Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2022 i Fly Fisherman

BEING A FLY FISHER MEANS FINDING JOY AND SHARING GRATITUDE FOR THE RIVERS, STREAMS, LAKES, AND PUBLIC LANDS WE ALL ENJOY. THAT’S WHY I WAS COMPELLED TO WRITE ABOUT FISHING IN THE WIND RIVER RANGE THIS ISSUE (PAGE 44). WHEN I PORED OVER TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS OF THE REGION, AND THEN THIS SUMMER STOOD ON ONE OF ITS GREAT PEAKS AND SURVEYED THE LAKES AND STREAMS IN ALL DIRECTIONS, I KNEW I’D NEVER BE ABLE TO FISH THEM ALL. BUT THE VAST OPPORTUNITY IN THIS WILDERNESS IS A GREAT GIFT WE ALL NEED TO SHARE AND REVERE. Being a fly fisher also means taking action to protect what we’ve got. We can’t stand by each year and say nothing as we have less water, fewer fish, and fewer places to fish.…

ALMOST 150 MILES UPRIVER FROM THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER, THE BONNEVILLE LOCK AND DAM IS THE FIRST MASSIVE HYDROPOWER DAM STEELHEAD AND SALMON MUST CROSS ON THEIR JOURNEY HOME TO SPAWN. STEELHEAD AND SALMON HAVE BEEN COUNTED HERE EACH YEAR SINCE THE HUGE DAM WAS COMPLETED IN 1938. THIS PAST SEASON SAW THE WORST SUMMER STEELHEAD NUMBERS EVER RECORDED. Let that fact settle hard in your heart and mind: Throughout history, no one has ever seen such a tiny number of steelhead enter the Columbia Basin. The last few seasons have been terrible, but this year was a new, miserable benchmark. In the modern era, steelhead numbers have varied widely. When we had productive ocean conditions, some years were much better than others, but today these incredible fish…

OO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE WRONG IMPRESSION THAT LAKE FISHING IS A DEEP-WATER GAME WHERE YOU BLINDLY PLUMB THE DEPTHS, BUT THE BIGGEST TROUT I SEE EVERY YEAR COME FROM THE SHALLOW EDGES AND THE STILLWATER FLATS OF NATURAL LAKES AND MANMADE RESERVOIRS. TROUT USE THESE SHALLOW AREAS TO HUNT AND TO FEED, AND WHEN THEY ARE THERE, IT’S THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE TO HUNT THEM VISUALLY. While much of my stillwater fishing is on the stillwater reservoirs of Colorado’s South Platte watershed, perhaps my favorite place to catch trout in the shallows is in Pyramid Lake, Nevada. I still have a crush on this fishery, even after spending countless days here every season over the course of the last 10 years. It is the type of fishery that…

I’VE OFTEN JOKED THAT RIVERS ARE THE COVETED CORNER OFFICES OF THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY, AND FLY SHOPS ARE THE OFFICE WATER COOLERS. JUST AS STARCHED-SUITED BUSINESS PEOPLE VENTURE FROM THEIR HIGH-RISE CUBICLES TO GATHER AROUND THE WATER COOLER FOR THE RELEVANT NEWS OF THE DAY, WADERED ANGLERS VENTURE FROM THE STREAMS TO GATHER AROUND THE FLY BINS TO DO THE SAME. BUT THE CHIT-CHAT ISN’T JUST ABOUT FISHING CONDITIONS, HATCHES, HACKS, OR WHO’S FISHING OFF THE COMPANY DOCK. MANY FLY SHOPS ARE INFORMATION CENTERS FOR KEY CONSERVATION MATTERS IMPACTING OVERALL ECOSYSTEM HEALTH. AND THEY CAN SERVE AS COMMUNITY HUBS WHERE ANGLERS CAN VOICE CONCERNS ABOUT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, PUBLIC STREAM ACCESS, RIVER PRESSURE, ETHICS, AND MORE. When the employees at Galloup’s Slide Inn in Cameron, Montana flicked on the…

