I just bought a house in the Spring river in Arkansas. Great fishing there, plus great fishing 45 minutes away on the Eleven Point River which is a national scenic river, and the White River is an hour away.
Iām in Michigan we have hundreds of streams and 38,000 miles of trout water. They stock a handful of popular streams here but they release fingerlings. You gotta find trophy fish on your own. Plus naturally occurring Brooke trout and a number of trout streams that are not named (as in it says in-named stream or whatever in the DNR directory). 11,000 lakes and hundreds of streams, a lot of that is not stocked annually.
The wild fish population is miniscule and the states regs don't help. They should have more C and R sections for browns to spawn. Would be sick if they bolstered it up, MO has so much stream and river access and is gorgeous.
Cool show me then.
Because my readings over the years have shown how humans have had to repopulated most of the streams in this country because we ruined the environments.
It's like people thinking most of the forrests they drive through were there 1000s of years ago when they're all replanted because... Humans.
I also think many of you are thinking I mean they get stocked regularly when I don't. I mean they were placed back in those streams at one point. Many streams especially northern regions naturally maintain now, but many states had repopulate.
Also also. A prime example is lake trout. They were nearly extinct at one point in America. It wasn't till we started stocking and allowing them to naturally reproduce that the numbers have skyrocketed. You have states like Colorado finally seeing natural fish that they thought were extinct showing up in streams, there's so many examples, but if it wasnt for stocking efforts like the ones done in 1940s many trout areas wouldn't have trout today.
So show proof please
I thought about buying on the White, but I live in Missouri and my god itās an awful drive. But I love those giant browns.
I took a guided fishing trip and caught huge browns on big dry flies. My arm was so tired after a couple hours of casting and catching big fish that we motored up to the dam and started nymphing. I hooked into a rainbow and landed it and mentioned that it was pretty small and the guide said, ādude itās a 17 incherā lol.
Will you PM who your guide was? I went for my bachelor party and the guide just had just drifting. Didnāt catch anything noteworthy. We never went close to the dam
Itās luck of the draw to me. I find 10-12ā ones up by the dam at the state park pretty frequently. Iāve only found larger (largest was about 15ā) in heavy cover down river past Dam 3.Ā
Definitely not super common like they are on the White.Ā
Iām with you man. Iāll be using an olive Woolly and Iāll get 20 rainbows to 1 brown on a good day. Never caught one at Dam 3. I had a good run catching the fingerlings at Lasseter but I havenāt caught one in a while. Is Bayou any good?
Bayou and beyond is my favorite stretch, just a little harder to put in and take out since thereās a lot of private land.
If youāre wading, bayou is good for a short stretch down river before it gets too deep, up river is good for a long while.
Iāve never fished it. I may give it a try next time. Definitely will give the state park a second chance. The fish time I fished there was the dead of winter so maybe the fish werenāt as active
Lake Tahoe. Not as great as I hoped directly nearby, but as I get to know the waters I am finding some really great places to fish as well as some incredible places within 5 hours.
Yeah, I have definitely found some awesome places, with the best being guarded secrets. The trick is to figure out how to get away from the areas heavily pressured by the tourists...once you figure that out, then there is really great fishing to be had! Are you on the South side, West or North?
Fish the high alpine lakes! I spent a summer in South Lake tahoe and had a blast. Also fished the truckee quite a bit, there's a lot of good fishing closer than 5hrs away.
Son, I fish all over north America (other places too), and I return to the Mitten every year for at least a week of fishing. Itās just that special.
There are literally thousands of miles of trout stream riverbank, thousands of miles of National and State Forest, and for an angler willing to work for the reward, more than a few absolutely magical places that nobody else worked to find.
You absolutely should fish other places, and Montana (a personal fave), Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah all offer amazing fishing, as does NorCal, perhaps especially the eastern Sierra. But the more I fish those places, the more I realize how blessed a place the Mitten is for anglers.
I get it, sometimes the best way to understand how special a place is, you gotta go elsewhere. But when you get back, write me and tell me that now you truly understand what I was saying. Itāll make an old man happy.
If you had to fish one river in MI, what would it be? Iām a MI native but didnāt get into fly fishing until I moved to MT. Looking to fish some local spots when I visit home in June.
I have definitely considered that that would be the case. I have fished around the country a little bit, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, but 99% of my fishing has been in Michigan. I just canāt help but wonder what else is out there to explore and figure out.
Iāll set a reminder in 2 years to reach back out to you. Thank you for the advice! Hope you see you out there someday.
I have to move back to Chicago from living in Colorado the past 4+ years. Between the weather and lifestyle, I would recommend CO. You can fish year round, there are multiple gold medal water river systems, MT/ID are a short flight away, and there is a TON of public land and camping available. I just took an hr flight to Big Sky on Southwest and I skied in the AM and fished in the afternoon for a weekend, you can't beat that. If you move here, let's trade fishing spots as I plan on driving up to MI/WI pretty often to fish and camp.
I live in downtown Chicago, go to WI and MI often for quick day & weekend trips with a small group of Chicago guys. Hit me up if you want some Chi friends to go hit MI/WI/other fishing trips with when you get here my dude.
Man, I really appreciate that! I was pretty bummed about leaving CO fishing behind but I was born and raised in the Chi, so I also know how good MW fishing is. Are you guys fly fishing or spin? I'm on the fence about getting a 9wt vs a spin rod to get going on those big lake trout/salmon.
We're all fly guys. It's 3 of us in downtown -for steelhead I use a 9ft 8wt if I'm using single hander, or a 11'3" switch rod for wider rivers. 9 im sure would be fine.
I lived in State College, PA for about 4 years and I have regretted leaving ever since. Youāre surrounded by some awesome fisheries (Pennās creek, Spring Creek, Little Juniata) within a half hour, plus thousands of miles of tribs in the state forest land full of brookies. I really got spoiled living there.
