This week’s picture is brought to you by Scott.
He pulled this beauty out of the Bitterroot River just outside of Hamilton Montana. Great catch Scott!

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It may be cold where you live but that shouldn’t stop you from thinking about fishing. Now is the time of year to invest some time in planning your dream trip this summer. A little time spent now will help you to plan the perfect fishing trip. In planning a trip lot’s of people just think about where they can catch the most big fish and wind up with just average fishing trips. Really there should be several other considerations. Here are a few ideas to think about when planning.

Think about what kind of fly fishing and what kind of fish you most enjoy. Do you like sight fishing to rising cutthroats in hatches, slinging streamers for aggressive strikes from big browns, or even nyphing for big bows down deep? Or maybe you prefer something exotic - peacock bass, roosterfish, taimen, dorado, and several others are on my list of fish to catch before I die.

Do asthetics matter? Even carp put up a fight but the local canal will never compare to say a crystal clear freestone river tumbling down through forrested mountain terrain or a beautiful tropical saltwater flat teaming with sea life.

Think about the proximity of other options. No spot is red hot all the time so places near other places are always high on my list.

Think about accomodations and food. This is a matter of preference and budget. I will say that a good night’s sleep and great meals make even mediocre days seem great.

Research what gear and flies to bring. Nothing spoils a trip like not being prepared for whatever may arise. Whether it’s not having the right fly to entice that behemoth you spot, not having the right rod and line to make a good presentation, or not having the right gear for the elements, you’ll wish you’d thought ahead back in February.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Aaron at Oak Orchard, NY.
That’s one large brown you’ve got there! Caught on MoeRoe. You can catch Aaron and his buddies at flyfishingbuddies.com.

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This week’s picture is brought to you by Joe.
This monster Chinook was caught sometime during September in the Little Qualicum River on Vancouver Island, BC.
Awesome catch Joe!

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Often times at the mention of “fly fishing” people only get the image of standing in a river casting dry flies upstream. Luckily though, fly fishing has many facets and is adaptable to countless situations where fish exist. One of my favorite place to fish are lakes and the best way to do it is from a float tube or personal pontoon boat. Here are some tips for buying and fishing from personal watercraft.

Get the pontoon boat or float tube that works for you and what you do. A somewhat larger pontoon boat is necessary if you will be floating rivers and still works great on lakes. The oars are perfect for stearing on moving water and get you places fast on lakes. The only drawbacks to pontoon boats are their weight.

A float tube, like the Outcast Fat Cat, however, can easily be moved by one person or even carried in a back pack for packing in to alpine lakes. It won’t have oars though so kick power is all you have.

When fishing from a personal watercraft many people get the false notion that they should immediately use their tube or pontoon to get to the middle of the lake. Most of the feeding fish though are generally closer to shore. The best thing about these boats is that you can position yourself facing the shore and pull your flies from shallow to deep which is a very natural presentation. At times when fish are suspended in deep water by all means get out there and get them though. Carry several lines allowing you to cover several depths.

Lastly, be extra careful and safe in your personal watercraft. These aren’t battleships and high wind and even medium waves can be very dangerous. Always wear a pfd and make sure to avoid rough water. Use your head and you’ll be safe.

This is a relaxing and really effective way to fish. Find some water and give a tube or pontoon a try.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Tanner.
Tanner popped this hook jaw just at sunset somewhere in Wyoming. Awesome catch!

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Sight fishing can provide both the most rewarding and the most frustrating of fishing moments. Sometimes it works like magic and sometimes fish that you can see simply won’t eat, like a particular bass I recently encountered. Here are a few things to try in these situations:

Watch the fish closely. A feeding fish will move side to side or up and down to grab food, open it’s mouth occasionally, or just kinda act hungry. Target hungry fish with an appropriate dry fly first, if that doesn’t draw a strike go to a nymph or streamer and see if they will move for it, lastly try to get the nymph or streamer right in front of the fish’s nose. If you have lots of feeding fish don’t spend too much time on one if it won’t eat.

If you only see fish that are resting, hiding, or sluggish from water that is too cold or warm, try to give them a small presentation first and present it as slowly and delicately as possible. Sometimes even a spooked fish will open up for a tiny nymph if it basically slowly drifts right into their mouth. Sometimes hanging a small nymph in the path of or laying it on the bottom in front of a bass or other warm water fish and then giving it a tiny twitch will get them to attack. Last resort on tough fish I usually grab something big and buggy like a Chernobyl Ant, rubber legged nymph, or big streamer. This doesn’t always work but sometimes it gets the desired reaction even from tough fish.

Grab some good polarized glasses and try this stuff the next time you can see ‘em.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Jeff.
Jeff captured this shot on a crisp morning in Alaska. A great shot of at undisclosed location with the Spencer Mountain Range in the backdrop.

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If snow and cold has got you trapped indoors this winter here are some things to consider doing while you watch a great fly fishing DVD from RiverBum:

Organize your vest or pack. Surely, if you’re anything like me, you end up concentrating on fishing while you’re fishing and stuff can get overlooked. I always try to stock up on leaders, tippets, split shot, and whatever other extras during the winter so that I’ll be ready to go when the fishing picks up again.

Organize your fly boxes. Winter is a great time to look at what you have and what you need. I like to make lists according to what I’ll need first and then cross off those flies as I get them back into my boxes. For example, I’d start with midges for winter, then blue winged olives and caddis for Spring, and on to all of the other important flies for summer. Be sure to have nymphs, emergers, and adult dry flies for every hatch you’ll encounter. Nothing is as frustrating as being out on the river surrounded by feeding fish and just not having the right bugs.

Organize your bags. My fly fishing bag is the receptacle for all kinds of things. I’m scared thinking about it right now since I’d bet there are some nasty old granola bars and who knows what else in there. Make sure you have all of the clothing layers you’ll need, wading boots, waders, and other accessories that you’ll need when you get back out on the water.

You’d be surprised how much a little organizing now will help out when you are able to get back out on the river. Happy New Year to everyone, hope we all catch lots of fish this year!