We're Not In Kansas Anymore, or Wyoming

When people travel 'out West' for a flyfishing trip, more often than not their expectations are met, if not exceeded. True, there are many streams that are difficult and experience is key, but the average angler who books a trip with a quality guide in Wyoming, Montana or Idaho is going to catch a lot of fish in the summer time by merely pounding the banks of the river with big Hopper or Attractor patterns on 3x or 4x tippet.

Even angler's who have never fished before can pick up a rod, flip out twenty feet of line and catch a dozen Cutties. This is great because hopefully they enjoyed the sport enough to want to do it again, and often they do. There is one problem that occurs often. Those people decide to book their next trip on an Eastern tailwater. The average tailwater in the East is very techincal with small flies, sparse hatches and selective trout. A hopper on 3x just isn't going to get the job done. Towards the end of the summer when the tiny blue-winged olives come off, Pseudocloeon for example, or the Trico's begin to hatch the average hook size is going to be a 22 or even smaller, especially for Tricos. With the tiny flies comes tiny tippet, no bigger than 6x, and often 7x.

Here is a typical situation on the Upper Delaware River in late summer. A small hatch of Pseudos has come off, and a couple fish are working every 30 seconds or so. You look in the water, see a few and guess at their size, and you put on a sz. 22 Pseudo Compara-Dun. You make a 'perfect' cast and get a nice drift right over the fish. Nothing. You try again, same result. Why does this happen? This isn't the West. These fish are picky. The difference between catching that fish and casting over it until you spook it, which in reality only means about three or four casts if you're good, could be a sz. 22 Dun and a sz. 24 Emerger. It is that close between having a great day and getting one, if you're lucky. I was a personal witness to that exact example.

Also, you have to be able to lay down 50-60 feet of line at any given time at a downstream angle, get a drag-free drift, and present your tiny offering and hope for the best. Then you have to be able to produce that same cast over and over, because 90 percent of the time if it sees your tippet before the fly, that fish is down, and you definitely aren't catching it. Fishing Eastern tailwaters can be incredibly frustrating which is why so many people prefer the West. It's easier. I would agree that there are more numbers and bigger fish out West, but the more technical fishermen can thrive in the East.

People who go fly-fishing once or twice on vacation and were able to whack a few trout in Yellowstone come to think that's what is going to happen every time they go out. Unfortunately, for them and the guide, the results are almost never duplicated. The client's expect to catch fish and when they don't they think it's because they did not have a quality guide. This is possibly a reason, because without a good guide on an unfamiliar tailwater such as the Delaware, you are pretty much casting to water. But the more likely reason is the angler's skills are not equivalent to the river they are fishing.

Know your experience and skill level (be honest because it will be better for and your guide) before you book a trip somewhere. If the outfitter offers casting lessons, take them. Ask as many questions as you can about the river before you go. How far will I need to cast? What flies will we be using? Do NOT expect a day on the Delaware to be equal to a day on the Madison if you are a beginner. The Delaware is, in my opinion, the finest tailwater East of the Mississippi and has some of the biggest, strongest wild Brown and Rainbow trout in the country. Be patient, it will all come together for you; eventually.