Our attempt at literary pieces to help our fellow anglers.
I don’t do a ton of winter fly fishing - but I always look forward to it. The number one reason: it is usually so different than fishing in the spring, summer and fall months. The number two reason: there are typically fewer people on what are normally busy sections of river. Number three: the fishing can be lights out.
"The permit was about 50 feet in front of me and I was lucky enough to have a moderate wind at my back. He was moving in my direction – the opportunity was as perfect as I could hope for. My first cast was short but the permit didn’t spook. My second cast was surprisingly on target. As the permit got closer in his methodical search for crabs I gave my bug a short strip and then another. I caught his attention and he moved toward my fly..."
The weather is changing. We know it. You know it. The fish know it. Here are a dozen reasons we like traveling and fishing big bugs in the fall.
I have always been a firm believer that some of the best trout fishing in the Lower 48 can’t be accessed by plane, boat or car. These are places that are off the map, and only available 
to those who are willing to work for it. Backpacking has always been a popular past time in America, but it has never really taken hold in the angling community. But those hearty soles that are willing to lug a 50lb backpack into one or our nations many Wilderness Areas, will undoubtedly be greeted with solitude, beautiful surroundings, and lots of hungry trout.
The hard part is that these places aren’t marked on any map. They are lakes and streams that must be fished and experienced to know if they are any good. That’s the intriguing part of backpack fly fishing, you never know what you may find. I have been on plenty of trips that were a complete bust. The creek was to low, the lake was to shallow, the fish too small. But for every lake I find that is junk, there is another I find that is a complete jewel. These are the places that keep you coming back for more, and pushing yourself that extra mile to get just a little farther away. But don’t think that these places are in any way a secret. Although I will not tell you where my honey hole is, I will tell you how to find your own.
