Fly Fisherman's Spectacular Mountain Lake Fishing Video Series

Learn how and where to find fish, the unique insect life, and the gear you'll need.

Fly Fisherman's Mountain Lake Fishing Video Series — Native fish are the norm at many mountain lakes.

February 27, 2023 By Fly Fisherman Staff

Digital editor Josh Bergan hikes uphill to some Montana lakes to share what he's learned about fly fishing at mountain lakes. The three videos below lay out what you'll need to know.

Click here to watch: Finding and Catching Trout at Mountain Lakes

A fly angler kneeling lakeside, landing a cutthroat trout. — Bergan takes us along on a fly-fishing trip into the Montana mountains to show where, how, and why to catch trout in alpine lakes.

Click here to watch: The Bugs and Aquatic Invertebrates of Mountain Lakes

A caddis larva in a hand — Bergan describes the main forage foods of trout in alpine environments, including baitfish, crustaceans, and insects.

Click here to watch: Packing for Fishing at Mountain Lakes

A fly box with mountain-lake flies in it — Bergan shows us the gear and accessories that he has found to be useful when hiking to and fishing at mountain lakes.

Recent Videos

How-To/Techniques

Aside from some of the big stonefly hatches, hopper season is often the most anticipated time on the Rocky Mountain angler's calendar. And while the big rivers offer some fantastic opportunities, fishing smaller streams and tributaries often provides faster fishing–sometimes with some surprisingly large trout. Check out our tantalizing tutorial on some of the most exciting fishing of the year.

How-To/Techniques

Fly Tier's Bench: How to Tie Egan's Poacher

How-To/Techniques

Fly Tier's Bench: How to Tie Egan's Poacher

Fly-fishing competition guys like Lance Egan and George Daniel figured out that you didn't always need to strip a streamer to draw a trout's attention. Sometimes a very slow, swinging and even hopping motion down deep was just what the fish were after. Egan has debuted his latest jig-hook streamer offering, and dubbed it the Poacher. It is not only a compelling fly to tie and fish, but the logic and thought process behind it are interesting as well.

Destinations/Species

The Tightest Line

Destinations/Species

The Tightest Line

A look back at Pandion Creative's film The Tightest Line that profiles several guides across the globe, after 10 years. Huge dry-fly browns, fly-eating sharks, Pacific Northwest steelhead, and a charming collective of thoughts and personalities on fly fishing.

How-To/Techniques

How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly

How-To/Techniques

How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly

The Mr. Jones, an adult cranefly pattern that skips, skates, and hops, has proved effective all summer long, especially during the hot afternoons and early mornings when these bugs are most active. I find myself often tying it on when things are slow just because it's so fun to fish, and more often than not, I end up smiling and laughing at the antics of aggressive fish making fools of themselves.

How-To/Techniques

How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly

How-To/Techniques

How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly

How-To/Techniques

How to Fight Trout Effectively and Get them in the Net Quickly

How-To/Techniques

How to Fight Trout Effectively and Get them in the Net Quickly

The battle between angler and trout is one of the most exciting and nerve-rattling experiences in fly fishing. In that intense moment it feels like time is standing still. The following tips will help calm your nerves, and allow you a chance to gain control. Whether you're fishing drys, nymphs, or streamers, battling a resident river trout or a lake monster, these techniques will tire the fish quickly, and successfully allow the trout a safe release to fight another day.

News

Patagonia Advocates for Dam Removal

News

Patagonia Advocates for Dam Removal

From Patagonia: “Each time we remove a dam, life comes rushing back in. For years, we've known that dams are lethal. Now we know they're methane factories. Today, the facts are impossible to ignore. Removing dams repairs our climate, restores lost landscapes, and unites communities. We now have a chance to return life to our rivers.”

Destinations/Species

Science in the Thorofare

Destinations/Species

Science in the Thorofare

Yellowstone National Park employees and Ph.D. students horse pack into the most remote location in the Lower 48 to research spawning-size Yellowstone cutthroats from Yellowstone Lake. The upper upper Yellowstone River drainage, also known as the Thorofare, has long been considered one of the world's greatest fly-fishing destinations.