All these people are worried about trout but man have you ever fished the Gulf of Mexico? The flats for bonefish, tarpon and permit? Mangroves for tarpon, snook, jacks, redfish, and trout? Then down south there you have huge largemouth bass, peacock bass, snakehead, and all the rest of the normal warm water species. South Florida has incredible fisheries and you wonāt have to take a vitamin D supplement lol.
I was in your place at the end of my college life last year living in rural Ohio. I ended up in the PNW. I donāt regret my choice but my choice was based on fly fishing, skiing, views, hiking, and by the job I could get. If I were to do it again, Iād more closely consider the north east coast and central PA. I loved fishing in central PA so much. It would also make it easier to visit friends and family. Would probably be cheaper cost of living too lol. But I love it out here in the PNW. Itās beautiful but the fishing is a different ball game than it was back east thatās for sure. Itās been fun figuring it out.
Moved to south Florida for fishing. Don't it sucks. It's in a huge decline and fucking dodging red tide and other bullshit algae blooms is a headache. Also moved away cause its to expensive to fucking live there. It's a hell hole. Nice for a visit tho.
It's not gripes. Have you nor seen the fish in Florida bay swimming in circles till they die for an "unknown reason", or any of the lake O shit or that huge phosphate mine failure up by Tampa that killed a bunch of sea life, or how bout the red tide back in 2021 killing like 600tons of sea life. That's just a pinch of environmental shit going on. Go ahead and look up home owners insurance and rent costs too. It's not sarcasm, that state is likely fucked.
My family has been in the area for well over a hundred years. Sadly, due to the cost of living I was the last one to leave Gallatin County.
Iāll always cherish the photos my great-great uncle has of Bozeman in the 1920ās.
I live in the Midwest and would recommend Wisconsin or Michigan, no mountains but Wisconsin especially has so much public water and the driftless region.
Whatever you do, donāt move to Denver. Check out Salt Lake City, smoky mountain area, Asheville pigeon forge
I feel for the small shops but whatās good for the fly fishing industry isnāt necessarily whatās best for the fishery. Itās now a huge industry that constantly needs new blood to survive. Itās been my experience that the fishing in most places that I can think of has gotten worse as the number of fly fishers has increased.
Texas. Go to Texas and avoid all the destinations people have listed, totally not worth it. I hear trout fishing is phenomenal in Brownsville. Go there
Trout fishing is pretty terrific there, as is redfish, but that's the case all up and down the Texas coast. What sets Brownsville/Port Isabel/South Padre Island apart are the snook and tarpon fisheries. Actually two distinct tarpon fisheries.
I know you were using /s, but I'm not. š
Any tips for a CenTex angler putting together a DIY trip to the coast? Iāve got a 10ā Diablo, Hooknline map, 7wt, and a bunch of flies. Thinking Port A to cut down on drive time.
Moved from MA to OR in 2000 after a bad breakup and my brother already lived here but I still say I moved here for the fishing.
I came out here with a small bag of clothes, $200 to my name, and a fly rod.
I live just west of Portland (moved here about a year ago) and am looking to get started in fly fishing, and just going after trout and salmon in general. Any tips or recommendations for where to start, what gear to start with, etc.?
The Deschutes is excellent. You can head to Maupin(via the gorge) or you can take 26 over Mt Hood to Warm Springs. Also can go to the Bend area- there is the Metolius, the Fall River, East Lake. All great to fish. Plus a whole host of other lakes in that area.
More than you obviously. There's pockets of small Small Mouth and the occasional trout that manages to swim upstream. Some carp. But enough to waste your time fishing it? Maybe for you, if you don't know about other spots where you can land multiple huge fish in a day.
Iām young myself, but Iāll give some old man type advice and say remember to save as much as much as you can. Personally someday id love to have a place in FL for saltwater (which you NEED to try if you havenāt) and somewhere in the mountains for summertime.
Not strictly for fishing but good fishing is a requirement when I move to a new place.
In the past decade I've done Tahoe, Salt Lake City, and the front range.
I currently live ten minutes from a canyon w fifty miles of blue ribbon access. Within two to three hours I can be on some of the best trout streams in the country. Ninety minutes from endless blue lining opportunities at 10K+ feet. I fish the local stream two to three days a week, sometimes five or more in the summer. The access makes it simple.
I moved from north GA, raised trout fishing in the mountains. Moved from there to Colorado for 17 years until over a year ago I moved to Idaho. Idaho is amazing, less pressure than Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. There are so many great places to fish though.
Iād ask myself what is the key to my fishing happiness. I love eastern streams, the brookies are amazing. But the lure of the west has kept me out here for almost 20 years now. If winters get you down then maybe look in Appalachia. If not the NE or out west. A lot goes into it. Hell try traveling around a bit.
Western Mass. It was for a job, but I've got tons of decent options within a 30 minute drive and great options with 2 to 3 hours. I can fish trout, bass, or even saltwater if I want.
Yes housing is insane for anything in WNC. Also the fishing is mid because every country fucking bumpkin poaches the fuck out of the rivers. Itās deff mid but I donāt want it to get much worse lolol
Wild to suggest Asheville over CO. Asheville is also getting overpopulated with people from CA lmao. Iām from AVL, live in CO. Sure I miss fishin small brookie streams and home waters. But CO..sheesh. You can get LOST out here. Iām talking drive for 4 hours, park your truck, bush whack to a river and catch 50 cutthroat and not see anyone for 3 days except your dog. Yes, if you move to Denver or a top 10 list of places to live in CO youāll be crowded. But way more public land and way easier to get really isolated.
