ALONE in a CROWD

The White Mountains is a great place for the fly fisherman. There are many remote streams where seldom any other fisherman is encountered. In the not so remote streams if you walk a mile or so you will usually be by yourself. Even on streams where people seem to be everywhere, you can still find good places to fish.

One of my favorite trout streams is only minutes away from my house. That’s the good news. The bad news is that a road parallels the stream and public campsites are situated along the stream. Over the years I rarely went there during peak vacation time because it was always crowded with campers and a lot of them were fishing. I just figured that with all those people there, the fishing would not be very good.

The summer of 2000 changed my outlook. That summer, due to extreme dryness, the forests were mostly closed for several weeks beginning the first part of June. One of the few streams that remained open was my favorite, which I figured would be even more crowded, but if I wanted to fish a stream that was it.  The fishing was great. I learned how to fish a stream in a crowded camping area. Here are some observations and suggestions.

Fish early. Most campers are not early risers. When they do get up they have to prepare breakfast so that gives you a while before most people start fishing.  Fish late. From five o’clock on people start preparing the evening meal taking and fewer of them are on the stream.

The more kids the better. Kids get bored of doing anything after a while. Fishing included. They also don’t get up early. Kids will be fishing water very near the campsite so the farther away from the campsite, the fewer kids you will encounter.

Most campers fish only the places that are easy to get to –such as pools and openings in the streamside. They don’t like to get their feet wet and they don’t like to force their way through dense brush and small trees. So the places they go are determined by the terrain and vegetation. They all fish in the same places—you can see the paths.

But if you wade the stream, everything is different. The stream is your pathway. If there is dense vegetation on both sides, that’s good. It doesn’t stop you from going there and it provides a stretch of water that is not commonly fished by others. When you fish where others don’t, you can do very well.

Sundays and the third day of a three day weekend are good times to go. Sundays are transition days, people are arriving and departing and fewer fishermen are on the water. On the final day of a three day weekend, people pack up and leave by mid-morning.  I have had some great fishing with hardly anyone around on Memorial Day and Labor Day and the fourth of July when it falls on a Monday.

The rain is your friend. When it is raining anything more than a sprinkle, you most likely will have the stream to yourself. Don your rain gear and have at it. One of my best days this past summer was in pouring rain. I didn’t see anyone else fishing at all. Rain is your friend but lightning isn’t. If there is lightning nearby, the last thing you want to be doing is waving a graphite fly rod around. If you do it may well be the last thing you do.

If you arrive at a favorite spot to find someone there, offer a friendly warning that it’s a great place for rattlesnakes and to be very careful. Go back a short time after to see if the spot is vacated. This ploy usually works best with women and children.

- Chip Chipman

Chip owns and operates Arizona Mountain Flyfishing guide service in Nutrioso, AZ.