Best spot for a fly fisherman to live?
- This topic has 50 replies, 35 voices, and was last updated Nov 17, 2008 at 12:46 am by
.
-
Posts
-
What region of the U.S. would you rate as #1 for trout fishing? I currently live in Wisconsin but am considering a move out west, probibly Montana. I know you native Montana guys are gonna tell me to stay home! You have enough fisherman flooding your rivers already! Well, I am in a position to move right now and can really go where ever I want. I have visited Montana twice and it just blew me away. The scenery, the fishing, the awsome ppl. Just a cool place. Thanks for your opinion.
If I could somehow talk the wife into moving back out West (and away from her family) we’d go to either…
1.
I’ll say LA isn’t the best if you’re main thing is fly fishing! True we’ve got that lake known as the Pacific Ocean, tons of reservoirs and a handfull of trout streams nearby. Not to mention great steelhead and striper fishing up north, plus tons of back country lakes and streams in the sierras. But it’s not really a fly fishing city.
I loved living in Denver. Great fishing nearby with all the benefits of living in a descent/medium sized city. Plenty of good live music, good art scene, good nightlife, more breweries per capita than any other state, good skiing/snowboarding/mountain biking/hiking/camping/climbing/jeeping/kayaking/hunting/cycling/mountainering/paragliding/golfing/rafting/water skiing/photography/etc. opportunities. Good airport with access to every major US city. Ever professional sports team other than WNBA. Great food. Good weather, over 300 days of sunshine a year. Oh and lots of good people.
http://society6.com/grainfarmer Fly Fishing and Landscape open edition Photography prints.
http://grainfarmer.vsco.co/ iPhone photos
http://instagram.com/chad_simcox InstagramOntario.
The only thing you can’t fish for on good waters with lots of access is Salt 😉I’m of the mind that this is a grass is greener thing and that in time we take what we have for granted.
The lure of the west is no doubt strong but will you miss fishing for whatever alternative species live in your neck of the woods?
I know a guys thats moving to Calgary, some of the best river fishing in Canada. He’s upset that he won’t have Bass and Musky close to home anymore.I second Abe.
Knoxville Tn.
7 tailwaters
thousands of miles of small streams
tons of lakes,pondsand you could get up at 6a.m. and be on any of them before lunch.
Woolyworm asks a good question that can be evaluated against a lot of criteria. There’s great trout fishing in a lot of places and it is difficult to compare any one location to another. Additionally, the angler’s fishing style dictates much of how and where they fish and how much they enjoy it.
There are really four reasons why I believe Bozeman, Montana (or environs) is probably without peer when it comes to trout fishing (and other species) fishing opportunities.
1) A zillion miles (and acres) of accessible and premium trout water for all the major trout species
2) A very liberal and functional stream access law – access is great
3) A high probability of catching numerous 20” + fish every seasonWhat you get within a 100 mile radius of Bozeman, MT (Beyond 100 miles there’s a lot more)
Rivers and Lakes (miles in length or acres) Rainbow, Brown, Cutthroat, Brook Trout, Grayling, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Whitefish. There are literally 100s of miles of smaller tributaries that are fishable. (my apologies if I missed someone’s favorite water)
Gallatin River (97)
East Gallatin River (42)
Jefferson River (77)
Madison River (132)
Hebgen Reservoir (12564)
Ennis Lake (3692)
Big Hole River (153)
Ruby River (97)
Beaverhead River (75)
Clark Canyon Reservoir (4815)
Dupuy’s, Armstrong, Nelson and Milesnick Spring Creeks
Yellowstone River (170)
Shields River (65)
Smith River (121)
Upper Missouri River (30)
Canyon Ferry, Holter Reservoirs on the Missouri (33535, 3667)
Hyalite Reservoir (158)
South Fork Musselshell River (42)
Stillwater River (70)
Boulder River (West) (77)
Upper end of Clark’s Fork (30)
Boulder River (East) (65)
90% of Yellowstone National Park waters
Henry’s Lake (Idaho)
Henry’s Fork (Idaho)Fly Shops – Seven in Bozeman, Five in Livingston, Eight in West Yellowstone, Two in Twin Bridges and countless others around the state.
Access to Montana streams is some of the best in the West. The Montana Stream Access law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_Stream_Access_Law guarantees public access to major waters and most medium to large streams can be floated with canoes, kayaks, drift boats and rafts. Fishing in the smaller rivers may not be year round, but in the larger waters it is (as long as you’ve got long johns).
My vote is Bozeman – of course I am biased as I live here.
Though I am not a big fan of Knoxville itself (Do they still have the large pile of mulch that smells so good?) I would have to agree that the general area is the best.
If I could somehow talk the wife into moving back out West (and away from her family) we’d go to either…
1. Fort Collins, Colorado
2. Bozeman, Montana
Both are college towns, have everything you really need, and trout water abounds.
Bozeman? Are you kidding me? What about Missoula? Three rivers with in 20 minutes, a WAY better college town, and you would already have a fishing buddy near by!
Bozeman….give me a break!
Joel
I have no idea where the best place would be…but I can assuridly tell you that the worst is southeastern Pennsylvania.
I read this article in ODL a while back….not sure about number one but I like the sounds Lewiston ID.
http://www.outdoorlife.com/article_gallery/Paradise-Found
LC
Alright that exceeds the limit of Knoxville recommendations….
The tailwaters have terrible generation schedules, too many leaves in the water during the fall, hot and humid summers, uummmm, trying to think of others. I recommend that people go far far away from Knoxville to fish. I hear that Idaho is nice…..
Living in Knoxville, some people take for granted what all we have here and the year round fishing provided to us. And there are so many species to choose from.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.