Fly Fishing

72Twenty · Location: Wyoming

This time of year my fishing is very limited to chances to fish on business trips or a tailwater that is more than a 125 mile drive (one way). I'm not really into ice fishing. I tie flies and read about fly fishing, look at my maps as I plan my fishing later this season, and I go skiing.

I live in Southeast Wyoming and we have actually been getting really good snow lately. We have a small but fun little local hill about 25 miles away. I hit it on the weekends.

Skiing and fly fishing have both been life-long passions of mine. When I was younger (especially in college) I really considered myself as more of a 'skier who goes fishing in the warm months', but over the past few years I have really switched to more of a 'fly fisherman who goes skiing when he can't fish'. If that makes any sense...

As I drive out to the ski hill, passing my local rivers and still water spots, all I think about is fishing. I ride the chairlift and gaze out to the peaks and think about the alpine lakes full of brook trout. When I ski in the backcountry, all I think about are the creeks and draws and ponds that will have trout in them this summer.

The funny thing is, sometimes when I am fishing, (especially later into the fall) I gaze up at the surrounding mountains and imagine the skiable lines once the snow fills them in.

I guess it is nice to have two addictions. Especially given the climate and terrain that surrounds my home.

Do you have other addictions that share time with your fishing?

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

What a great topic. I have been addicted to lot's of things for long durations of time too. Some of the more significant have been Fishing, Golf, Skiing And Mountain Biking. For sure, the oldest (since earliest memories) is fishing, followed by skiing, then golf and then mountain biking. When I found fly fishing it totally consumed me and I literally quit everything else. I actually ski raced during grammer school and high school and even college. My last ski trip out west was to Lake Tahoe in California. When I was there, I skied ONE day because when I was in town looking for ski goggles (or gambling at the casinos:)) I ran across the fly shop and before ya know it .. The skis stayed in the condo - and every day, for the trip instead of hitting the mountains - I hit the trout streams in the Sierra Mountains. This year, I'd like to get back into skiing.

PS. Maybe I will have to come out to Wyoming again to ski Jackson Hole (that is a KILLER area and mountain) Since my last ski trip there, I have also been there in August to fish. What an amazing place Wyoming is for both skiing and fly fishing. You are lucky.

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

Yeah, great topic. I too have been addicted to both skiing and fly fishing my whole life although I always considered myself a fly fisherman that went skiing in the colder months. Very Happy

I grew up and lived most of my life in Utah (until three years ago) and would fly fish year round. Out there many of the rivers fish very well in mid winter since they are tailwaters behind dams and the water temp is a little warmer than freestone rivers. In fact, there can be some pretty awesome dry fly fishing especially as you get into February and March. That time of the year, the fishing is much more productive in the middle of the day through afternoon since that is the warmest part of the day. As a result of this, you could ski in the morning and then fish in the afternoon. I used to do it all the time and it was awesome. As I grew up in a state with some of the best snow around, I became a big time powder snob and really didn't enjoy skiing unless at least 6 inches of powder had fallen and in order to get fresh tracks you had to be on the mountain in the morning and by noon most of the goods were skied out so I would get off the mountain and head to the river which was only about 40 minutes from there. I would get on the water around 1 p.m. just in time for the hatch to get into full swing and would have 2-3 hours of killer dry fly fishing. Add a couple of cold beers and a steak dinner at the end of it all and you have a pretty incredible day. I really miss those days and I look forward to getting back to Utah some day and get back in that groove again!
For now, living in New York I don't ski at all because there really is no such thing as powder in New York. Sometimes I do fish in the winter here but unfortunately an epic midge (in March Blue Winged Olives) hatch with 18-20 inch browns rising all over the place is not something you see. On the other hand, there are no false albacore in Utah....such is life, you just can't have it all!

chromefinder · Location: Southeast PA

great topic, my tendency for addictive hobbies pretty much began with downhill skiing, whitewater kayaking and fly fishing. Growing up in an area of rural Pennsylvania blessed with a abundance of rivers, streams and ski areas pretty much fueled this behavior. I have my dad, aunt and uncle to thank for introducing me to trout fishing. As a kid I spent most weekends with them exploring PA and NY trout waters. They were addicted long before it was passed down to me. The skiing addiction came soon after. High school and college time frame ski bum jobs as rental tech, shop repair tech, shop sales and ski instructor all allowed me free skiing just about anywhere. Most of my ski bum brethren were into whitewater kayaking & river guiding in the off season so that lead to my whitewater kayaking addiction. Now that I'm a bit older and I have to actually pay real $$$ for lift tickets my skiing addiction has taken a back seat to fly fishing. I still get out but not like the old days when everyday was a ski day. There are some awesome ski / fly fishing combo trips out there as has been posted above. My favorite so far has been the Lake Tahoe area. I am looking forward to checking out fly fishing in Utah since the skiing and snow there are so horrible :>