RedRocket204 wrote:
I have been fishing all my life, almost exclusively lake & ocean, but it was when I got into fly fishing that I knew I was out of my element. I did a wading guide on the tail-waters of the Navajo Dam on the San Juan River in NW New Mexico and was worth every penny spent on that guide. I found fly fishing to be the most challenging form but also the most satisfying. I can wade-fish a river and hours will fly by without notice. The river sound while trying to figure out where the fish are, what they are taking on all the while trying not to spook the larger, much smarter fish are all reasons it can be addicting. You can also get a reasonably inexpensive inflatable float tube for lakes.
This is exactly how we feel, including hiring a guide on the San Juan for the ultimate experience and huge trout. :)
We grew up in Missouri and always had a boat for the big lakes and bass fishing. When we went full-time we devised a small flat bottom boat on a rack on our truck when we towed a 5th wheel. We also carried a motor. We found we really didn't use the boat enough to justify hauling it. We didn't want to always stay on a lake and it took time and effort to get the boat down, get it set up, go out and perhaps encounter winds and have to come in and reload it. We sold it in the Arizona desert to another camper - really!
We took up fly fishing and were really happy campers. You have minimal equipment and can do it from a lakeshore or a river. You can walk down for a hour or so after dinner and it's such a peaceful, easy hobby.
