If this year rolls out as expected, the river fishing will be cut short due to high water temperatures and low flows.  An alternative to fishing our beloved rivers is to fly fish on a lake.  Some of the higher elevation lakes have excellent fly fishing for trout.  Lower elevation lakes may have some planted trout and bass.

For some reason, fly fishers refer to lake fly fishing as ‘Stillwater’.  Stillwater is more technical than river fly fishing.  It also requires more patients.  

I have little experience with stillwater, so I’ve been seeking some education.

For someone that may have very little experience with stillwater Far Bank has put together a learning center that includes an excellent video on finding success with stillwaters.

The presenter is probably the best teacher in the fly fishing industry: Simon Gaweworth.  The guy knows his stuff lays it out to make it easily understood. 

One of the current grand masters of stillwater fly fishing is Phil Rowley.  I took a 20 hour virtual class that was put on by Phil.  It was comprehensive and a bit overwhelming.  Phil is a bit of a fire hose when it comes to presenting on a topic that he’s clearly so passionate about.  The presentation was based on an Orvis book that came out later on.  The book is excellent.  I’m not smart enough to figure out how to get a fee for linking to Amazon, so here’s a no-commission link to Phil’s excellent book. 

The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing