When planning for your fly fishing trip in Wyoming, there are
several factors that should be considered. A little time spent
planning will make your fly fishing trip more enjoyable, and
your time on the water more productive. In order to properly
plan your fly fishing trip, you will need to take a close look
at…

What type of fly fishing do you prefer?

One of the first things you need to consider when planning your
fly fishing trip, is the type of fishing you want to do. Whether
you’re planning on tubing some alpine lakes and casting to big
browns that are cruising near the bank. Or possibly you prefer
fishing meadow streams and beaver ponds for native cutthroat.
Maybe your plans are to spend some time doing both. Regardless
each will require a different plan of attack.

This one decision will tell you what time of year to take your trip.
You will also be able to tell what the climate will be, as well as
hatches, needed fly patterns and equipment. It will also give you
the information that will help you decide where to go on your fly
fishing trips.

Make a Checklist

I don’t think I could get through the day without using some kind of
checklist. This is especially true when getting ready to travel. Whether
you’re driving or flying, it’s a pain to get to your destination and
realize that you left some key stuff at home.

Most of us have had this experience. One time I left my extra waders
at home, and the pair that I did bring started leaking. (Not good at
9000 feet and 38 degree water.) We were just lucky to find a fly shop
open in a little town in the middle of nowhere.

Needless to say, I always take an extra pair of waders with me on every
fly fishing trip. The point is, had I used a checklist, I would have had
my spare waders on that trip as well.

Now all that’s left is to go through your check list and make sure you
have everything you need. Once you’re sure it’s all there, hit the road.
And have a great Wyoming fly fishing trip.

About the Author: Dale East is a long time outdoorsman and fly fisher and publisher of
Fly Fishing Wyoming

Often lake fish will gather in schools and cruise around looking for
food, but often it is the small fish that rise to take surface insects
while the bigger ones feed in deeper water.

Where the fish are

Fish in lakes aren’t much different than fish in rivers. Their
concerns are still protection from predators and finding food. Lake
fly fishing techniques involved finding the areas where both these
concerns are met.

Remember that lake water is generally deeper than rivers water, so
bottom structures may not be visible. Try fishing where a stream
enters the lake. Insects are often carried into the lake here and
the fish will be waiting for them.

Structure in lakes includes piers and boat ramps, weeded areas
and deadfalls. Fish are likely to be hanging around man-made structures
that have been sunken into the waters. Lake fish like to hang around
drop off areas. Here they can munch on food that has fallen into the
water and dart back into the depths when spooked. Warm water fish
gather around natural springs and weeds also.

Dry flies and lake fishing

Lake fly fishing techniques usually involved fishing deep. It takes
energy for a fish to take insects from the surface and there has to
be a darned good reason for a bigger fish to do so. A big hatch
might entice a large fish from the depths to feed, but you are more
likely to catch smaller fish when using dry flies on lakes.

Wet flies and lake fishing

If a fish expends more energy than he receives in searching for food,
he will not survive long. Lake fishing techniques include knowing
how an aggressively feeding fish will behave. He will check out
the feeding zones, feed, then return to safe water to rest until
it is feeding time again. If you are looking for large lake fish,
you need to get your hook down where they are holding.

The larger the fish, the more energy it takes for him to feed,
therefore the offering needs to be worthwhile. A big juicy-looking
streamer hanging right in front of his nose will often tempt a fish.

The advantage of fishing wets over dries in lakes is that you can
vary the depth and the retrieve until you find the combination
that the fish cannot resist. Keep a close eye on your line because
often the take is subtle. Using a strike indicator is helpful here.

Often a sinking line or sink tip can give you a big advantage when
fly fishing a lake. You have a much greater chance for success if
you can get your fly to the fish.

About the Author: Dale East is a long time outdoorsman and fly fisher and publisher of Fly Fishing Wyoming

Picture this; you’ve spent some time hiking into a small stream in
the back country. It’s early morning, mist is rising and the midges
that have been swarming around you are breakfast for the small browns
you have come to catch. You quietly walk up to the stream, watching
the swirls of rising fish. You tie a nymph onto your leader and step
into the water.

A trout skids away from under your feet, its flight sending out
warning signals as bright as any neon light. The feeding fish flee in
response and you are left with a section of river devoid of all but the
midges. Welcome to fly fishing the small stream.

Stop and look before fly fishing the small stream

Before you get into the water stop and look at what is in front of you.
This is especially true when approaching the small stream. Trout are well
camouflaged, especially when you are looking down into the water.
(A good pair of Polaroid glasses helps here.)

I like to make my first cast well back from the waters edge. If there
is little cover then I tend to use a long leader and lay the line on the
riverbank, allowing only the leader to enter the water, as close to
the near bank as possible. That way, if there are any fish lying close
under the bank, I will have given them first look at my fly.

Reading the water of the small stream

The waters of the small stream are like those of any river, just
on a smaller scale. The fish will be in the same types of water that
they would be in if you were fishing any trout stream. When you are
fly fishing the small stream, look for those areas that provide the
fish with their need for protection from predators, relief from fast
flowing currents, and access to food.

Fishing the pocket water

I like to use dry flies when fly fishing pocket water in a small
stream. The fish will usually be holding out of the main current but
close enough to grab any food that comes floating by, and a drifting
fly is often too tempting to resist.

Often it is not necessary to match the fly closely to whatever is
hatching. Instead I like to fish a fly that is visible enough for me
to see in fast moving water. Something like a light elk hair caddis
works well. When the strike comes I can see it and I catch more fish
this way than missing the strike by using a less visible, hatch matching
fly.

Fly fishing the small stream usually requires a more sensitive
approach and a finesse that is not necessary in larger rivers.
Experience and practice are the great tellers here. Ability to read
the water is more critical as the fish are often more easily spooked
than their big water cousins. But when you make your way home at the
end of a successful fishing day in the back country you know that
the time spent learning to fly fish the small stream has been worthwhile.

About the Author
Dale East is a long time outdoorsman and fly fisher and publisher of Fly Fishing Wyoming