SKWALA START-UP ENTERS THE OUTERWEAR MARKET There’s a new start-up in Montana that’s promising to add not just fresh looks, but new technical performance in outerwear. Skwala founder and owner Kevin Sloan got his start in the outdoor industry first as a fly-fishing guide in Colorado and New York, and then as a product developer for Orvis, and then the general manager of Guideline Polarized Eyewear. He helped with the start of the hunting apparel company Sitka Gear, and for a decade was that company’s president. In 2018, he dove into another start-up: As CEO of MeatEater, he helped turn Steven Rinella’s TV show into a full-fledged media company selling its own branded merchandise. But finally, after those successes, he found himself in a place where he could follow his…

Golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita) are native to the Kern Plateau in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, where they became isolated from ocean-going rainbows about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, and evolved into perhaps one of the most beautiful trout subspecies in the world. They should not be confused with the so-called “golden trout” raised in so many state fish hatcheries in the East, which are artificially bred, genetically mutated rainbow trout (aka palomino trout, banana trout, or lightning trout). Golden trout eggs from California were first introduced to Cook Lakes in the Wind River Range by the U.S. Forest Service in 1920. Once a naturally reproducing population was established there, it served as broodstock to provide eggs for other lakes in the Wind River Range, as well as in the…

YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE RECENT CROWDING ON THE MADISON RIVER. IT HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC IN THAT STATE AS MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS WORKS THROUGH HOW TO MANAGE THE RIVER FOR INCREASED USER SATISFACTION, ECONOMICS, AND TO DO WHAT’S BEST FOR THE RIVER AND TROUT. THIS INCREASED TRAFFIC HAS OCCURRED ON MANY FISHERIES NATIONWIDE SINCE THE PANDEMIC HIT IN 2020. There’s no debating the greatness and resilience of the Madison, Yellowstone, Missouri, and other famous rivers, but something’s gotta give—they need a break. There’s also no debating the greatness of countless off-the-radar trout fisheries in Montana. Using these places can be a step toward reducing crowding on the famous life-list must-fish rivers throughout the West. One such area worthy of exploration is what I call “middle…

HERE ARE SOME THINGS IN FLY TYING THAT HAVE JUST BECOME COMMON KNOWLEDGE—GIVENS. AS FLY TIERS, WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF DEFAULTING TO THESE PROVEN METHODS AND TECHNIQUES TO ACHIEVE WHATEVER EFFECT WE ARE AFTER. A SPLENDID EXAMPLE OF THIS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS USING DUMBBELL OR BEADCHAIN EYES TO INVERT A FLY. THE TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE AT LEAST THE SIXTIES AND HAS LONG BEEN THE APPROVED METHOD OF INVERTING A FLY TO RIDE HOOK POINT UP . . . UNTIL NOW. ENTER DAVE CHOUINARD, FORMER FLY SHOP OWNER, GUIDE, EXPERIENCED SALTWATER ANGLER, AND UMPQUA FEATHER MERCHANTS SALES REPRESENTATIVE. CHOUINARD HAS PIONEERED A COMPLETELY NEW AND UNIQUE METHOD OF INVERTING A FLY PATTERN—NOT JUST SALTWATER FLIES, BUT ANY FLY. Chouinard got the bright idea to use an inverting tungsten…

