The Bears Den Show is this Saturday! The Deerfield River Fly Fishing Report: I’ll be at the Bears Den Fly Fishing Show this Saturday – stop by and say hi ! This is one of the best fly fishing shows of the season at one of the best shops in the USA- no joke. This is where you can find the hard to find tying materials that no one else has in stock and knowledgeable staff to help you figure it out. Now let’s talk fishing- this is THE best time of year to catch a BIG brown trout. Fishing pressure is low, the days are getting longer and the fish are getting active, the best days are the days that are moderately warm, 35 to 40 degrees is ideal. If there are multiple warm days in the forecast, the first couple will be the best as snowmelt becomes an issue by the third day. Why is snowmelt an issue? This is something that veteran steelhead anglers understand- snowmelt water is just above freezing and carries lot’s of nasty stuff like road salt (which creates a Ph spike) and petroleum products and other nasty stuff you find in dirty, slushy snow. So lots of snowmelt has a NEGATIVE effect on the fishing, water temps decrease and the Ph spikes and the water becomes nasty- which is counter-intuitive on a beautiful, sunny, 45 degree day in February. I have this Sunday open, which looks absolutely perfect for conditions. I’ve been catching double digits every trip on the upper Deerfield, with a mixture of browns and rainbows coming primarily on indicators and a handful on streamers. Now is the time !!!