The "Non" Fishing Trip

So you have a trip coming up, and you might have time to squeeze in some fishing. What will you do? Hire a guide or execute your best solo effort? What gear will you bring? How are you traveling? These are all just a few, but important questions to ask when prepping for a potential trip. And with a little forethought, you can execute a short fishing trip successfully. Finding time is crucial, and I’m going to help you break down the possibilities so you can make the best choice when it counts.

I recently went to Denver, Colorado for a business trip. Just like most trips, I am constantly thinking about how I can squeeze in even 1 cast into the itinerary. My business conference was a four-day event back in April. We flew in a day early to experience the city, take a hike, and visit a brewery (or two). So for this trip it really wasn’t a stretch to propose 20-30 minutes of casting time while in transit to already planned destinations. I instantly started Google searching water near our hike and brewery stop. As luck would have it, there was a fishable stocked pond along the hike, and there was also a creek that flowed parallel to the road our brewery stop was located. I also learned (via the internet) that the pond was last stocked in July of the previous year, the water color was darker than normal, and the primary species in both places was trout.

After I had figured out timing, and found a place to fish, the next step was figuring out the equipment. I was traveling from Madison, WI on a direct flight. When traveling on long trips my initial question is can I bring my own gear or do I want to hire a guide? For this trip I did not have time for a guide, and I did not own any travel (collapsible or carry on) conventional fishing gear. I also did not feel that a 20-30 minute window was a time frame conducive to effectively fish fly gear due to my inexperience with the location and local conditions. With time being the biggest concern, I needed a versatile, portable, reliable option that would remove at least one potential variable from my path to succ