Your favorite fishing city

[Kevin Huntington]

So my girlfriend and I are moving in August. She is a nurse and I work for a large company in every major city. We've been northeasterners our whole lives, and we want to try something new. We're kind of on a 1 year plan as we are both going back to school the following September. So, I'm looking for some input on best fishing cities in the country. I know this is a large question, but ideally we'd like to be within 45 minutes of a major city. We are open to anywhere and everywhere. I love to fish for all different types of fish, but obviously trout is the mecca for us fly rodders. Year round fishing is major plus. Any opinion welcome!

[Jeffrey Silvan]

I just went down to Miami this past weekend, and I'm in love with it. Just about any type of fishing you want is there. I did backcountry fishing in the Everglades on Friday, and put redfish, snook, black drum, tripletail, ladyfish, and more in the boat with basically non-stop action. Sunday I did an offshore charter, and got hooked into mahi mahi, wahoo, shark, and sailfish (unfortunately we lost both the sailfish we had on at the same time - it was a double). You can easily fish 365 days per year, and you often don't even need to go more than 10-20 minutes offshore to get into big fish. Don't forget all of the freshwater options nearby for some giant largemouth bass and peacock bass. I didn't get the chance to fly fish this time around (didn't find a school of mahi mahi, and conditions weren't right for the sailfish on the fly), but there are tons of opportunities for that too. Also some great access to diving.

The city is extremely affordable right now, and is definitely on the upswing - so it's a great investment opportunity, too. I'm trying to work hard on the lady to convince her to move down there!

On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 11:02 AM, Kevin Huntington <huntingt...@gmail.com> wrote:

So my girlfriend and I are moving in August. She is a nurse and I work for a large company in every major city.  We've been northeasterners our whole lives, and we want to try something new. We're kind of on a 1 year plan as we are both going back to school the following September. So, I'm looking for some input on best fishing cities in the country. I know this is a large question, but ideally we'd like to be within 45 minutes of a major city. We are open to anywhere and everywhere. I love to fish for all different types of fish, but obviously trout is the mecca for us fly rodders.  Year round fishing is major plus. Any opinion welcome!

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[Charlie Church]

Denver, Seattle, Miami (if you can handle that city), New Orleans, and Anchorage come to mind although Anchorage definitely does not have year round fishing but hey it could be fun.

[Danny Barrett]

not sure of an exact city.  central PA has become my favorite place with so many spring creeks (penn, spring, and many more I have yet to find) that fish all year.  within 2 hours of cental PA you have the steelhead/salmon runs in NY/PA.  Indiana, PA is like an hour from Pittsburgh, and about an hour to hour and half from the spring creeks.  hope this helps.

On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 11:02 AM, Kevin Huntington <huntingt...@gmail.com> wrote:

So my girlfriend and I are moving in August. She is a nurse and I work for a large company in every major city.  We've been northeasterners our whole lives, and we want to try something new. We're kind of on a 1 year plan as we are both going back to school the following September. So, I'm looking for some input on best fishing cities in the country. I know this is a large question, but ideally we'd like to be within 45 minutes of a major city. We are open to anywhere and everywhere. I love to fish for all different types of fish, but obviously trout is the mecca for us fly rodders.  Year round fishing is major plus. Any opinion welcome!

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Dan Barrett

 

32 Highland Ave.

Morgantown, WV 26505

 

dannyt...@gmail.com

(540)-222-8064

 

[Lane Thurgood]

Here's one you likely won't get from anyone else:  Salt Lake City.  You have world class trout rivers in the Provo and the Weber (and others).  You have the Uinta mountains with hike-in lakes for grayling, cutts, brookies.  Warmwater opportunities including tiger musky, smallmouth, et cet...  And plenty of fly shops. And yes, year round.  Winter whitefishing (and trout fishing) is big stuff. BUT my favorite fishing city happens to be ... right here.

[Rob Snowhite]

• Denver
• Miami
• San Diego
• Los Angeles
• San Fran
• Portland
• Seattle
• Bend, Or
• NYC
• Boston
• Charleston 
• Oahu
  

All happen to be awesome eating locals too!

