Top US Fly Fishing Spots
Fly fishing is a sport that is enjoyed around the world. Millions of people have discovered the joy and excitement of fly fishing. While fly fishing is practiced in every state in the US some areas naturally rise to the top as offering the best fly fishing around.
The Catskill Mountains of New York are renowned for fly fishing. The late 19th century saw anglers in the Catskills developing artificial flies designed to imitate natural insects. The Beaverkill is perhaps the most popular of the Catskill rivers. The Willowemoc and the West Branch of the Delaware River are also very popular with fly fishers.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the surrounding area offers near-unlimited fly fishing options. The Snake River and Jackson Lake are popular fishing choices outside of Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is accessible by ground or by air to the Jackson Hole airport. Jackson Hole provides more fly fishing options within a few miles than any angler could explore in one visit.
Henry’s Fork of the Snake River offers legendary rainbow trout fishing. This area, particularly around Harriman State Park (Harriman Ranch) is legendary for its fly fishing. The area is open and offers unobstructed fishing. Downstream from Harriman Ranch the fishing is reputed to be faster paced.
The San Juan River in New Mexico affords excellent year-round fishing. The 10-mile stretch of river below the Navajo Dam boasts 10,000 fish per mile of river. The section below the dam is populated mostly by rainbow trout with brown trout and cutthroat trout found further along the San Juan.
Gallatin River around Bozeman, Montana is renowned for rainbow trout. Nearby, just south of Livingston, creeks have up to five insect hatches each day. DePuy’s, Nelson’s and Armstrong’s all have fantastic rainbow trout fishing. Armstrong’s Spring Creek is a meadow stream from 50 – 100 feet wide and known for its rainbow trout. Spectacular mountain scenery rounds out the fly fishing experience here.
The Wind River Range in Wyoming has an estimated 700 trout lakes. These lakes include cutthroat, brook, rainbow, grayling, brown and golden trout. This range is primarily high country and offers great hiking as well as fly fishing.
Michigan’s Au Sable River offers 180 miles of trout fishing. Located in northeast Michigan, the Au Sable River is home to rainbow, brook and brown trout, as well as steelhead from Lake Huron. The Au Sable offers a variety of fishing conditions along its distance.
The Jacks River in Georgia is a Conasuaga River tributary. The Jacks River is largely in the Chattahoochee National Forest and therefore is accessible to the public. The Jacks River provides fly fishing opportunities for rainbow, brown and brook trout. The area is popular with hikers but sees fairly light fishing activity.
Northeastern Utah’s Green River offers extraordinary trout fly fishing. The tailwaters below the Flaming Gorge Dam offer outstanding trout habitat. It was this 30-mile section of river that produced a 30 pound brown trout only 10 years ago. Unfortunately, this secret is out and summer finds the river quite busy. Early spring and fall offer less competition and a very large number of trout.
The United States boasts some great fly fishing waters. There area even more opportunities if you venture north into Alaska or Canada. As this list shows though, there are many great fly fishing opportunities right here in the United States.