Make fishing a travel adventure

Where will you be fishing in 2015?

Now don’t get me wrong, I as well as anyone understand and fully appreciate the wealth of fishing opportunities we have here. But there is something about taking the experience you have gained from fishing your local waters and taking your show on the road. For some, that may be as simple as going to a tournament in a neighboring state. For others, it may be that fishing trip of a lifetime you have been saving years for.

Going elsewhere to go fishing may mean different species, it may mean a trip to the ocean, or perhaps even to a different country — or maybe all three. Many folks go to Canada and Alaska, to fish the coastal waters for salmon and halibut. Canada has some of the finest inland fishing lodges in the world, from drive-ups to remote fly-in camps, from B.C. to Manitoba.

Maybe a trip to Mexico where the charter fleet in Baja sits fueled and ready. Warm weather and big offshore fish await. Or for the super-adventurous (and wealthy) maybe a trip to Russia, where it is now easier than ever to fish the truly unspoiled and untouched rivers of nowhere. The Florida Keys are another fishing paradise, from the bonefish and tarpon of the flats to the powerful marlin and sailfish offshore.

Taking the skills you have learned and honed fishing your home waters can be a humbling experience when going to the these places, but basic rod-and-reel skills apply to almost any situation. Matching the tackle to the fish is something I teach in almost every seminar I lead: don’t bring a knife to a gunfight or vice-versa.

While many people can and do take fishing trips to the above locations, for most of the rest of us, fishing somewhere new might just be going over to Idaho to fish panfish in the panhandle. Tasty bluegill, crappy and yellow perch await, and there are few limits so you can bring home plenty to enjoy all winter long.

A trip over to Fort Peck (with a stop at Nelson Reservoir highly recommended) gives you opportunity to use live minnows and, in the winter, fish up to SIX lines. Having up to six tip-ups per person assures you plentiful opportunity at the abundant northern pike in these waters, with bonus walleye, lake trout and more.

Lastly, traveling for tournaments is truly the ultimate test of your skills when fishing new waters. It is not only you against the fish but against the other anglers. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but as a tournament angler and promoter, I get to see it from both sides. And it is why a great majority of anglers leave the comforts of home waters to seek fish elsewhere.

Whatever the reason you might travel to fish, why not make 2015 the “Year of the fishing trip”?

An easy way to book a trip with an out-of-state guide is to go to a sportsman show and meet them face to face. That’s the easy way. Or planning the trip all on your own can be very rewarding. Either way, at this year’s Montana Sportsman Expo, Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1 at the Flathead County Fairgrounds, you can do both. There will be guides there to talk to and I will be conducting seminars and discussing how you can really learn about new waters, effectively scouting and pre-fishing these waters before you ever leave home.

I’ll see you (somewhere) on the water.

Howe runs Howes Fishing/A Able Charters. Contact him at www.howesfishing.com or 257-5214 or by emailing Mike@aablefishing.com.