Arizona fly fishing is all about making the best of what you have. Stating the obvious, we don’t have as much water as some of our neighboring states. So, if you want to fly fish in Arizona, you better be willing to explore.
There’s always that one piece of water that you’ve talked about exploring for a long time and never do. With the weather in the north country always volatile, we decided that today might be a good day to go walk this section of water and see what it looked like. The road we drove in on hadn’t been used in a while, which is always a good sign and when we finally hit the water, it seemed as if there was no one for miles around.
We worked our way up through some promising looking water and although a few fish came out to play, the creek didn’t have as much structure and depth as we would have hoped. After several miles of creek, we called it a day and headed back to the truck.
Not every exploratory trip ends with a stellar new stream exploding with big trout, but there is a certain satisfaction in knowing a new area and the potential that it could have. It may not be as rewarding as holding a gargantuan fish, but it was a rewarding day on a new stretch of stream.
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Looks like a great day. The creek looks beautiful, and that brown is no pip-squeak! There is certainly more to fishing than fish.
I love exploring, IMO, there’s nothing better!
As for your Korkers, I went through two pair of Korkers Torrents with a few hundred miles on each pair. When they discontinued the Torrents, I looked at those, but I had a couple of friends that had similar blowouts on that model – with very little mileage on them. Two years ago I went with the Simms RipRaps and absolutely love them. They feel more like a hiking shoe than a wading shoe and I’ve put a few 15+ mile day trips on them.
Chris
I agree with you about the Korkers (I think you warned me about them a while back). I love the adaptability of them with the different soles. I’m not crazy about the durability. I ‘m excited to try out the Ripraps.
Ben
Exploring a new creek is fun…great article. I found a new section on oak creek a couple weeks ago, not another fisherman there even on a saturday. I recently started fishing again after a nearly two year self-imposed hiatus, and found your site again. Keep up the good work.
Awesome to hear Brandon. Glad you’re making it back onto the water.
Ben
I WILL make it down there one of these day.
I hope so Howard. Keep me posted.
Ben