 

Rob Snowhite

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From: Lane Thurgood <thur...@yahoo.com>
To: tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 6:34 PM
Subject: Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Your favorite fishing city

[Brendan]

favorite fishing towns... 

larger cities... 

seattle (and all the towns w/in an hour from olympia to everett),   - fishing along the shore right downtown and out in the sound, olympic nat. park, salmon runs on the rivers, some decent cutthroat fishing in the mountains, and great trout/steelhead fishing in central wa.  good fishing year round tho bring a raincoat and read the reg. book. 

denver, mountains are pretty much filthy with trout. personally i prefer some of the smaller cities in colorado... but Denver is a major one. 

portland - same as seattle tho no public beaches, at least not the kind you want to go to (think naked old people, not fishing), endless woods/wilderness for cutts & kokanee, salmon fishing in the rivers and off the coast, 1.5-3hrs from some of the great rivers the flow into the columbia river gorge. 

Smaller cities... basically a list of my favorite places... 

Fort Collins, Bend, Missoula, Eugene, Harrisburg/State College, Asheville, Grand Junction or Durango, Helena, Springfield (MO), Burlington, also a bunch of areas in the poconos with all kinds of fishing that are within an hour or two of ny/jerz. Portland, ME isn't bad either tho kind of a hike. 

have fun. 

[Todd Kuethe]

I'm glad to see someone acknowledge Springfield MO.  The surrounding area (including NW AR) is a sportsman paradise.  It's also home to a booming economy (relatively speaking) and a fun university town.

[Matthew Longley]

Definitely gotta throw my home state out there -- portland maine is a small city, but can't beat the maine outdoors.  Check out maineflyfish.com to read up on the fall striper run...

On Tuesday, December 11, 2012 11:02:39 AM UTC-5, Kevin Huntington wrote:

[Parker]

DENVER! Awesome city, awesome people, awesome fishing. The rivers can get crowded, but with lots of tailwaters, there are lots of year round fishing options. Also, high mountain lakes/creeks in the summer are just about my favorite thing on this planet. The skiing/boarding aint bad either.

 

On Tuesday, December 11, 2012 11:02:39 AM UTC-5, Kevin Huntington wrote:

[Dalton Terrell]

I'll second Rockroller, my favorite fishing city is right here. I'm not much into the urban fishing unfortunately, but the variety of fishing within an hour or two drive is unparalleled. This area beats out the Western trout states for consistent year round fishing and on variety of species and terrain, if it misses a bit quality of trout fishing. In the depths of Winter and the sometimes miserable heat of the Summer, we have spring creeks in VA, MD, and PA with big, fickle trout. In the same time frame we have a few tailwaters that can consistently produce smaller but difficult trout. In the Spring, we get an epic shad run right in the District and the brook trout to our West are going bonkers on our big dry flies. The Summer and Early fall brings great Smallmouth wet wading and Largemouth/Snakehead fishing in tidal creeks and stillwaters. The Fall brings fine schoolie Striper fishing to Potomac and then my cycle starts over again with the go to Winter trout fishing spots.

I haven't even mentioned the great saltwater opportunities to our East but I frankly don't know a lot about these and haven't had much success beyond going out with friends who really know what they are doing.

Dalton

[Danny Barrett]

I will be back at my parents house about 45 mins west of DC for winter break from school.  I had planned to spend a lil time up in the SNP and down near mossy and beaver creek.  Any other streams you would suggest venturing to in VA.  A lil drive isnt always a bad thing for good fishing.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Dalton

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[Lane Smith]

I grew up outside of Philadelphia. I didn't see it mentioned so I
figured do a plug. Granted there are some folks out there who don't
care a lick for the city of brotherly love (haters gonna hate), but
the fishing is and always has been really good. The Schyulkill river
runs right through the city proper and its got everything
we have in the Potomac with the addition of some serious Muskiee. Even
back in the 80s and 90s when it was filthy it fished really well.
Today, they've taken huge strides in cleaning it up and it shows.
There are little creeks nd ponds everywhere around Philly, almost all
of them well stocked with trout year round save summer. I grew up on
Mill creek in Gladwyne. Beautiful stream. Take a 20 minute drive west
on 76 and you hit Valley Forge state park and you are in trout heaven.
There was some kind of chemical spill in the late 70s which "poisoned
the water". It is catch and release only and though the restriction
probably isn't needed there are signs posted everywhere and people
take it quite seriously. The funny thing is that they still stock it
lightly with browns and rainbows to maintain the population. There are
massive native trout in there. Though some find there way down to the
Schyulkill, they always come back to spawn below the dam. Those are
just the areas I was familiar with growing up southwest of the city.
Explore any direction around it and you find good fishing.

Cheers!
Lane

On Dec 11, 11:02 am, Kevin Huntington <huntington.ke...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[namfos]

Asheville, NC - trout in the Smokies
Ithaca, NY  - on a major Finger Lake and a couple -  3 hours from Pulaski, the Catskills, the Adirondacks, Northcentral PA, Lake Ontario. 