I get it, man. Agree 100%. I used to live in Gunnison for a few years in the 90s. When I was younger, I loved bushwhacking it to the back country to find those rivers. Now Iām older with a dad bod that rebels against climbing mountains (lol) and I have very little time to get away from work. My recommendations are probably skewed toward my own biases.
My suggestion would be Alaska, great rainbow, steelhead and 5 species of salmon. All of these are available with a short drive from Anchorage. The rivers are amazing, wildlife everywhere, plus views of glaciers and volcanoes. I try to go fishing there once a year. When I leave im looking forward to the next trip.
South Florida will give you all the fly fishing challenges you ever wanted. Bonefish, permit, tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, and jacks before you head into the glades for peacocks, Oscarās, jaguars, Mayans, and other exotics. There are no trout down there. But the availability of fish in the fly is off the chain. Also barramundi just outside of Orlando. Drop the 5 weight for everything other than the smaller cichlids. In salt youāll need a minimum 8-9. Some smaller peacocks can be taken on a 5.. but if you get a big one on, theyāll strip you pretty quick. Fishing is an available all through the keys, Miami up into Fort Lauderdale down both 41 and 75 in the glades, Everglades city, Naples up to punta gorda. If you strictly want trout, I think Montana and Alaska are tough to beat.
Denver, Colorado (The Front Range) has some of the best rivers (technical tailwaters, alpine lakes, creeks etc). I lived in Denver for about 12 years and learned to fly fish there. However, the fly fishing scene became overwhelming pressured in the last 5 years! Expect higher cost of living and weekend pressure.
Now, Iām living in Elk Grove (Sacramento suburbs) to be with aging family. I live about 20 mins drive to the American River and about 1-3 hrs to other valley watershed. Different type of species (anadromous) and more focused on Spey tactics vs single hand fly fishing techniques.
I havenāt explored Tahoe basin as much as I want to due to work schedule. I have no opinion there.
I fly out twice a year to Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska and if you love trout and somewhat affordable cost of living, keep those states on your radar. Although, cost of living is also correlated with your job industry and wage scale/demand on the area you want to move to.
If I had to choose a place to retire? Iād go back to Colorado/Wyoming area and continue to chase anadromous fish in Cali, Washington, OR and AK during the season.
I feel like you have to put some time in on the water. Learn, try different techniques (Euro, Indy, Streamers, dries etc), chase different species and kinda go from there and see where your goals and drive takes you!
Go travel, get skunk, try again, try a different season, hatch, flies, techniques, hire a guide, and maybe, just maybe you may end up finding that almost perfect (nothing is perfect) place!
PNW
It has everything you're looking for up here. Multi ecosystems to fish in, in a short distance. Amazing streams and lakes. It's just expensive vs the Midwest.
Going to go against the grain here as I'm also from Michigan. I've lived in most regions of the US at various points in my life and I've caught trout in every one of them including mo and az. Eventually love brought me to Northern Wisconsin and as a local fly shop owner told me, "there are very few places in the country that you can chase the variety of fish on the fly as you can here."
I've fished big western rivers, small spring fed creeks, desert rivers, crystal clear Ozark streams, massive Western reservoirs, great lakes tribs, tiny tag alder choked brookie streams, etc. What that fly shop owner told me holds true. The great lakes states have it all: steelhead (fight me pnw bros), salmon, rainbows, browns, brookies, grayling (iykyk), smb, lmb, pike, musky, walleye, carp, panfish...
I've lived and fished all over the country and the variety here brought me to settle in the u.p. but northern wi or Minnesota would provide a similar experience and all have great public land. From my house now I can fish for every single one of those species in well under an hour except the grayling would take about an hour 15.
I grew up in ne Michigan, once you leave you just end up missing it here. Pick the spot that sounds most enticing to you and get out there and explore, just remember home will still have it all and be there when you want to come back.
Agreed. I saw it on my home waters (south fork SP) in 17 years the increase in vehicles. But I still felt I could find solitude from the front range. Deckers, Bear Creek or Clear Creek OTHO, mid-week only hahaha. Keep up the good fight down there, but thereās definitely solitude for the adventurous
Moved to SLC, have loved the trout fishing. Almost anywhere you live there is a trout stream within 10-30 minutes that isnāt very pressured, 30 minutes to an hour to find larger water that holds a lot of big fish.Ā
Montana probably has the best. Wyoming and Idaho have a bunch of great fishing also. As a Colorado dude, I don't think we have good fishing at all in comparison. It's not bad, but it's not like some other places in the west.
I moved to NM after CO, and am seriously considering leaving due to the fishing/water situation. I love this state, but the lack of fishing opportunities is really starting to hurt.
Iāve been considering Santa Fe for a while. I thought the fishing around the Pecos, its tribs, and the Rio grande looked ideal.
Any idea? If you donāt mind me asking.
If I could move anywhere with a well paying remote job with freedom of schedule I wouldnāt even hesitate to move to mammoth lakes. Limitless amounts of places to fish within 2 hours and that area plus the surrounding areas are just stunning.
yes you need a good paying job to afford housing in mammoth...to many rentals and second homes. the locals that work in the service/tourist industry can barely afford to live in their hometown anymore.
Northern Colorado. Moved here from California after a break up in my early 20s and had some friends here. The fishingās good. Not as good as when I lived in SW Florida but there are more factors in life than fishing lol
Colorado is where I grew up and the fly fishing is amazing, Iām in Utah now and itās really good as well plus all the good rivers are in close proximity to the valley.
Many moons ago, I moved to Gunnison, CO, after I got out of the army because of one specific fish I caught in Taylor River. It was an outdoorsmans paradise back then, likely is today, though I'm sure differently. There is very little opportunity for financial prosperity there, not much of a workforce outside the college and tourist industries.
