Mar 08 2007
Early Season Fly fishing
The time is almost here. As the weather starts to warm many of us Flyfishers are starting to get impatient, I know i am. This is a great time to start to get your gear ready and to start making plans as to where you are going to go on your first trip of the year. As many of you know some of the best fishing of the year come right after ice off. This time is just around the corner and if you are able to get away and can catch this magical time of the year you will be rewarded with some great fishing.
I spend most of the “off season” getting some flies tied and getting all my gear in order so there are no surprises in the first real trip of the coming season. Some of the factors I look for in a lake for my first trip of the year are:
1- Elevation, this is obvious if the lake in question is at a high elevation the chance of the winter ice layer being gone is unlikely, so I look for a lake at a lower elevation (under 2500′).
2- I check online for as many reports as I can, this way if the lake that I would like to go to has had a large “winter kill” then I know not to waist my time with going there. Also there are many experienced Flyfishers that will share there knowledge and this will help you out a bit.
3- I try to find out any information I can on the history of the lake I am going to. Find out how the fishing has been in the past “ice off” seasons, find out if there have been any significant “winter kills” in the past few years.
4- Contact local Fly shops and try to find out what the ice situation is like. ask questions like, How thick is the remaining ice? Are there some sections of the ice that are already gone? what is the upcoming weather forecast? what is the usual ice off date of said lake?
These are still some of the things I do and i have been doing this for 15+ years. You need to gather as much info as you can to have a good start to the season.
A few BC links for you to try to get the info you may need.
I hope this will help with having a good first trip of the new fishing season.
