I had an awesome opportunity to join Dave Sawyer on the West Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast. Our conversation was a high level overview of the fishing here in the great state of Arizona. If you haven’t had the chance, give it a listen on your drive to work. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to share a bit of my story, and thanks to Dave and the fine folks over at the Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast.

Check out the podcast – here

Full Wet Fly Swing Blog Post – here

The post Wet Fly Swing Podcast appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

One of my favorite places in the state of Arizona is Lees Ferry on the Colorado River. My wife and I were looking to get out of town, and we headed north for a day of fly fishing with our friend, Dave Foster. Dave is an institution. Growing up on the canyon edge at Marble Canyon, Dave has spent his years guiding, rafting, researching, and writing about Lees Ferry and the Colorado River.

Late September in the canyon is still cool in the morning, but as the sun rises over top of the red rock walls, the river comes to life. We fished the standard tailwater fair – zebra midges, scuds, and San Juan worms under an indicator, and multiple fish came to the net on these pairings. Several more brightly colored rainbows fell to a well swung bugger on a heavy sink tip.

Red rock canyon walls, crystal clear water, feisty rainbows, a good friend, and a beautiful wife who likes to fish. Living my best life.

PS. Fish with Dave – Fly Fishing Lees Ferry

Fly Fishing Lees Ferry

The post Fly Fishing Lees Ferry appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

The big canyon walls and tall pines made a majestic backdrop for the crystal clear water to weave downstream. The eager, hungry Gila trout were a bonus. We had made a couple of fly changes early, and we found that these native trout preferred a very small Frye Creek Special stripped slowly under the surface. Sight fishing for trout in late November is what makes Arizona a special place. Within a few hours we had each caught a dozen or two fish and started working our way back down stream toward the truck. It had been a few years since I’d fished this creek and it was good to find it in such fine form.

The post Arizona Gila Trout appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

Went fishing with an old friend at an old spot. Life changes quite a bit even over the few short years, but the creek seemed unchanged. Hoppers were plentiful on the bank and every rock I flipped over was wriggling with life. The fish were content to greedily rise to the surface and slap our flies around. The fishing was average, but it was good to catch up with a friend and check up on a creek I hadn’t been to in a while.

The post Just fishing appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

Squatting on the bank while looking at the water, I could feel the soft squishy earth through my shoes. It felt good to be there, grounded in that moment and place. Playing out a bit of line, I flex the fly rod in a familiar rhythm and dropped the fly in the darkest corner of the pool. The fly lay bushy and lonely on the water’s surface and doubt began to creep in to my mind as I waited for an unseen quarry. My patience was rewarded when the fly on the end of my line disappeared and was replaced with a spirited trout. The light 3 weight rod pulsed and bent until the small brookie found his way to the net. A quick photo, a quick release, a quick check of the fly and then repeat it all again.

The post Summer appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

We took a little time to head up to the mountains with the kids a few weeks back. We kept it simple: tent, hotdogs, s’mores, hikes, scavenger hunts, throwing rocks in the creek. I love seeing the joy the woods and the water bring to my kids. There are times while fishing and hunting as an adult that I can lose sight of all of the small beautiful things that are easy to miss. Little ones have a way of redirecting your attention and showing you a forgotten perspective. Life is good.

The post Family Time appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

This last year has been a whirlwind. We moved into a new house in June of 2018, and last summer was a total wash as far as fishing trips were concerned. It had been so long since I’ve been fishing that I had to buy new tippet and floatant, as well as tie up a few new furled leaders for the day. After a few flubbed casts, it all came rushing back.

I’ve never heard or seen the cicadas so thick in the White Mountains. For most of the day, the fish were looking up and attacking flies as soon as they hit the water. In the evening, the fish backed off from their feeding frenzy and refused any cicada/hopper pattern. I worked my way through the fly box, cycling through different flies, and trying to figure out what they were eating, when I spotted several winged ants in the slower slack water. The one small black foam ant pattern I had in my box caught a half dozen more fish, before the ravaged fly unraveled completely.

Standing in knee deep water watching the sun set and fish rise is a great way to end the day.

The post It’s been a while appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

Life has been moving extremely fast since the birth of our third child. I haven’t had much time to devote to the outdoors but I’m loving every minute with my family. These photos have been sitting here, waiting to get posted for a while. I was able to get out for a day trip to the White Mountains and visit an old favorite piece of water with a good friend. I took my bamboo rod and a box full of hoppers and was rewarded with a few nice trout to my net. Can’t ask for much more than that.

The post Arizona Fly Fishing: Memories of Summer appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

By many people’s standards, I am still a young man.  But, north of thirty years old doesn’t feel the same as south of thirty did. I feel my mortality after a day of stalking brown trout on round creek rocks and hiking the miles out of a deep canyon. As I walked back to the truck losing myself in the sounds and smells of the forest, I became contemplative. This often happens after a day fishing alone and talking to myself on the creek. I have also been keeping busy reading Snake River fishing guides online hoping to up my game and get really solid advice. The title of a Charles Bukowski poem pops into my brain and I found myself muttering the words softly under my breath – “the days run away like wild horses over the hills…”

The post Arizona Fly Fishing: Welcome to Summer appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.

There is no doubt when I married my wife, I married up. On this past Mother’s Day when we went camping with our best gear from Survival Cooking, I asked my beautiful 18 week pregnant wife what she wanted for Mother’s Day. I expected the usual: a day to herself at the spa, but instead, she decided she wanted to go camping.

How could I say no?

The post Mother’s Day Camping Trip appeared first on Arizona Wanderings.