Cleveland, OH - steelhead in NE OH and not too far from Western PA.

Detroit (or maybe not) ;-)

Bellingham, WA

Redding CA

Knoxville/Kingsport/Johnson City, TN

[Carl Zmola]

Salt Lake City. The mountains backing SLC are a bit steep for good
fishing right there, but from Provo up to Ogden, there is quite a bit
available and if you just can get up into the moutains, you're set.

Idaho falls doesn't quallify as a big city, but the "within 2 hours
drive" test puts you into the holy grail of trout waters.

Chicago itself isn't great for fly fishing, but there is quite a bit of
good shore fishing into Lake Michigan, but any place in Wisconsin would
do you well.

Then there is the Florida, Louisiana area. There are a lot of places
that would be fun to live for a year or two.

Carl

[Joe Molloy]

Aldie, Va.

Little River, Goose Creek  and...uhhhh...another part of Little River.

No crowds at least!

joe

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[peter odell]

Several to think about are Reddind, CA, Boise ID, and Charleston SC:

Boise has a golf medal stram in the city, and a lot of fantastic surrounding country

Redding has a big diversity with lakes, rivers (streelhead and trout), and other opps  striper migration

Just went fishing for reds in Charleston Harbor, and it was pretty great - and very close to town center...

[Misha Gill]

Throw Sacramento into the mix too, the Sacramento river has salmon runs and resident trout, plus it's in NoCal near Yosemite. I was looking at potentially going to law school there but decided on Carlisle, PA. 

On Tuesday, December 11, 2012 11:02:39 AM UTC-5, Kevin Huntington wrote:

[Paul Moinester]

I am going to throw Grand Rapids, Michigan into the mix.  I have never lived there but my ex girlfriend's family is from that area, so I spent a lot of time exploring Michigan, which I surprisingly and immediately fell in love with.  When most people think about Michigan (my previous self included), they think about Detroit and urban decay, but the state is actually a sportsman's paradise.  And Grand Rapids is a surprisingly cool, booming city with a lot of interesting cultural and social events.  As far as the fishing goes, it's hard to beat.  The winters can be a little brutal (less so lately) but if you are willing to fight the elements, you can catch fish all year round and do some great snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and other winter sports.  Here is the fishing breakdown for GR:

• You can get a condo in downtown GR for way cheaper than DC and be 100 feet away from a steelhead and salmon river.  The Grand River which bisects GR has a great run of Great Lakes steelhead and salmon.  You can literally just wake up, throw on your waders, walk outside, and catch steelhead and salmon before work.
  
• You are less than 90 minutes away from the fabled Pere Marquette and Muskegon rivers which are great trout streams with very good salmon and steelhead runs.
• Within an hour you can surf fish for salmon and steelhead in Lake Michigan.  Side note - you can do this from the Grand Haven beach, which is considered one of the best beaches in the US and an awesome beach town.
• Within an hour you can charter fish for salmon and steelhead in Lake Michigan.
• There are lakes all over the state that are chocked-full of pike.  No disrespect to largemouth, but catching a pike on popper puts bass fishing to shame.  It will put a serious bend in your rod and send major chills down your spine.  You can also catch muskie all over the state.
• Within 3 hours you can fish Lake St. Clair, which is considered by many to be one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the world.
• Within 3 hours you can fish some other fabled trout streams like the Au Sable and Manistee, which also have really good salmon and steelhead runs.
• Within 4-5 hours you can sight fish for monster carp in Lake Michigan in the summer.  On Beaver Island you can catch 30 pound carp  sight fishing.
• Within 4-5 hours you can fish all of the Ohio tributaries which are great for Great Lakes steelhead and salmon
• Within 6 hours you can fish Hemingway's favorite river the Fox and dozens of other beautiful spring creeks, small rivers, and salmon rivers.
• Lastly, you can finish up your day of fishing with great, cheap beer.  Within an hour of GR you can be at Founders, Bells, and New Holland breweries.

Just writing this is really making me kick myself that I turned down the opportunity to move to GR and be a stay at home fly fishing dad.  

Paul

[eric]

If I could pick anywhere to live, I think it would be Portland, OR.  The PNW is hard to beat for natural beauty.  I've lived in Seattle, and that was nice - but Portland is smaller and more affordable, with warmer weather and more sun. It is also closer to good trout fishing - which was sorely lacking in Seattle.  There are also more steelhead in the rivers around Portland than there are in the Seattle area. 

