Here's a nice twist for us die-hard fly fishers.

A water in Washington state that has been closed to public access will be re-opening soon as a fly fishing-only water.

That water, Upper Wheeler Reservoir outside of Wenatchee, Wash., will be opened to catch-and-release fly fishing from May 18-Spet. 14 for all species.

The water is owned and operated by the Wenatchee Heights Reclamation District, which worked with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife WDFW and Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers to grant public access under the new regulations.

The agreement also includes trout stockings and a land-use agreement by WDFW, as well as site maintenance by the WVFF, according to a WDFW press release.

This marks the 15^th fly fishing-only water in Washington state, and reminds us what working with local officials and waterway owners can accomplish if all parties involved can get on the same page and work together to find common ground.

It's a great model for some of the closed fisheries in my neck of the woods as well as yours.

Do you know of a lost fishery that could benefit from fly fishing-only regulations. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

While reading a recent article in Field & Stream, I stumbled upon an interesting question on their blog: Is fly fishing a sport?

I spent a decade in the newspaper business covering major "ball" sports before going the web route full time, and you might be surprised at my response to that question.

No ... and yes.

It depends on who you're asking.

If you're asking Average Joe fly fisher, someone like, say myself, I'd say no.

"I'd always been first in line to criticize anyone who might describe fly fishing as a sport," Kirk Deeter notes on the F&S Fly Talk blog. "A pastime, maybe. A hobby, for sure. But I'm on record (somewhere) for suggesting that anything fat old people can do as they smoke a cigar or drink a can of beer shouldn't ever be considered a "sport."

But there are plenty of tournament professions and casting competitors at the regional/state/national/world level that would say yes to that question, and I tend to agree if you compete at a high level in a sporting activity it's more sport than hobby.

We've written about the world fly fishing championships as well as state competitions in the past, and I can tell you the best of the best in terms of fly fishing are extremely athletic and professional at their craft.

In Utah, for example, our friend and U.S. team member Lance Egan is a stud when it comes to competitive fly fishing.

He's competed in both the U.S. National Fly Fishing Championships and World Championships, both of which are grueling events that not only test your fly fishing prowess, but your stamina, mindset and are all-day, and, in some cases, week-long events that would make newbie anglers blush.

So to me, it comes down to competition.

Then again, when it comes to fly fishing, you're always competing - whether it be with yourself, the elements or the fish.

So I guess I'm not sure where I come out on that topic.

Is fly fishing a sport?

I'll let you decide on the subject for yourself, because, at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

In the end, I hope you enjoy fly fishing, whether it be as a competitive sport, as a hobby, or, as in some cases, as a spectator sport.

In the meantime, want to learn more about this sport, errr, well, hobby?

Check out some of our introductory articles on:

• Fly Fishing 101 - An Introduction to the Sport
• Fly Fishing for Rainbow Trout
• Fly Fishing for Brown Trout
• Fly Fishing for Golden Trout

With how crazy my life is getting with three kids and work, and more work, I tend to follow the K.I.S.S. rule whenever possible. In other words, Keep It Simple Stupid.

But this whole Tenkara craze is probably a little too simple, at least in my eyes.

I'm interested in the idea of Tenkara -- which is a style of rod (without the reel) invented some 500-plus years ago by commercial anglers hunting trout in Japan -- but not interested in trying it other than maybe once, just because I love to hear my reel scream when I'm on a big fish.

But, you see, Tenkara doesn't use a reel, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes in a recent column.

Tenkara doesn't use a fly line either, which, doesn't really sit well with this fly fisher.

Other than that, looks like fun.

What do you think? Share your comments below.

Good news out of Minnesota.

Along with the general trout season getting underway on April 13, there's promising news on the invasive species front.

The Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center at the University of Minnesota (MAISRC) and U.S. Geological Survey and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have concluded in a recent report that water samples from the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers has showed little evidence of bighead or silver carp.

While recent captures by commercial fisheries show these invasive fish are present in Minnesota, officials say their numbers are likely still relatively low.

"The differences between the 2011 and 2012 eDNA testing results may be partly attributable to the evolving technology," noted Peter Sorensen, MAISRC director, and leader of the research team. "As the bighead results show, this particular technique needs to be refined for detecting this species in open waters."