I don't have too much to add but I enjoyed, "Casting a Spell: The Bamboo Fly Rod and the American Pursuit of Perfection" and you will too.

So true.

Tying your own floes definitely adds a new level of satisfaction to fishing. It's really not that difficult either with a few tries.

My dad's a card core fly fisherman. We've fished Alaska, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, Baja, Caymans, Fiji, Christmas Island, Marshall Islands, Florida, upstate NY, the keys etc. Having a airline pilot for a dad = awesome.

Having a guide def can help but for me part of the enjoyment of fly fishing is being by myself in the water.

I agree with this, my favorite part of fishing is just standing in the middle of a river with a cigar when the sun is rising/setting. I'm very mediocre so I'm used to striking out at this point...

but I think for a first time a beginner would get so frustrated by most likely catching nothing and getting massive tangles and losing flies repeatedly. A guide would pretty much guarantee you getting to catch a few trout.

Guides suck.They put a tremendous strain on the resource and are a massive pain in the ass to other anglers. Put in the time and pay your dues to learn how to fish yourself or learn from family and friends.

I never really gave this much consideration as I've never gone on a "fishing vacation". It's always been a supplemental activity, even after HS when my parents, my grandmother and myself trekked it by car to Alaska. We just figured whatever we'd done over the years in CA would work there (and it did, for the most part).

Do you feel this way specifically about trout streams/rivers, or all facets? Personally, if I found myself someplace that absolutely required a boat, like tidal flats/mangroves, for instance, I might be more inclined to hire someone that knew WTF they were doing.

Saltwater -- guides are often a must
Unless your rafting down a river you don't really need guides on any river/stream

I'm off for some morning fly fishing. I'll give a brief report on my return.

-Zeno

My belief is that if you have hire somebody to help hunt an animal you shouldn't do it. I know I'm preaching here but that's how I feel.

Went to a small trout stream up in the mountains, the kind you can almost jump across. Birds were out chatting it up all morning, the air was crisp and clean, and the sky was lightly overcast. Explosions of flowers were everywhere along the meandering stream as it cut thought high meadows and rocky clefts. Hiked about 3 miles in and started fishing after about 1 mile in, to get away from the most heavily fished part of the stream.

Fished both wet and dry flies and did not get much action. The fish here are very skittish and difficult to catch and sometimes you have to creep along the stream bank very low and cast sort of blind over the grasses and brush. Caught one using this technique. The rest of the strikes were mediocre, the fish not very aggressive. You could see them swirl and take peaks and long looks but just nibble at the fly in some half-hearten attempt at a meal. Of course trout are territorial and some strikes you get can be unrelated to a meal ticket. Had one larger trout go after my fly (in fast water) and he made quite a boil but missed the fly altogether, too excited. This happened just a second after the fly hit the water and is not that uncommon an occurrence. I recall a really wild trout that leaped clean out of the stream, again in fast water, and land on a rock in the middle of the stream while attempting to slash at my fly. Made me roar with laughter.

So anyway, I did not bag a lot of trout. Still, it was a most enjoyable and pleasant morning.

Happy Fishing,


-Zeno

if its saltwater your probably not going to catch anything

nice TR Zeno. my favorite river is on fire right now so not sure if I'll even get out this year.

just practice in your backyard some. on the yellowstone its much easier to catch the cutts with flies than anything else. and you dont have to be good. go around buffalo ford in the park and you will do fine. the fish will be around 16 to 22 inches long.

At the very least, I will be pitching spinners in Grebe Lake...I figure I will have precious few opportunities to catch a Grayling in my lifetime, so I'm hoping to take advantage of this one.

We'll see about that...