Here is a excerpt from Neil Travis’ article Myths & Outright Lies:
“If the major trout waters are crowded try fishing smaller out of the way streams. How many of those have you encountered lately? If you find an out of the way stream that is devoid of anglers there is likely a good reason for the lack of crowds. It is either private or more likely barren of anything resembling a trout. If it is open to the public and it has trout it will have anglers.”
Today was opening day for a number of streams and creeks in Oregon. I journeyed to a small creek that is located on national forest land. This creek get very little fishing pressure and today was no exception. I had to winch a fallen tree out of the road to make it into the creek. I fished for about 3 hours and caught 20 brookies and a couple of rainbows. When I left I could tell that nobody else had ventured into my little part of paradise. This is the fourth year in a row that I have spent the opening on XXXXX creek without any competition.
My point is: If you are willing to take the time and make the effort there are little creeks that can be found that get very little fishing pressure yet can be very productive. The Forest Service provides fairly good maps. These maps along with Topo Zone and with a little exploring you might be able to dscover such a place.
I’ve found that the willingness to walk a couple of miles and/or to fish on weekdays gives me pretty much sole access to some pretty good trout waters that are open to the public.
I know that others do fish there, I talk to them often, but I seldom see another angler, and on one good stream I’ve NEVER seen anyone else fishing there when I’ve gone.
AND it holds some browns that will get into the 20s, plus brookies, rainbows ,and the ocassional cutt.
I just hope most folks believe Neil. I mean, it was printed in a magazine, he HAS to know what he’s talking about, right?
I fish a small stream that Iv’e been told they stopped stocking about twenty years ago. When they stopped the stocking, the anglers stopped fishing it.
Now there are wild brookies and browns but they are all small, under 8". Probably another reason no one fishes it.
On the upside though, it’s very scenic, no crowds, and the brookies seem to take a dry as easily as any other fly.
If you don’t mind a little walking or a little four wheeling, they are there, yes there are probably folks who do fish them that don’t get seen, but then again, they are usally very respectiable fisher folks who take care and most likely practice catch’n realease. If they are gonna take the time to find them, they most often are the type who want to leave them as they found them…
I posted these same sentiments somewhere else. The “myth and outright lie” is what the AUTHOR said! There is great fishing to be had in many places that don’t get a lot of pressure. But it takes work to find them and usually to get to them. That’s why folks don’t use them much.
A wise old deer hunting professor of wildlife biology in Texas once told me that the secret to hunting trophy bucks was to find out where most people were hunting and head in the opposite direction. I have applied that advice to the pursuit of ALL wild game and found it most rewarding.
But…like I said on my other post…I sure hope the vast majority keep believing the author of “Myths and Outright Lies” on this issue. Sheeple are gregarious. Toss one off a cliff and cheer for him as he falls and the rest will jump on their own. Film it and put it on TV and they will travel from all over the country to jump off that same cliff. And the ones who can’t get there will jump off of whatever cliff they can get to. It’s actually pretty amusing to watch.
Around these parts fishing pressure on most trout water drops off dramatically around Memorial Day. That is because the average trout angler in PA is convinced that unless the trout are put in the stream via a bucket drawn from a stocking trout a stream cannot possibly contain trout.
I’ll admit that I often stop fishing for trout around Memorial Day or shortly thereafter, as I prefer to fish for bass and panfish during the warmer months and give the trout a rest. What amazes me when I resume my trout fishing after Labor Day is the fact that most of the streams are devoid of fishermen at that time. I’ve managed to find a number of streams worth fishing in the Fall, many of which hold sizeable wild trout populations that the truck chasers don’t even know exist since they figure all the stocked trout were fished out months ago.
I’ll share a lot of the information I’ve gathered with people who ask once I get a feel for their motivation and fishing ethics, but I make it a point not to just blab it all over the internet for everyone to view. I’ve taken people to some of these streams and they in turn have returned the favor for me by telling me or taking me to their spots. That is the way things are supposed to work.
As a realitively local person to you, I couldn’t agree more. Many of our brethren anglers quit after most of the dumb stockers have been taken out and never seek alternatives.
I was glad to see opening day come early this year because most anglers will quit even earlier than usual.
For panfish and bass, there are plenty of small to medium size streams in our area that see almost no fishing, and then you have the Susquehanna…no problem avoiding crowds there either.
I guess when I think about it, this ain’t a bad area to live in
You can find water in Yellowstone during high summer that you’ll have pretty much to yourself if you’re willing to do a little walking, and I’m not talking a 3-4 hr hike to 3rd Meadows on Slough Creek, either. Of course, you also step down a notch or two on the food chain when you venture out, but what’s wrong with a little excitement in our lives?
There are even major stretches of the “Famous” streams that during the fall can be suprisingly devoid of fisher’s…Not complaing mind you…But even the most noted waters can be very uncrowded, Especialy when floated by Yak.
On your way out - I hope you winched that log back over the trail!
One thing to keep in mind is fishing waters that run through “Urban” areas. The one example that I comes to mind is Rapid Creek that runs through Rapid City in South Dakota. Everyone fishes the upper reaches of the streams and creeks in the hills and seems to overlook the lower section of Rapid Creek. As it leaves the hills and goes through town - it’s basically one long green space that never gets much fishing pressure, with plenty of intersecting streets, businesses and parking lots.
Your first thought is “You’ve GOT to be kidding!” However - the browns and rainbows never see a lot of action and if you don’t mind the occaisional gawker, you’ll have the stream to yourself most of the time. In fact - there’s a strip mall at West Blvd & Silver Street that you can park in and walk down tot he creek behind it!
Tight lines everyone - and don’t overlook unfished water just because it’s too close to home!
Yep - I put the tree back in place. One of the best parts of the trip was the 30 minutes or so I sat on a log watching the waterfowl fly into a beaver pond. Mallards, Greenwing Teal, a pair of Honkers, a sandhil crane and some snipes.
I have been told that if you want some great fly fishing in an urban setting try the Truckee River in downtown Reno. I have not tried the Truckee but it sure looks good.
When fishing the Truckee in Reno just be sure to catch and release. Nothing worse than hitting the buffett table in one of the casinos and smelling like fish guts.
Can’t agree with you more. I really haven’t run into a press of anglers yet this season and I’ve been out plenty of times. The most people I’ve run into on any one stream in any one day is about 4. But I’m willing to hoof it a long ways to fish(I love being in the woods) and am always looking for other places that are more out of the way than your run-of-the-mills in our particular area. I suppose if all I wanted to do was catch fish I would just spend the majority of my time on the Yellow Breeches, but the fish catching is just a bonus to a day spent in the woods, IMHO.