 

Eric

[johnfarr]

I'm going to throw NYC in the mix. Excellent trout fishing an hour north of the city in the streams of the Croton watershed, short drive away to the Farmington/Housatonic, not far from the Catskills/Adirondacks/PA spring creeks, very good saltwater fishing in the waters surrounding NYC itself plus Long Island and elsewhere. It's not very good from a "do some fishing after work" perspective (unless you live in certain places) but you have a great deal of variety for day/half-day/weekend trips.

[Sardman]

I second NYC being the only place I have lived in the US before moving to DC.

If you manage to to beat the traffic, Long Island is a very decent fishery for striped bass, bluefish, weakfish and fluke. You can drive from Queens to Jones Beach in 40 minutes.  In summertime you can actually target bonito and false albacore.

Upstate (1 hour from Manhattan or Northern Queens)  has trout streams but I hear they are really hard to catch, all with very good access because most beaches are State Parks. And the back bays (Great South Bay and Jones Inlet) seem a great place to fish on the fly.

Jamaica Bay is within City limits, and can very productive.  

Breezy Point is also a great spot, but it got really whacked by Sandy.

The norther shore of Queens (College point and Little Neck Bay) are extremely productive in the early spring for large stripers (seen many people flyfishing there)

Less than 3 hours away is Montauk, Surfcasting Capital of the World, but I have seen many people flyfishing for stripers in the fall.

Gotham Fish Tales is a movie about Urban Fishing in NYC (don't get grossed out by the Gowanus Canal)

one of the best "local" forum is on www.noreaster.com, there is also a fly section.

 

NYC (Queens) is a great place to live (for one year), especially if you don't have kids.  

You can find cheap-ish rent, 24-hour subway, the greates food in the east coast and salaries are probably a bit higher. Not a year-round place, but you can still catch huge striped bass in December.

On the other end, lots of cranky people, parking is not fun, car insurance is twice as much as DC, and a bit of a stressful city.

 

Good Luck.

[namfos]

I agree Paul, the Michigan Mitten has lots of possibilities. 

[Michael Smith]

The problem with living in Portland is that you have to deal with the Portlandians.  =)

Also Bend is way awesome if you're looking that way and don't mind the desert.  It has some of the most awesome lakes and rivers around.

How about unknown places?

Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Driggs, and Ashton, ID

West Yellowstone, MT

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[Matt Geiman]

I'll put another vote in for NYC

Delaware R

Housatanic R

Farmington R

Hudson R

Great Lake tribs

Lehigh R

Montauk

Long Island Sound

Sandy Hook

[Misha Gill]

Can we get an update?!!!

[Terry C]

why not Bozeman Montana . I hear the fishing is good there;)

[Andrew R]

Why not Washington DC?

[Ben H]

For the Southeast: Asheville, Knoxville, Atlanta in that order. Smallies, trout and striper.

Another one I haven't seen mentioned yet is Sacramento, CA. I know somebody from that area and it is an amazing home base for fishing excursions. Sacramento R has both warmwater species (largemouth, striper) and anadramous cold water fish (salmon, steelhead). You are also within striking distance of lake Tahoe and all the Sierra/Nevada coldwater streams immediately to the east. Based on proximity to great coldwater fisheries, I'd score that city higher than San Fran and the rest of the bay area.

[Ben H]

Edit - saw that Misha voted Sacramento too.

[ALarge]

Having just returned from it, I have to say Craig, Montana on the Missouri River is a true fishing town. The town literally consists of 1 taco stand, 2 bars and 4 fly shops. That's all. 

[Tim Donaldson]

I'd consider Sacramento and San Diego.  Sactown has Steelhead running through it, plus easy access to Northern Coast steelies and Sierra trout.  It's affordable and close to the Bay Area.  

San Diego has great surf fishing and inshore/offshore if you have a boat.  Plus inland you have bass and you aren't too far from Mammoth for a weekend fishing Hot Creek or taking a belly boat out on one of the many area lakes.  

Both have great fishing year round.  

[Nick Bowler]

Here is my 2 cents.  I will jump on the Portland band wagon.  I will also suggest Anchorage -- I lived there for 18 months.  Anchorage has fishing from May through to October.  But the fishing that is available is like no where else!

I will also suggest that you look at Calgary and Vancouver.  Finally, I will say that my experiences in both Oahu and New Orleans were not that great -- shore based fly fishing fishing options were limited.

Nick.

[Yambag Nelson]

If we are talking actual cities and not "trout towns", my votes are Portland or Seattle.