unknown small streams that have some great fishing.

 

[tomgamber]

Slump, you ever been to Billingsly Creek?

 

[jayL]

Tom,

When I graduate in June, I might have to talk to you about some stuff. I'm honestly considering Boise. The job market for my field isn't bad out there either. It's my stretch goal to take a job out there and check it out. I've never been out west.

How are the women? Plentiful, and hopefully good looking?... :-D

 

[mattd]

I love small freestone streams with native brookies. With that in mind I would have to say Rangly lakes area in ME. Plenty of small streams in the area and also have the option of Rapid River for some large water natives.

 

[Bruno]

How are the women? Plentiful, and hopefully good looking?... :-D[/quote]

HA !!! You have obviously never been out west. While I have never lived in Idaho I have lived in a couple of mountain towns in the rockies.

Here is the equation. The higher the elevation = less women. About 6500ft and the snausage party really starts.

The day after I graduated from college I headed west for a couple of years. I was more into rock climbing / skiing then and did not fish as much as I should have. I say go !!!!! I moved with 300.00 bucks and a crappy car. I still have pictures on my desk that I look at everyday. Do it while you can. Don’t work too hard ( work gets in the way of fun) .
I moved back to PA for family, work and the like. I still go back at least once a year mostly to ski. ( it is more fun than fishing folks) .

 

[fishingspider]

I think a solid argument can be made for State College, at least in terms of options available:

1. Awesome trout fishing, no matter your preference (mountain streams, mid-size, or larger waters)
2. Good Smallmouth fishing
3. not too far from Steelhead fishing
4. not too far from good saltwater in MA, CT, NY, NJ

 

[pete41]

The best kept secret in America-
the best looking wonen in the country-%wise.
Go see for yourself
Salt Lake city-
Idaho is good-I was heading there or Eastern Oregon when my new Dodge ram pickup lost the rear axel in Bozeman,Mt. hung around for 31 years.
Boise is beautiful and near some great outdoors action but its hot in the valley of the Snake.Volcanic rock all around.Wine growing country.Pocatello would be my first choice Moscow,Lewiston,Boise, all good-Idaho,Montana,Eastern Oregon,Wyoming would all be fun places Jayl.

 

[SlumpBuster]

Tom,
Yeah I fished Billingsly. Nice stream tough to catch some fish but there are some nice ones in there. If I don't get into grad school I'm movin to Twin Falls after I graduate. Have a job for the summer and then we'll see what I can do. I love the area abd made some good friends out there when I worked out there two summers ago.

Have you ever fished the south hills below Twin Falls. Found some amazing cutt streams in the desert and caught my biggest Brook there.

 

[SlumpBuster]

O yeah.

JayL,

not many to speak of many have a problem with drugs. Maybe your into it but Meth Mouth ain't my thing. I'm takin my girl with me.

 

[tomgamber]

Meth is a big deal out there. My buddy won an Emmy for a doc. they made about it for the local NBC affiliate. Most who survive it do outgrow it. I was 25 and so were the people I know. The smart ones stay away but the do like their ganja out there. Personally, I outgrew those kinds of things when I left college but its worth having enough knowledge to know the danger.

As far as women...can you say ski bunny? More women fly fishers out there than you can shake a 4wt at. There was definately no shortage of girls. BSU, Albertson College (formerly College of Idaho)
NNC..there college girls and stay around after college, not like Pa where they get their degrees and move away.

State college is an awesome town for all those ffing related things too...

I've lived in Boise and fished 250 days a year and can't remember EVER getting skunked. As far as the Treasure Valley getting hot, yup it was 112 one day when I lived there. We got in the car and drove 30 minutes and it was 85 and the water temp was 63. Whats funny is that when its 20 in the valley in the winter, you drive 30 minutes up in altitude and sometimes its 40 or 50.

Mtn biking, white water, skiing, tubing the river, fishing...sometimes all in one day...One sunday we went skiing from 10 am to noon and then got the float tubes out and went fishing in the after noon. We spent the evening grilling out and getting drunk...was one of the best days I've ever had. It was in March.

The only slightly downside to Boise is the ability to keep up with the growth. When I arrived there were 62,000 pop. When I left, 5 years later there were 125,000 people. Its doubled again...But I never drove/biked/walked more than 7 miles to work.

In 1990 there were 0 murders...in 1991 there was 1.