Fly Fishing

With trout season underway, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is reminding anglers to double check the rules and regulations governing stream access before their next trip.

One of my favorite reasons to fly fish in Montana is the great access. Montana's 1985 Stream Access Law allows fishing and boating on rivers and streams below the high-water mark (even if the water passes through private land).

But just because these rivers are legal to fish, it doesn't always mean anglers have the right to cross private lands to access these streams without proper permission.

"At high water, aside from being careful, recreationists should either avoid the area until water levels drop or get landowner permission to cross private land," said Jim Kropp, FWP Enforcement Chief.

For more information on Montana's Stream Access Law, visit fwp.mt.gov.

Last month, the fly fishing world lost a legendary fly fisher when Billy Pate died.

Today, much of his memorabilia and fishing trophies will be auctioned off to the public.

The auction takes place May 19th at his former residence in Islamorada, Florida.

Among the ideas his estate is auctioning off are collections from Guy Harvey, R.H. Lichitenwalner, 19 Millard Wells watercolors (several from the 1970s), T. Borski and others.

Also included will be his collection of fly rods, reels and hundreds of flies.

A number of world-record mounts will also be available along with clothing and other fishing gear.

Pacific Northwest anglers have a new fly fishing show to watch, or at least record when they are out on the water each weekend.

Fishing With Ladin is a self-produced fly fishing show created by Ladin Langeman and Steve Ronhold, who have over 40 years of fishing experience.

In the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area , the show airs watch on Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on KLEW 3. In the Seattle and Vancouver  areas, anglers can watch Fishing With Landin on Saturday at 8 a.m. on KVOS Bellingham.

This season, Fishing With Ladin travels everywhere from the Kenai River in Alaska to the Madison River in Montana.

You can see more season highlights on the Fishing With Ladin website.

The International Game Fish Association has announced 2012 nominees for the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame.

On October 23, five men will be honored alongside the 90 current members of the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame.

Their contributions to game fishing have done much to advance the sport through techniques, technology, conservation and cooperation. This year's honorees are Al Anderson, Mike Leech, Darrell Lowrance, Monty Padilla and Bill Poole.

For more on the Hall of Fame candidates, stay tuned to the About Fly Fishing blog.

The California Department of Fish and Game, along with other state wildlife agencies, is reminding anglers to return their steelhead report cards from the 2011 season if they haven't already.

Anglers are asked to report their catches online or by mail by June 15.

Fishermen can submit their reports instantly at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/steelheadcard or via the postcards they receive this week to address included in the notification.

Fishing dates and locations are required whether you've caught a fish or not.

The DFG monitors steelhead fishing numbers because it's "critical in maintaining and improving fishing opportunities."

Which begs the question: How has the steelhead fishing been over the past year? Have anglers seen an increase in catches thanks to the new regulations? Share your comments below.

So what do you do when Mother Nature comes to town and turns your local rivers into runs of chocolate milk (either muddied with rain, or a heatwave that triggers the snowmelt)?

If water clarity becomes an issue in the spring, try fly fishing other bodies of water such as ponds, lakes or even the ocean if you're near a larger body of water.

Stillwater reservoirs can sometimes avoid the wrath of Mother Nature, at least for a few days before the feeder creeks make things murky across the board.

Fish are also keen on when storm fronts are nearing, and often gorge themselves right before major storms. Take advantage of those fair-weather windows, and get on the water before Mother Nature - and the runoff - blow out your favorite fisheries.

If you're in the Wyoming area, Tim Wade of the Cody Enterprise wrote a good piece recently on anglers avoiding muddy rivers by trying their hand at dry flies on local reservoirs such as Luce and the Newton lakes.

Definitely give those stillwaters a try and don't let Mother Nature muddy up your next fly fishing trip.

Yosemite's Merced River during a substantial runoff as more thunderstorms loom. Photo by Brian Milne.

I figured it was only a matter of time before the new film Salmon Fishing in Yemen gave the fly fishing industry a little shot in the arm, and it appears that day is upon us.

It was only a month and a half ago when I first wrote about Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and it appears the new film -- starring Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor, and penned by screenwriter Simon Beaufoy -- has already accounted for a 60 percent jump in bookings at one Scotland shop, according to Scotsman.com.

Greig Thomson, founder of Dundee-based fly fishing agency Salmo International, said: "We're calling it 'the Yemen effect', as since the film came out last weekend the phones have been ringing off the hook with enquiries about fishing on the Dee, the Spey and other rivers. ... Interestingly, many of these are from female first-timers who've become smitten and are looking for the full tuition package, together with more experienced types who've hung up their waders and haven't been on the river for a few years but are now looking to rekindle the thrill of landing a wild salmon in the Highlands."

Sound familiar? Yes, 20 years after "A River Runs Through It" had a similar effect on Montana's travel and fly fishing industry, it appears fly fishing is gaining popularity again (overseas, at least) thanks to the silver screen.

Should be interesting to see what kind of carryover the film has in the U.S. as it continues to find its way in front of more viewers.

Photo courtesy CBS Films.

I've heard mixed reviews about the general trout opener.

Friends and colleagues online have reported catching dozens of fish on opening day. Doug Alichwer (@dalichwer on Twitter), for example, Tweeted he fished Pine Creek in Northern Pennsylvania and had an awesome time, catching that nice brown trout in the photo at right.

Then I had a neighbor who said he was skunked on opening day Saturday despite seeing some stocked hawgs hanging out in the holes he was fly fishing at a local creek here in California.

Which begs the question: How was the fishing in your neck of the woods for the general trout season opener? Share your reports, and photos,  in the comments below.

- Photo courtesy Doug Alichwer

This weekend is shaping up to be the best trout opener weekend in quite some time.

Thanks to a mild winter, flooding concerns are down and the visibility and water levels on many of our favorite fishing waters are as good as they've been in years.

So just how many anglers are taking it to the stream this weekend?

We're probably talking millions nationally.

In Washington alone, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department expects more than 300,000 anglers to go fishing today on the opening day of the lowland lake trout fishing season.

Rain could dampen the spirits of some High Sierra anglers in California, but for much of the West Coast and country the weather looks pretty good over the next week.

So good in fact most anglers will likely see multi-fish days.

According to The Seattle Times, Washington's opening day catch average over the past five years is 2.2 fish. Don't be surprised if that number pushes closer to three this weekend.

Read more about fly fishing for rainbow trout and some popular California fisheries such as the Salinas River and Piru Creek. And if you can't make it all the way up to the Sierra Nevada, or your favorite high-altitude getaway, here's a post on fly fishing small creeks in your own backyard.

The general trout season kicks off today across much of the country, so what better time to go (gulp) shad fishing?

I know, not the most glamorous species to hunt for during the trout opener weekend, but now's the time to start looking for American shad in your coastal waters.

From late April-June, hundreds of thousands of shad start to run to their spawning grounds in coastal rivers throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The American shad can technically be found from Alaska to Mexico, although most shad fishing takes place on the East Coast, in the U.S. and on into Canada. They've also been transplanted to the West Coast, however, where they can be found in California, specifically the Delta and on the Lower American River.

Here's a closer look at the American shad along with some tips on fly fishing for shad.

Whatever species you pursue, Good luck on the water this weekend!