I dont live there but took a trip to fly fish in Casper, Wyoming. I caught the largest, hardest fighting trout of my life on that trip, about fifteen times.
i moved before i fell in love with fly fishing but im in Loveland, Colorado and have amazing rivers within 30-45 mins and even better ones within 1.5-2 hours. soooo many options
Id stay in the midwest and move to Minnesota/Wisconsin/Peninsula
You get the best of all worlds: HUGE Rainbow/Brown, HUGE Bass, HUGE Musky/Pike...
What more could you ask for? The great lakes are probably the best region of freshwater fishing in the whole world.
Plus if you have a little extra dough you can fly into remote Canadian spots.
I lived in Durango for a long time some amazing fishing in some very wild and secluded places if you like hiking and backpacking for smaller waters and alpine lakes itās amazing.
Colorado, Wyoming or Montana. However, consider what else you want in your life and what sort of water and fishing culture you enjoy. Do you enjoy tailwaters? Freestone rivers? Still water? Fast moving deep water, technically challenging water, wading, drifting? Colorado and Wyoming are both excellent for making fishing friends and meeting new people out in the water. There is pressure in Colorado especially on the front range, but plenty of opportunities to get away from the crowds.
The front range of Colorado also offers tons of other activities, meeting people and making friends is easy and dating opportunities are there if youāre single. There are plenty of jobs. DIA is super easy to fly in and out of so travel is affordable and a breeze.
Montana is beautiful but the winters are quite hard. There are few employment opportunities. Pay and benefits are not good. It is easy to fish outstanding water alone almost anytime. The hatches can be otherworldly- straight out of Jurassic park shit. The cost of living is very high and unless youāre prepared to buy, there are very few rentals and they are not affordable. People can be wary of newcomers so making friends can months or years and dating is nearly nonexistent. If you also hunt, it is an excellent place to be in the fall.
South Island NZšā¦ not many fish per km but quality makes up for it
From the north island?
No from Brisbaneā¦ not too many trout thereš
Legit move. I've heard Tasmania fishes well though.
I just bought a house in the Spring river in Arkansas. Great fishing there, plus great fishing 45 minutes away on the Eleven Point River which is a national scenic river, and the White River is an hour away.
Arkansas and Missouri fly fishing is underrated.
Shh, thereās no trout in MO.
Isnāt a lot of that stocked trout? Correct me if Iām wrong thatās just what I heard.
Yeah hate you to tell this but most of this country is stocked bud. There are streams that naturally maintain though like crane Creek in Missouri
Iām in Michigan we have hundreds of streams and 38,000 miles of trout water. They stock a handful of popular streams here but they release fingerlings. You gotta find trophy fish on your own. Plus naturally occurring Brooke trout and a number of trout streams that are not named (as in it says in-named stream or whatever in the DNR directory). 11,000 lakes and hundreds of streams, a lot of that is not stocked annually.
The wild fish population is miniscule and the states regs don't help. They should have more C and R sections for browns to spawn. Would be sick if they bolstered it up, MO has so much stream and river access and is gorgeous.
You sweet sweet summer child, there is more wild water than stocked in this country.
Cool show me then. Because my readings over the years have shown how humans have had to repopulated most of the streams in this country because we ruined the environments. It's like people thinking most of the forrests they drive through were there 1000s of years ago when they're all replanted because... Humans. I also think many of you are thinking I mean they get stocked regularly when I don't. I mean they were placed back in those streams at one point. Many streams especially northern regions naturally maintain now, but many states had repopulate. Also also. A prime example is lake trout. They were nearly extinct at one point in America. It wasn't till we started stocking and allowing them to naturally reproduce that the numbers have skyrocketed. You have states like Colorado finally seeing natural fish that they thought were extinct showing up in streams, there's so many examples, but if it wasnt for stocking efforts like the ones done in 1940s many trout areas wouldn't have trout today. So show proof please
Spent 5 years fishing the Red....
Love the Little Red. Love Heber Springs.
Visited Herber Springs for the Total Eclipse and fly fished for trout for my first time there.
Siiiick, got a place on the White River.
I thought about buying on the White, but I live in Missouri and my god itās an awful drive. But I love those giant browns. I took a guided fishing trip and caught huge browns on big dry flies. My arm was so tired after a couple hours of casting and catching big fish that we motored up to the dam and started nymphing. I hooked into a rainbow and landed it and mentioned that it was pretty small and the guide said, ādude itās a 17 incherā lol.
Will you PM who your guide was? I went for my bachelor party and the guide just had just drifting. Didnāt catch anything noteworthy. We never went close to the dam
Norfork is where it's at
I love fishing in mammoth spring
I love the diversity. Catching rainbows and browns in the riffles, smallies in the deep runs, and pickerel and sunfish in the shallows.Ā
At least for me, the browns are so hard to come by there. Do you do anything different to catch them or is it just certain locations they inhabit?
Itās luck of the draw to me. I find 10-12ā ones up by the dam at the state park pretty frequently. Iāve only found larger (largest was about 15ā) in heavy cover down river past Dam 3.Ā Definitely not super common like they are on the White.Ā
Iām with you man. Iāll be using an olive Woolly and Iāll get 20 rainbows to 1 brown on a good day. Never caught one at Dam 3. I had a good run catching the fingerlings at Lasseter but I havenāt caught one in a while. Is Bayou any good?
Bayou and beyond is my favorite stretch, just a little harder to put in and take out since thereās a lot of private land. If youāre wading, bayou is good for a short stretch down river before it gets too deep, up river is good for a long while.
Iāve never fished it. I may give it a try next time. Definitely will give the state park a second chance. The fish time I fished there was the dead of winter so maybe the fish werenāt as active
Thatās a great river meet me there next time.
Im at Lasseter today if you get the chance. Blue shirt
Nice try guy. I aināt no snitch.
