I’ve written extensively, whether it be a core theme of an article, or just a sidebar, about thinking outside the box and testing theories for yourself when it comes to this sport. I think it is important, and increasingly so every year as I seek a bigger rush to replace the déjà vu that is catching similar fish in the same place that I’ve caught them before in prior years.
In trying to expand my knowledge, I’ve found no amount of research is enough to find the nuggets that open doors to new opportunity. That is because the info isn’t online because people haven’t ruined it yet. Understanding this, a smell test almost develops when you just know an opportunity for info is presenting itself. Real life examples that occurred this past year include (1) a heavily bearded local dude putting his thumb up hitchhiking in an already rural area with trout around (once you are in my car you have to talk to me because you owe me something and I don’t want money (2) Woodsy couples with a raft and what appears to be a tent strapped to the back of it -that look like they do this shit all the time and know a little bit about every place but aren’t particularly concerned with catching fish (or being secretive) (3) The worst fly shop in a fishy town because they have no edge so they can’t afford to be secretive when you drop a stream name and ask for advice.
While the progression for each angler changes, I think generally it is fair to say that the high that comes from catching the same fish decreases the more times you catch that fish. So like any junky, you need to do something to scratch the itch. There are two solutions, catch fish in a new spot (which is one type of high but doesn’t do it for everyone), or catch bigger fish, which is harder to do and accomplish. Admittedly, I’m now in the second camp, which I further concede requires finding places that aren’t ruined by pressure making the biggest fish nocturnal or nearly impossible to come by. While my standards and expectations to scratch the itch have arguably approached the point of becoming insatiable, each year I’ve somehow found a way to push things further and find that fish that stands out in your mind and makes the entire season worth it. What stands out more however, is the fact that the hunt for the new frontier has become the primary driver when it comes to enjoyment, excitement, and anticipation to make the season interesting.
Going back to my initial real life sources of info that made the last year memorable, I can’t emphasize enough how unlikely each source seemed at the time. Beer was usually involved. The people usually were not overly fishy. But they knew something I didn’t about a local waterway, whether it is by simply being local, word of mouth, or general passion for the outdoors that wasn’t entirely focused on fly-fishing. In each case, I won’t deny that I had a hunch they could know something that would be helpful to me as a fly-fisherman seeking information, but it wasn’t obvious they would know something either. Hence the smell test.
The first but minor smell test indicator is other fisherman on the stream you are fishing and most fly shops. They are in the sport and are likely influenced and acting on the same information you already have seen if you are doing your due diligence. So they are unlikely to offer anything particularly novel that you couldn’t find yourself. And if you are going to go this route, look for the most vintage dude/gal out there- and start by asking them a question that has nothing to do with fishing. You’ll have to earn it to get them to open up.
The second, and in my experience the highest likelihood of valuable information indicator on the smell test involves people that just like going into the woods but aren’t solely focused on fly-fishing. People like this usually explore a lot of places, and can provide valuable information when it comes to access, logistics, and what they are seeing generally. To some, this might not be enough since they need to hear the words “ the fishing is good there”, but to the experienced angler that knows nothing is certain this is enough. I will also carve out a caveat for anglers in airports with a fly rod, since sometimes they didn’t hit the tourist rivers and have something to offer, foolishly or not, after a couple beers at an airport bar. When you meet those folks grill them hard, maybe even get their phone number and become “friends”.
The highest smell test category involves the weirdest folks you are likely to meet on the totem pole. Remote fishery shuttle drivers. Motel owners in towns that don’t have any guests and you wonder how they stay open. Bar tenders, and truck drivers in the same bar that you know is near mountains and trout water but also know those folks think fly fishing is a rich white man sport and have never fished a day in their life. That said, they still know the places the fish are. John Geirach, who I thoroughly respect as an author, wrote in one of his books that you know your favorite fishing haunt is ruined when a trendy coffee shop opens up in the nearest town. And I agree. I recently was in Colorado on my bachelor party and was driving around looking for a place to fish and pulled off the exit for “Silverthorne” Co, with the exit ramp having a sign for the town and a rainbow trout in the middle of the sign. The sign didn’t tell me there were rainbow trout there, it told me tourists go there and that the Blue River was every bit of the stocked, yuppie rich hybrid ski/fly fishing town that I had heard Colorado boasts. I pulled in one parking lot along the Blue River and saw a few stubbed fin stockies motionless in the rapids beneath the bridge, which confirmed my thoughts. Why are they stocking trout in rivers that are in the Rocky Mountains 10k feet in elevation? I quickly made a U-turn in Starbucks and got back on the highway to more remote territory. Finally, I do think creeping on social media can help you isolate the fishy folks, but they are not the folks with the largest following. There is an inherent conflict of interest as a fishing guide to be the dude that posts a photo of a client with a fish every day to compete in the guide wars, with the other part of that guide thinking they are blowing up the resource. The guides that have something truly special to offer in terms of water lean to the later part of the thought process, post rarely but post hogs, and have a limited following because they rely mostly on word of mouth customers that know they are the real deal. Just like I stated above, you’ll have to slow play it to get them to take you to the real spot as anyone with something special to share is wary now. Good way to start: ” I don’t care about catching fish, i just want to have a shot at one really big fish.”. If you mean it and they believe you, you’re in the door.
Point being, finding gems now has to do with finding folks that don’t use now modern and traditional forms of communication. That includes both absorbing information and sharing it. Anything left that humans haven’t ruined is that way because it is inhabited by people that don’t know how to ruin it- or else they would have because that is what we do as a people (for anyone thinking I’m cynical look at every major tailwater in the U.S.) In identifying who is incapable of ruining a place, regardless of whether it’s by virtue or sheer limitations, you can narrow down who can tell you something important. In typing this, I think I answered my own question as to why people don’t go this route. They are condescending and see these odd/removed from society folks (yet valuable sources of information) as a risk they don’t want deal with or take. Its too gritty. That said, it takes someone smart enough to go through the psychological thought process I just outlined rather than just google or hit the first river that comes up online or by convenience driving along on their way to the family timeshare; and very few of those people are willing to dive in with the weirdo’s to dig out the gold. They want the town of Craig with a nice cabin and modestly skilled trout bro at the ramp to greet them with two zebra midges off an indicator rig, not the blacked out truck driver that has driven 50,000 miles in rural territory in a bar with no windows telling them where there is trout and no people (worst case the guy was blacked out/didn’t know what he was talking about and I blew a half day driving around in beautiful country). They write that guy off. I wont though. Because I’m friends with anyone that helps me scratch the itch.