In that same spirit, I’ve decided to compile a list of “Fly Talk’s Best 12 States for Fly Fishing” so you can agree – or call me nuts. I’m basing my picks on a variety of factors, namely all-around (multi-species) opportunities, angler-friendly environment, and cultural affinity to fly fishing.
Kirk Deeter is nobody’s fool. His list is based on his criteria. He listed multi-species opportunities first, an angler-friendly environment second, and a cultural affinity to fly fishing third. He also has a pretty strong historical awareness of fly fishing culture…as do most of the folks at F&S. So I’m sure that influenced their choices.
I agree that he put LA way too high on the list. Otherwise, I pretty much agree with him. For example, the world record Brown Trout that have been caught in AR (7 of them in all, and 5 of the last 7) were not caught on flies. AR trout fishing, even today, is predominantly a bait fishing culture. The fly fishing culture is a relatively new phenomenon that represents perhaps 10% of the trout fishing community. Fly fishing beyond trout in AR is virtually a non-starter. By contrast, MI has a rich history dating WAY back of fly fishing culture and leadership on the national scene. And the multi-species opportunities there abound. It’s not my personal favorite, or even that high on my list. But by his measuring stick (as stated above), I can’t argue with him. There aren’t many states that offer a variety of options ranging from salmon and steelhead runs to largemouth bass and pike fishing, with a few world-class trout streams tossed in for good measure.
Alaska is great and all, but it’s pretty one dimensional when you’re talking fly fishing: it’s all cold water species. Texas has an emerging fly fishing culture that is very dynamic, but is still very young. There certainly isn’t a “cultural affinity” for it there! The inter-mountain West is known across the world its fly fishing, but only for trout. While other species do exist in these states, even avid fly anglers from CO, WY, MT, ID, and UT often leave the fly rods at home when they go pike or bass fishing. I’ve seen it time and time again. It’s like fly rods and trout go together, and to catch a trout on other tackle or catch another fish on a fly rod would somehow be an insult to the fish gods.
I’m sure these are the kinds of things that were taken into heavy consideration when F&S came up with their “list” based on the statement from the article I quoted above. This series Kirk has written over the past few years hasn’t been about “favorites.” It’s been about establishing a few idealistic criteria, getting a bunch of well-versed experts to write a list based on those criteria, and then averaging out those lists to come up with THE list. So a lot of OUR favorite places won’t land on these lists where WE think they should.
OOPS I forgot thsi is a family site so you will have to PM it to me!