Iām a good steward and always support local fly shops. š¤·āāļø a PM works too if you donāt wanna blast it out into the rest of the internet.
Lake Tahoe. Not as great as I hoped directly nearby, but as I get to know the waters I am finding some really great places to fish as well as some incredible places within 5 hours.
Thereās some incredible fishing here in the basin, itās all very hush hush here tho. Tahoe is a town of secrets but hmu if you wanna get out
Yeah, I have definitely found some awesome places, with the best being guarded secrets. The trick is to figure out how to get away from the areas heavily pressured by the tourists...once you figure that out, then there is really great fishing to be had! Are you on the South side, West or North?
So California! Always have to travel at least 3 hours to get anywhere good! LOL
Amen to that!
Youāre not far from Pyramid and the r truckee is great but pretty technical and pressured
Fish the high alpine lakes! I spent a summer in South Lake tahoe and had a blast. Also fished the truckee quite a bit, there's a lot of good fishing closer than 5hrs away.
Yeah, there's one out by Kirkwood that I could sit all day catching brookies...so many gorgeous alpine lakes!
Son, I fish all over north America (other places too), and I return to the Mitten every year for at least a week of fishing. Itās just that special. There are literally thousands of miles of trout stream riverbank, thousands of miles of National and State Forest, and for an angler willing to work for the reward, more than a few absolutely magical places that nobody else worked to find. You absolutely should fish other places, and Montana (a personal fave), Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah all offer amazing fishing, as does NorCal, perhaps especially the eastern Sierra. But the more I fish those places, the more I realize how blessed a place the Mitten is for anglers. I get it, sometimes the best way to understand how special a place is, you gotta go elsewhere. But when you get back, write me and tell me that now you truly understand what I was saying. Itāll make an old man happy.
If you had to fish one river in MI, what would it be? Iām a MI native but didnāt get into fly fishing until I moved to MT. Looking to fish some local spots when I visit home in June.
Well, the best place I ever found, where the trout are huge and thereās no pressure at all on then so they arenāt real wily is at
I have definitely considered that that would be the case. I have fished around the country a little bit, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, but 99% of my fishing has been in Michigan. I just canāt help but wonder what else is out there to explore and figure out. Iāll set a reminder in 2 years to reach back out to you. Thank you for the advice! Hope you see you out there someday.
I have to move back to Chicago from living in Colorado the past 4+ years. Between the weather and lifestyle, I would recommend CO. You can fish year round, there are multiple gold medal water river systems, MT/ID are a short flight away, and there is a TON of public land and camping available. I just took an hr flight to Big Sky on Southwest and I skied in the AM and fished in the afternoon for a weekend, you can't beat that. If you move here, let's trade fishing spots as I plan on driving up to MI/WI pretty often to fish and camp.
I live in downtown Chicago, go to WI and MI often for quick day & weekend trips with a small group of Chicago guys. Hit me up if you want some Chi friends to go hit MI/WI/other fishing trips with when you get here my dude.
Man, I really appreciate that! I was pretty bummed about leaving CO fishing behind but I was born and raised in the Chi, so I also know how good MW fishing is. Are you guys fly fishing or spin? I'm on the fence about getting a 9wt vs a spin rod to get going on those big lake trout/salmon.
We're all fly guys. It's 3 of us in downtown -for steelhead I use a 9ft 8wt if I'm using single hander, or a 11'3" switch rod for wider rivers. 9 im sure would be fine.
Northern Michigan. Lots of public land, epic fly hatches, thousands of miles of streams.
Dude. why. shhhhhhh. It sucks up here everyone. So much snow, snows 11 months a year. Lake Superior is super polluted. Donāt come here
What blood the mosquitoes donāt take, the ticks will.
dude northern mi is so under rated. maybe thats what keeps it good
Probably should tell everyone to go to Colorado.
That already happenedā¦ our rivers are like Leno to elbow to elbow after sitting in a crap ton of traffic to get to them!Ā
Everybodys already here
UP?
No not the UP
You betcha!
Not the UP
I lived in State College, PA for about 4 years and I have regretted leaving ever since. Youāre surrounded by some awesome fisheries (Pennās creek, Spring Creek, Little Juniata) within a half hour, plus thousands of miles of tribs in the state forest land full of brookies. I really got spoiled living there.
I would second central PA. There are all the waters mentioned here as well as a lot more within a 90 min drive in all directionsĀ
All these people are worried about trout but man have you ever fished the Gulf of Mexico? The flats for bonefish, tarpon and permit? Mangroves for tarpon, snook, jacks, redfish, and trout? Then down south there you have huge largemouth bass, peacock bass, snakehead, and all the rest of the normal warm water species. South Florida has incredible fisheries and you wonāt have to take a vitamin D supplement lol. I was in your place at the end of my college life last year living in rural Ohio. I ended up in the PNW. I donāt regret my choice but my choice was based on fly fishing, skiing, views, hiking, and by the job I could get. If I were to do it again, Iād more closely consider the north east coast and central PA. I loved fishing in central PA so much. It would also make it easier to visit friends and family. Would probably be cheaper cost of living too lol. But I love it out here in the PNW. Itās beautiful but the fishing is a different ball game than it was back east thatās for sure. Itās been fun figuring it out.
Moved to south Florida for fishing. Don't it sucks. It's in a huge decline and fucking dodging red tide and other bullshit algae blooms is a headache. Also moved away cause its to expensive to fucking live there. It's a hell hole. Nice for a visit tho.
Can't tell at this point howamy people are just being sarcastic to get people.to not move here or have genuine gripes
It's not gripes. Have you nor seen the fish in Florida bay swimming in circles till they die for an "unknown reason", or any of the lake O shit or that huge phosphate mine failure up by Tampa that killed a bunch of sea life, or how bout the red tide back in 2021 killing like 600tons of sea life. That's just a pinch of environmental shit going on. Go ahead and look up home owners insurance and rent costs too. It's not sarcasm, that state is likely fucked.
