Nebraskaland Magazine
I want to call to your attention to another fishing article in NEBRASKAland magazine. The January-February 2017 issue is available on-line right now, and in it you will find an excellent article by Ryan Sparks on learning to fly-fish. The title is Wading In, check it out!
Unfortunately, many people equate fly-fishing with trout fishing. The first thing I always say about fly-fishing is that it ain’t just for trout! In fact, if you wish, and some fly-anglers do, you can pretty much catch any species of fish on a fly-rod. The NEBRASKAland article points that out, and offers advice on fly-fishing for bluegills, largemouth bass and crappies. As a matter of fact, I would tell you that at times a fly rod is the best tool for the job, the best gear for catching not only trout but even largemouth bass, bluegills and crappies!
On the other hand, if you want to fly-fish for trout, we certainly have some excellent opportunities to do that in Nebraska too! Again the article specifically mentions fly-fishing for trout in Nebraska, and let me mention another resource that you may or may not know about:
Besides the put-and-take, catchable-size trout we stock seasonally in urban and parks waters around the state, we have some excellent trout fishing in Nebraska waters that have the cold-water habitat that will support trout year-round. We even have populations of naturally-reproducing trout in many of those waters. To fish those cold-water habitats, you need to start here, Trout Fishing in Nebraska’s Streams.
When I mention the trout fishing booklet, I always offer that we have lots of “hard copies” of that booklet. Besides viewing it on-line, if you want a couple of copies in your hands, e-mail me your U.S. Postal mailing address and I will get those in the mail for you, daryl.bauer@nebraska.gov .
A couple more comments and I will shut up so you can read the NEBRASKAland story. If you are interested in more resources for learning to fly-fish, here is an excellent series of instructional videos on-line, Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center.
For more help, join a club! Here are some fly-fishing organizations in Nebraska that you should be a part of: Cornhusker Fly-Fishers, Nebraska Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Siouxland Fly Fishing Club, Big Mac Fly Fishers.
Make 2017 the year to get started fly-fishing! Versatility is a key to fishing success and having some proficiency with a fly rod will add to your fishing enjoyment and success. It will even teach you a lot of things you can apply to a lot of other fishing situations for a lot of other species of fish whether you choose to catch ’em on a fly rod or not.
However, when you catch a 20-inch rainbow on a size #20 fly, do not forget to brag about it!
