AL wrote:
Hello all.

I'm new to flyfishing and have been lurking this group for a couple
months anxious to ask a few questions.

Last June me, my wife, and my Chocolate Lab Tater went to Wyoming and
fished the North Platte and Encampment around Encampment, Wyoming.
Had some luck on the North Platte close to the Colorado border.

Nice area.


So I'm looking for advice. I live in Ohio but love the western
states. When I bought tackle about a year ago, I think I got stuff
that would be better suited in the eastern waters. These Wolly
Buggers were a lot bigger than what I had, so far as size goes. It
seemed like all of the flys she had were bigger than what I had. So
the question is, what size should I get for western fishing?


Like RW said, fly sizes range widely depending on the place and the
conditions. The Miracle Mile is a unique fishery and fishes differently
than most other waters.



The other novice question I have concerns the monofilament leader. I
bought 5 lb line. When I used it the end was very thin, it is a
tapered line. I'd get strikes and end up pulling in a blank end. In
other words the fish were snapping the line. Once I got down to
thicker line, I started to get at least some of the fish. The problem
is that it also gets harder to get the line through the eye of the
fly. Also... once some of the mono gets shortened, I cast better. A
heckuva a lot better. So please advise. Am I missing something? Do
you pro's shorten the mono?

You need to buy some tippet material. If you had a bunch of breakoffs
with 5 lb. use 4X tippet to start. You need to get in some more practice
handling fish on fly gear. 5lb tippet is strong enough for the vast
majority of trout you're going to hook. However, you can't horse them in
or try to really set the hook like you can with bait casting gear.


My next trip is in the planning. I have been reading up on the Green
River. The headwater up in Wyoming sounds like a good trip. We sleep
in the back of an SUV and don't like crowds. Any advice for that area
would be appreciated. Other areas as well. We are open to
suggestions. With a trip of over a 1,000 miles we want some success.

The upper part of the Green would make a good trip. MUCH less crowded
than the lower, more famous, section in Utah. However, access is limited
in some areas.

Willi