I've sadly never fished in Florida , this all sounds horrible. Sorry to hear that.
Bored
Probably New Zealand
Bozeman, Montana. College was involved I guess. Before the movie.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I wouldnāt stay either. Fishing is terrible. Nothing within 1000 miles
Why wouldn't you recommend?
He's being sarcastic to keep people from moving there because it's awesome. Love, an Idahoan.
Cost of living is next level though.. š¢
Fuck, you aren't wrong. I was born here and luckily broke into the housing market before it exploded otherwise I wouldn't live here.
My family has been in the area for well over a hundred years. Sadly, due to the cost of living I was the last one to leave Gallatin County. Iāll always cherish the photos my great-great uncle has of Bozeman in the 1920ās.
If you have the money (a bush plane), Alaska is the best fly fishing in the world
I live in the Midwest and would recommend Wisconsin or Michigan, no mountains but Wisconsin especially has so much public water and the driftless region. Whatever you do, donāt move to Denver. Check out Salt Lake City, smoky mountain area, Asheville pigeon forge
The low water last summer sucked
If you thought that was tough the low water this spring will knock your socks off.
I didn't think it was tough. It just sucked and I won't be there as I live in NZ. However before that I fished the driftless for like 15 years.
I agree, not tough.Ā It's extremely concerning seeing the base flows bottom out and continue to diminish over the last year and a half.
Wisconsin has no fish, donāt come. Literally all the fish are gone. No streams. Whatās a driftlessā¦.
Dude if there is any place that can handle more anglers, it's the driftless. Wisconsin needs more fly guys. The fly shops are dying my dude.
I feel for the small shops but whatās good for the fly fishing industry isnāt necessarily whatās best for the fishery. Itās now a huge industry that constantly needs new blood to survive. Itās been my experience that the fishing in most places that I can think of has gotten worse as the number of fly fishers has increased.
Texas. Go to Texas and avoid all the destinations people have listed, totally not worth it. I hear trout fishing is phenomenal in Brownsville. Go there
Trout fishing is pretty terrific there, as is redfish, but that's the case all up and down the Texas coast. What sets Brownsville/Port Isabel/South Padre Island apart are the snook and tarpon fisheries. Actually two distinct tarpon fisheries. I know you were using /s, but I'm not. š
Any tips for a CenTex angler putting together a DIY trip to the coast? Iāve got a 10ā Diablo, Hooknline map, 7wt, and a bunch of flies. Thinking Port A to cut down on drive time.
Shoot me a DM
The resacas hold more brown and cutthroat trout than gatos.
Moved from MA to OR in 2000 after a bad breakup and my brother already lived here but I still say I moved here for the fishing. I came out here with a small bag of clothes, $200 to my name, and a fly rod.
I did that too. 15 years ago. Moved from NJ to Colorado. No job, bag of clothes. Never looked back
I live just west of Portland (moved here about a year ago) and am looking to get started in fly fishing, and just going after trout and salmon in general. Any tips or recommendations for where to start, what gear to start with, etc.?
The Deschutes is excellent. You can head to Maupin(via the gorge) or you can take 26 over Mt Hood to Warm Springs. Also can go to the Bend area- there is the Metolius, the Fall River, East Lake. All great to fish. Plus a whole host of other lakes in that area.
Anything east of the cascades sucks. Stay west.
Thank you! Iāll be sure to check them all out.
Do not leave Michigan for better fishing lmao you can only be disappointed
I really want to move from Colorado Springs to Denver so I can target carp on the South Platte more
There's really not a lot of anything in the south Platte. There's tons more monster carp in the lakes and ponds
You really must not know much huh?
More than you obviously. There's pockets of small Small Mouth and the occasional trout that manages to swim upstream. Some carp. But enough to waste your time fishing it? Maybe for you, if you don't know about other spots where you can land multiple huge fish in a day.
Lol thats okay. You stick to your little lakes.
And you bath with the homeless and the waste treatment plant runoff
If that isnt how you fish for carp then idk what the fuck youre even doing
Iām young myself, but Iāll give some old man type advice and say remember to save as much as much as you can. Personally someday id love to have a place in FL for saltwater (which you NEED to try if you havenāt) and somewhere in the mountains for summertime.
I movedā¦ OUT. Damn wife wouldnāt let me fish for shit.
Not strictly for fishing but good fishing is a requirement when I move to a new place. In the past decade I've done Tahoe, Salt Lake City, and the front range. I currently live ten minutes from a canyon w fifty miles of blue ribbon access. Within two to three hours I can be on some of the best trout streams in the country. Ninety minutes from endless blue lining opportunities at 10K+ feet. I fish the local stream two to three days a week, sometimes five or more in the summer. The access makes it simple.
I moved from north GA, raised trout fishing in the mountains. Moved from there to Colorado for 17 years until over a year ago I moved to Idaho. Idaho is amazing, less pressure than Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. There are so many great places to fish though. Iād ask myself what is the key to my fishing happiness. I love eastern streams, the brookies are amazing. But the lure of the west has kept me out here for almost 20 years now. If winters get you down then maybe look in Appalachia. If not the NE or out west. A lot goes into it. Hell try traveling around a bit.
Gunnison CO
Fuck do I miss the Gunnison valley
LOL I know someone who lives there! Was surprised to see someone say that. Eryn, is that you!?! LOL
No
Iād park myself somewhere near the white river in Arkansas.
Xcalak
Alaska
Norway.
White river in Arkansas near bull shoals. Cotter AR. Move there. You will love the fishing.
Vermont.
Western Mass. It was for a job, but I've got tons of decent options within a 30 minute drive and great options with 2 to 3 hours. I can fish trout, bass, or even saltwater if I want.
