(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
Fly Fishing in the Age of the Coronavirus
Written By: Chris Wilkes - The Highland Hiker | Issue: 2020/08 – August
These are strange days for sure. One of the pluses is that a lot of people have found their love of nature again. Hiking, biking, paddling, and fly fishing have all been on the uptick since we have been asked to shelter in place.
Most of the time these activities are done without big crowds and not right next to someone else, so standing in a stream by yourself is perfect for our new normal.
Right now, the rivers are fishing wonderfully. Fewer visitors to the area over the last few months has meant less pressure on the trout, and stream reports have been positive. There’s really not much that current advisories have changed about the sport (although guide trips are certainly a different story) but social distancing guidelines should stop someone from plodding out in the middle of the stream to fish in your line. Though running water isn’t necessarily a place that is thought to have a concentration of Covid-19, it’s still a good idea to give your waders and rain jacket a wash as we get back into the season as it will prolong the life of your gear.
Speaking of gear, anglers have probably already realized that their Buff/Neck Gator bought for its UV protection doubles nicely as a mask in public. Anti-fog applications for sunglasses come in pretty handy as well now. There’s never been an inconvenience on the river that a fly fisherman can’t invent a new doodad to solve and that ingenuity has come up big when finding new ways to protect ourselves from getting sick.
A lot of folks have come into the shop and informed me that they have taken this time to hike in to some hard-to-get-to places they had always seen on maps and thought would be good to fish, and a lot of them have come back with good reports.
So although you may not be ready to jump on a plane to go fish an exotic location, I’m here to tell you that this area is giving us a great excuse to get out of the house and get in the water.