How-To/Techniques

How to Tie the Picky Eater Perdigon

How-To/Techniques

How to Tie the Picky Eater Perdigon

Like it or not, competition angling is driving many of the advancements in our sport. And while I generally find Perdigons and their cousins to be pretty boring flies, Zach VanDeHey, a 39-year-old Oregonian, and his approach to his Picky Eater Perdigon gives me hope for the future. VanDeHey hatched the idea for his Picky Eater while feeling was that his conventional Perdigons were sinking too fast. Though the entire premise behind slender-bodied nymphs with big tungsten beads is to plummet through the water column to the bottom, these fish were feeding in the middle of the water column. VanDeHey got to work on the vise to design a fly that would sink more slowly and spawned the brilliant idea of not only downsizing the bead, but also adding a dubbing-loop CDC collar to function as a parachute and reduce the rate of descent. This flowing CDC collar adds tons of fluid motion to the fly, and creates enough drag and lift to keep the fly drifting mid-column. Follow along as I twist up this super-fishy fly.

Fly Fishing the Plunge Pools of Yosemite Falls

Ross Purnell and a crew of climber-anglers make a once-in-a-lifetime trip to “middle Earth” to fish for an isolated population of native rainbow trout. The Middle Cascades of Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park is a next-to-impossible section of water to access that few have ever even seen, much less fished. It requires a dangerous climb, followed by rappelling into a gorge, then swimming to the fish. It would require careful planning, even more careful navigation, and a little luck. Follow along on this adventure of all adventures to see what they find, and how they deal with the numerous challenges, both foreseen and unforeseen, in Descent.

Gear

Scientific Anglers Launches Reimagined Tropical Saltwater Fly Lines

Gear

Scientific Anglers Launches Reimagined Tropical Saltwater Fly Lines

The Magnitude series is a completely new creation in the same way that the first breathable waders and the first graphite rods were fundamentally different from their predecessors. These are the first lines from Scientific Anglers that are not polyvinyl chloride. Magnitude lines are made from new, naturally buoyant polymers. That's one reason why they are clear or available with clear tips—because these new polymers don't require an infusion of tiny glass spheres or bubbles for buoyancy.

Gear

Check Out Grundens' New Vector Wader!

Gear

Check Out Grundens' New Vector Wader!

Director of Product Curtis Graves walks us through Grundens' new Vector Wader. It features four-layer laminated puncture-resistant microfiber face fabric and is designed with Grundens' traditional high-mobility structure. It has two large front pockets, is convertible to waist-high, and has a new “warming” neoprene in the stocking feet. Available now.

See All Videos

Buy Digital Single Issues

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Buy Single Digital Issue on the Fly Fisherman App

Other Magazines

Game & Fish

In-Fisherman

Florida Sportsman

Fly Fisherman

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

2023 Fly Fisherman Destinations

Buy A Copy

2023 Fly Fisherman Destinations

Buy A Copy

2023 Fly Fishing Made Easy

Buy A Copy

2023 Fly Fishing Made Easy

Buy A Copy

2023 Catfish In-Sider Guide

Buy A Copy

2023 Catfish In-Sider Guide

Buy A Copy

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide

Buy A Copy

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide

Buy A Copy

2023 Kayak Fishing Fun

Buy A Copy

2023 Kayak Fishing Fun

Buy A Copy

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide Gear Box

Buy A Copy

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide Gear Box

Buy A Copy

See All Special Interest Magazines

More You May Be Interested In

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Fly Fisherman subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?

Subscribe Now

Fly Fishing Made Easy Special Publication Now Available!

Subscribe & Save.

Fly Fisherman's Spectacular Mountain Lake Fishing Video Series

Learn how and where to find fish, the unique insect life, and the gear you'll need.

Video That May Interest You

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Buy Digital Single Issues

Don't miss an issue.Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Other Magazines

Game & Fish

Game & Fish

In-Fisherman

In-Fisherman

Florida Sportsman

Florida Sportsman

Fly Fisherman

Fly Fisherman

Special Interest Magazines

2023 Fly Fisherman Destinations

2023 Fly Fisherman Destinations

2023 Fly Fishing Made Easy

2023 Fly Fishing Made Easy

2023 Catfish In-Sider Guide

2023 Catfish In-Sider Guide

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide

2023 Kayak Fishing Fun

2023 Kayak Fishing Fun

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide Gear Box

2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide Gear Box

More You May Be Interested In

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get Digital Access.

Not a Subscriber?

Get a Full Yearof Guns & Ammo& Digital Access.

Get the Newsletter

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.