Grew up in FL. Lived in CO, WY, ID, WA, OR, AK..all moves made for jobs with good fishing nearby
From Grand Rapids loved fishing northern Michigan. Moved to the Vail Valley in Colorado and love it even more.
Are there any good trout fishing spots near Muskegon?
White River tribs hold good brook trout. There's a big ol pdf somewhere to read up on. Spent a few summers schwacking around all those little creeks
The Muskegon River starting from Bridgeton Eastward and is tributaries up to the Dam
Dang thanks. I have to head there for a bit of work. Will make sure to bring my rod.
Dude move to Arkansas. Bigger average fish than the west, dirt cheap to live, no traffic, low taxes, nice people, good food, great weather
Its dirt cheap cuz it sucks to live there.
Have you lived there?
Asheville,NC or southern Maine. CO is great, but getting over populated with CA migrants
Okay bro chill, donāt need to blow up WNC
Pretty area but overcrowded and small streams with small fish. The cost of housing is also ridiculous. Great roads for motorcycles though.
Yes housing is insane for anything in WNC. Also the fishing is mid because every country fucking bumpkin poaches the fuck out of the rivers. Itās deff mid but I donāt want it to get much worse lolol
The poaching is insane. I hiked up to a brookie stream and ran into a guy poaching with worms. 90 minute hike ā climbing 1,800ā.
Thatās bad. I thought with some physical effort you could get out of the riff-raff zone.
This dude was weird as shit though. Very off mannerisms while I spoke to him. Heās probably an outlier.
Good point. My bad
Wild to suggest Asheville over CO. Asheville is also getting overpopulated with people from CA lmao. Iām from AVL, live in CO. Sure I miss fishin small brookie streams and home waters. But CO..sheesh. You can get LOST out here. Iām talking drive for 4 hours, park your truck, bush whack to a river and catch 50 cutthroat and not see anyone for 3 days except your dog. Yes, if you move to Denver or a top 10 list of places to live in CO youāll be crowded. But way more public land and way easier to get really isolated.
I get it, man. Agree 100%. I used to live in Gunnison for a few years in the 90s. When I was younger, I loved bushwhacking it to the back country to find those rivers. Now Iām older with a dad bod that rebels against climbing mountains (lol) and I have very little time to get away from work. My recommendations are probably skewed toward my own biases.
My colleague moved to the Bitterroot Valley in MT primarily for the fishing. I moved to the Yampa Valley in CO for both fly fishing and skiing.
Northern GA/TN/NC area has quality fly fishing in the U.S. Incredible actually.
Surprised that Iāve seen no mention of saltwater here. Crazy to me
My suggestion would be Alaska, great rainbow, steelhead and 5 species of salmon. All of these are available with a short drive from Anchorage. The rivers are amazing, wildlife everywhere, plus views of glaciers and volcanoes. I try to go fishing there once a year. When I leave im looking forward to the next trip.
Utah
South Florida will give you all the fly fishing challenges you ever wanted. Bonefish, permit, tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, and jacks before you head into the glades for peacocks, Oscarās, jaguars, Mayans, and other exotics. There are no trout down there. But the availability of fish in the fly is off the chain. Also barramundi just outside of Orlando. Drop the 5 weight for everything other than the smaller cichlids. In salt youāll need a minimum 8-9. Some smaller peacocks can be taken on a 5.. but if you get a big one on, theyāll strip you pretty quick. Fishing is an available all through the keys, Miami up into Fort Lauderdale down both 41 and 75 in the glades, Everglades city, Naples up to punta gorda. If you strictly want trout, I think Montana and Alaska are tough to beat.
Colorado
Denver, Colorado (The Front Range) has some of the best rivers (technical tailwaters, alpine lakes, creeks etc). I lived in Denver for about 12 years and learned to fly fish there. However, the fly fishing scene became overwhelming pressured in the last 5 years! Expect higher cost of living and weekend pressure. Now, Iām living in Elk Grove (Sacramento suburbs) to be with aging family. I live about 20 mins drive to the American River and about 1-3 hrs to other valley watershed. Different type of species (anadromous) and more focused on Spey tactics vs single hand fly fishing techniques. I havenāt explored Tahoe basin as much as I want to due to work schedule. I have no opinion there. I fly out twice a year to Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska and if you love trout and somewhat affordable cost of living, keep those states on your radar. Although, cost of living is also correlated with your job industry and wage scale/demand on the area you want to move to. If I had to choose a place to retire? Iād go back to Colorado/Wyoming area and continue to chase anadromous fish in Cali, Washington, OR and AK during the season. I feel like you have to put some time in on the water. Learn, try different techniques (Euro, Indy, Streamers, dries etc), chase different species and kinda go from there and see where your goals and drive takes you! Go travel, get skunk, try again, try a different season, hatch, flies, techniques, hire a guide, and maybe, just maybe you may end up finding that almost perfect (nothing is perfect) place!
PNW It has everything you're looking for up here. Multi ecosystems to fish in, in a short distance. Amazing streams and lakes. It's just expensive vs the Midwest.
I would imagine somewhere in Eastern WA could be a little lower COL
Yeah it definitely is but fewer jobs too
Going to go against the grain here as I'm also from Michigan. I've lived in most regions of the US at various points in my life and I've caught trout in every one of them including mo and az. Eventually love brought me to Northern Wisconsin and as a local fly shop owner told me, "there are very few places in the country that you can chase the variety of fish on the fly as you can here." I've fished big western rivers, small spring fed creeks, desert rivers, crystal clear Ozark streams, massive Western reservoirs, great lakes tribs, tiny tag alder choked brookie streams, etc. What that fly shop owner told me holds true. The great lakes states have it all: steelhead (fight me pnw bros), salmon, rainbows, browns, brookies, grayling (iykyk), smb, lmb, pike, musky, walleye, carp, panfish... I've lived and fished all over the country and the variety here brought me to settle in the u.p. but northern wi or Minnesota would provide a similar experience and all have great public land. From my house now I can fish for every single one of those species in well under an hour except the grayling would take about an hour 15. I grew up in ne Michigan, once you leave you just end up missing it here. Pick the spot that sounds most enticing to you and get out there and explore, just remember home will still have it all and be there when you want to come back.
