Paul,
Thanks for providing more details. See below @@@
"merlin" wrote in message
om...
"bassrecord" wrote in message
...
Paul we need more to work with.

Holiday - how many days to fish or how much $ to spend fishing?

Reckoning on one week duration, i recognise that this is a pitiful
period time to get a true feel for fishing in the USA, however due to
domestic and job responsibilities its about the longest I can be away
at any one stretch, I might be able to push to two weeks with an
appreciable amount of persuasion in certain quarters.
@@@ The shorter your air flight, the more fishing time and the cheaper it
will be. This means East coast or Canada's Maritime Provinces.

Quality value for money - how do you define?

I would want to be paying no more than £5 to £20 per day for fishing
obviously accommodation would be on top of this, although I would
probably opt to camp. Would expect the water to have a good head of
fish in it and to have a good prospect of regular activity.
@@@ To get away from people, i. e. "wild" fish you'll have to fly West or
North from your East coast arrival airport, get to a destination city and
rent a car and drive or a fish camp pick you up at the airport. Many fish
camps or lodges offer non-guided fishing where they drop you off and pick
you up

Small stream fishing(spring creeks) - why small streams?

I just prefer the intimacy of smaller waters. Also in the context of
a short duration holiday probably unguided, its easier to get to grips
with a small water.

Do you want to only catch small trout?

Most cerainly not, some of the biggest trout I have caught have been
out of small streams (no more than 20 to 30ft across and sometimes
much less). However size is not the overriding factor, the hunt is
just as important.

Why fish for wild trout?

Again this is just my preference. Although to tell the truth I guess
there aint much difference between an overwintered stockie and the
truly wild stock of the water. I guess my preference for wild trout
fishing is mainly borne out of the 'put and take' fishery brigade
which is so much a part of modern fisheries.

Why prefer the dry fly?

I just prefer this technique, it holds more fascination for me than
wet fly or nymphing, although nymph fishing does come a close 2nd.


What are your trade-offs?
Would you trade a wet fly for a 7 pound trout (steelhead)?
Would you trade a U.S. Wilderness area mountain stream dry fly-caught
Golden
trout for a spring creek hatchery trout?
Would you trade a guide and caught fish with stalking and maybe fish?

Most definitely a wilderness fisherman by preference.

Although there is a level of anticipation when fishing with a guide,
in that you are more or less guaranteed to catch (conditions
prevailing of course), there is a mystery about being on an unknown
water and I feel a greater level of anticipation. Of course by the
end of the day that anticipation could wind up turning into sheer
depression as you log yet another blank day, due to not knowing the
correct patterns to fish, or where to look, but then that's all part
of the 'art of fishing for trout with the fly'. If I wanted to just
catch fish I'd drop off at the nearest 'put and take' fishery and lob
lures on lead core lines with the rest of the stockie bashing brigade.

As to Guides specifically, I am not sure of the price involved,
perhaps you could provide some background here.

Do you want to stick to the East or is it OK to come West.

Location doesn't really matter. Although I have been reading up on
the Spring Creek fishing in and around Wisconsin and Iowa with real
interest. The main reason for this interest is that fishing the
equivalent over here (chalkstreams in southern England) is a rather
expensive prospect, anywhere between £50 to £250 per day and at the
moment anyway my wallet does not stretch that far. The Spring Creek
environment would also be a change from my normal fair which is
Scottish spate rivers ('free stone' I believe would be your
terminology).
@@@ Paul I sense a high probability of disappointment in your trip. Driving
along and fishing a spring creek in some state after flying all the way over
here may or may not work out for you. Why risk it? Why not lock in success
before you come over here?

In the U.S. we have Wilderness Areas usually in or near National Forests
that exclude entry via motorized vehicles. Outfitters and pack stations via
horses pack fishermen into these areas, drop them off and come back and pick
them up 4 to 7 days later. Fishermen can camp in cabins or pre-pitched
tents, do their own cooking and hike to nearby fishng waters. Canada has
similar facilities in or near Provincial Parks. My son and I did this
several years ago for Golden Trout in the Golden Trout Wilderness area near
Kennedy Meadows in California's upper Kearn River plateau. See
http://www.kennedymeadows.com/ for an example.

Maine, Vermont and Pennsylvania have wilderness areas, see
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/U..._Area/main.htm

Hope this gets you started.

Good luck!

John