EACH YEAR THOUSANDS OF FLY FISHERS MAKE THEIR PILGRIMAGE TO THE GREAT NEW YORK TRIBUTARIES OF THE DELAWARE RIVER, AND WITH GOOD REASON: THE BEAUTY OF THE CLEAN, COLD WATER IS INTOXICATING AS IT WINDS ITS WAY THROUGH THE CATSKILL MOUNTAINS, PLACIDLY FLOWING PAST OLD FARMS AND FAMILY HOMESTEADS THAT LIE IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE NEON, CONCRETE, AND NOISE OF THE BIG APPLE TO THE SOUTH. VISITING ANGLERS FIND THE RIVER NOT ONLY PICTURESQUE BUT CHOCK FULL OF HEALTHY BROWN AND RAINBOW TROUT, SOME OF WHICH EASILY EXCEED 20 INCHES. MONTANA, WYOMING, AND COLORADO MAY WIN THE “FLY-FISHING” WORD ASSOCIATION GAME, BUT AMERICAN FLY FISHING WAS ACTUALLY BORN RIGHT HERE IN THE CATSKILLS. The East Branch of the Delaware flows from the Downsville Reservoir; its West Branch flows from…

SIMMS FLYWEIGHT ACCESS BOOTS Sometimes there are huge leaps forward in our fly fishing, like moving from neoprene to breathable waders, or from fiberglass to graphite rods. Tungsten beads, fluorocarbon tippet, and wading boots with “sticky rubber” compounds all made us more effective. The industry standard for these types of rubber outsoles for a decade has been a compound called Vibram IdroGrip. It was created, tested, and produced specifically to stick on wet rock. It’s used on many brands of premium wading boots, as well as on footwear for kayaking, canyoneering, rafting, hiking, and cycling (BMX, downhill, dual, or fourcross) and of course technical approach shoes. I used La Sportiva shoes with Vibram IdroGrip soles this past summer to summit Pingora Peak—a situation where if you slip on wet rock,…

THE FIRST TIME I FISHED THE WIND RIVER RANGE, I WAS INVITED TO GO WITH A GROUP OF GUYS WHO HAD A SECRET GOLDEN TROUT LAKE. THEY DIDN’T SAY THE NAME OF THE LAKE, AND I DIDN’T ASK. YOU CAN’T ACCIDENTALLY REVEAL SOMETHING IF YOU’RE CLUELESS, SO I OPTED TO STAY THAT WAY. TO THIS DAY I DON’T KNOW THE NAME OF THE LAKE, AND COULDN’T POINT TO IT ON A MAP. I’D GUESS IT’S SOMEWHERE IN THE TOP HALF OF THE WIND RIVER RANGE—A JUMBLE OF JAGGED GRANITE PEAKS AND ICY LAKES THAT SPANS 100 MILES.OR IT COULD HAVE BEEN IN THE BOTTOM HALF, I’M NOT QUITE SURE. WITH A SWITCH TO DEEPER STRATEGIES, WE IMMEDIATELY STARTED GETTING BIGGER GOLDEN TROUT—OLD MALES WITH LONG KYPES DESCRIBING MANY YEARS OF…

“A mountain is the best medicine for a troubled mind. Seldom does man ponder his own insignificance. He thinks he is master of all things. He thinks the world is his without bonds. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Only when he tramps the mountains alone, communing with nature, observing other insignificant creatures about him, to come and go as he will, does he awaken to his own short-lived presence on earth.” -Finis Mitchell Whether you’re a fisherman, climber, photographer, or backpacker, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the original “mountain man” of the Wind River Range. Born in 1901, Finis Mitchell lost his job at the start of the Great Depression and started his own guiding and outfitting business called Mitchell’s Fishing Camp (now Big Sandy…

There are fewer official fishing access sites in this remote part of the state, so understanding the Montana Stream Access Law can be a game changer here. Occasional crotchety ranch hands or landowners might give you grief, but if you’re armed with confidence in Montana’s laws, they cannot legally kick you out. Montana’s Stream Access Law states that recreationists can use rivers and streams capable of recreational use regardless of streambed ownership, as long as they have accessed the stream-bed from a public place or with landowner permission. Public places include any sort of public land, official fishing access sites, and bridges on public roads that cross rivers. Regarding bridge access: There is an easement that stretches 30 feet on either side of the center of any public road—often well…