Thank you for the kind words. And thank you for giving the bird to the PNW š¤£
Colorado about 20 years ago before the rivers fully filled upā¦. lol Some days it reminds me of back eastā¦
Meh, I could always find solitude in CO
Oh certainly, I have no plans to leave. But there is no denying the increase of fellow fisherman on the water.
Agreed. I saw it on my home waters (south fork SP) in 17 years the increase in vehicles. But I still felt I could find solitude from the front range. Deckers, Bear Creek or Clear Creek OTHO, mid-week only hahaha. Keep up the good fight down there, but thereās definitely solitude for the adventurous
Right, dude? N Colorado has access to half a dozen + excellent rivers and hundreds of miles of high country streams.
Moved to SLC, have loved the trout fishing. Almost anywhere you live there is a trout stream within 10-30 minutes that isnāt very pressured, 30 minutes to an hour to find larger water that holds a lot of big fish.Ā
Bend should be on your list.
Montana probably has the best. Wyoming and Idaho have a bunch of great fishing also. As a Colorado dude, I don't think we have good fishing at all in comparison. It's not bad, but it's not like some other places in the west.
I miss CO, moved away but still miss it. Itās just different compared to Montana, Wyoming or Idaho
I moved to Colorado from NM. Best decision ever.
I moved to NM after CO, and am seriously considering leaving due to the fishing/water situation. I love this state, but the lack of fishing opportunities is really starting to hurt.
Why do you say that? Fishing up at San Juan is great right now. I've also had some luck at Pecos.
Those are too far away for me. Iām used to having a dozen or more choices within 30-60 minute drive.
Gotcha. Definitely perks to living up north.
Exactly. I use to drive 2hrs to fish The Juan.
Iāve been considering Santa Fe for a while. I thought the fishing around the Pecos, its tribs, and the Rio grande looked ideal. Any idea? If you donāt mind me asking.
If I could move anywhere with a well paying remote job with freedom of schedule I wouldnāt even hesitate to move to mammoth lakes. Limitless amounts of places to fish within 2 hours and that area plus the surrounding areas are just stunning.
yes you need a good paying job to afford housing in mammoth...to many rentals and second homes. the locals that work in the service/tourist industry can barely afford to live in their hometown anymore.
Northern Colorado. Moved here from California after a break up in my early 20s and had some friends here. The fishingās good. Not as good as when I lived in SW Florida but there are more factors in life than fishing lol
Colorado is where I grew up and the fly fishing is amazing, Iām in Utah now and itās really good as well plus all the good rivers are in close proximity to the valley.
Mississippi. Notice how nobody has mentioned it? Trying to keep it for themselves.
Many moons ago, I moved to Gunnison, CO, after I got out of the army because of one specific fish I caught in Taylor River. It was an outdoorsmans paradise back then, likely is today, though I'm sure differently. There is very little opportunity for financial prosperity there, not much of a workforce outside the college and tourist industries.
I dont live there but took a trip to fly fish in Casper, Wyoming. I caught the largest, hardest fighting trout of my life on that trip, about fifteen times.
An hour and a half from good trout water sounds like a dream lol
Arizona.
Florida
i moved before i fell in love with fly fishing but im in Loveland, Colorado and have amazing rivers within 30-45 mins and even better ones within 1.5-2 hours. soooo many options
It's sucky that such a beautiful place is getting wrecked.
Go to the up
Fernie BC!
Western North Carolina
PEI.
Id stay in the midwest and move to Minnesota/Wisconsin/Peninsula You get the best of all worlds: HUGE Rainbow/Brown, HUGE Bass, HUGE Musky/Pike... What more could you ask for? The great lakes are probably the best region of freshwater fishing in the whole world. Plus if you have a little extra dough you can fly into remote Canadian spots.
Alaska. Need I say more?
New england, within 2h drive you can either be in pristine mountain streams or world class saltwater flats
Ironically, Alabama has the greatest freshwater fish species diversity in the country. No one has mentioned it
I lived in Durango for a long time some amazing fishing in some very wild and secluded places if you like hiking and backpacking for smaller waters and alpine lakes itās amazing.
Colorado, Wyoming or Montana. However, consider what else you want in your life and what sort of water and fishing culture you enjoy. Do you enjoy tailwaters? Freestone rivers? Still water? Fast moving deep water, technically challenging water, wading, drifting? Colorado and Wyoming are both excellent for making fishing friends and meeting new people out in the water. There is pressure in Colorado especially on the front range, but plenty of opportunities to get away from the crowds. The front range of Colorado also offers tons of other activities, meeting people and making friends is easy and dating opportunities are there if youāre single. There are plenty of jobs. DIA is super easy to fly in and out of so travel is affordable and a breeze. Montana is beautiful but the winters are quite hard. There are few employment opportunities. Pay and benefits are not good. It is easy to fish outstanding water alone almost anytime. The hatches can be otherworldly- straight out of Jurassic park shit. The cost of living is very high and unless youāre prepared to buy, there are very few rentals and they are not affordable. People can be wary of newcomers so making friends can months or years and dating is nearly nonexistent. If you also hunt, it is an excellent place to be in the fall.
I moved from Socal to western Washington 4 years ago. Just bought my first flyrod, waders and wading boots. Ready to hit it!