A tailing fish is seen feeding on a scattering crab. Your guide lines-up the skiff. You cast at the perfect moment. Strip, strip, strip…you got the fish. And the bonefish takes-off on a line-screaming run. The tropical sun lights up the flats like a pinball game as the backing comes off your reel, and your stoked you chose one of the best bonefishing destinations in the world.

Fly fishing for bonefish is a thrill—from sight-fishing to cruising or tailing fish to the myriad of colors on a remote saltwater flat to the fun and intriguing personalities of the best bonefish guides. Bonefish may be the perfect fly-fishing species and they are found in many places.

Here, all in one place, are The 8 Best Bonefishing Destinations in the World

Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures is pleased to announce the launch of a new podcast program that is 100% dedicated to fishing travel, adventure, and exploration - a regular series created for those that fish, and for those that travel to fish. Each episode will dive into the what, why, where, and how of destination angling, discussing relevant topics and breaking down the issues that matter to those who travel and fish.

The new WAYPOINTS podcast is currently available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher, as well as on the Yellow Dog website under the "Media" section in the main menu. Listeners can sign up to receive notifications of new podcast episodes, which will be released on a weekly basis.

Taking the road less traveled is often stated, but never truly experienced. For destination fly fishing travel, a backcountry fly fishing trip is a road less traveled that every angler should discover. From the far-off flats of a saltwater atoll or a pack trip into the wilds of Yellowstone National Park or a multi-day float down the Middle Fork of the Salmon or the remote rivers of Mongolia, a backcountry fly fishing trip is a destination trip that can bring a lot to the hustle-and-bustle of daily life here at home.  

What makes a true backcountry fly fishing trip? The answer lies within each individual angler’s desires and expectations. Many destination fly fishing trips classify as backcountry angling—as the fish we pursue tend to live in remote and beautiful places. But for a fly fishing trip to be backcountry it needs equal parts remoteness, intrigue, and angling adventure.

Alaska is BIG country. Everyone knows it is the largest state in the union and home to the world’s greatest diversity of wild and native trout, grayling, Dolly Varden, and salmon. With such a massive area it may seem daunting to break down the best fly-fishing trips in Alaska and when to give yourself the best chance to create the Alaska fly fishing trip of your dreams.

The first step is to understand the fishing seasons of Alaska. Here all in one place is an in-depth guide to fishing for Alaska’s fly fishing species on the angling calendar.

Big game fly fishing is a testament to many things. From the start, the odds are truly in the favor of the fish. These fish, the fish we refer to as big game fishing—migratory and jungle tarpon, marlin, tuna, sailfish, Giant Trevally, and a few others—when caught, and landed, are a true accomplishment. These fish are big and they come from even bigger environments, where despite their size, they have adapted to the harsh conditions of being part of the food chain in the ocean...where there is always something bigger and hungrier.

Most fly fishing trips for big game species involve specialized boats and locations. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Seychelles, Louisiana, and a few others. These locales offer exciting opportunities for big game fish. Choosing to take a big game fly fishing trip is the just the first step in the exhilarating process of catching these special fish. Gear, guides, and attitude all come into play.

Writing “Best Of” lists can be dangerous—because what makes one fly fishing destination better than another? Or, who's place is it to say fly fishing for tailing bonefish is better than chasing after the gangster of the flats—the voracious Giant Trevally?

Pioneering anglers like Lefty Kreh, Flip Pallot, Del Brown, and many others, fished because saltwater flats fly fishing serves up the essential two elements of our sport—it is challenging enough that most rewards are earned, yet fun enough that even when the catch eludes us, the landscapes, lodges, guides, and fellow anglers—all parts of the whole—come together and burn a desire in us to do it all again.

Listed by species, here are the planet’s Best Flats Fly Fishing Trips

There’s no question that Patagonia is one of the premier freshwater fly fishing destinations in the world – a productive, one-of-a-kind region in South America that is home to dozens of world class lodges, experienced and professional guides, and more rivers, streams, and lakes than can possibly be fished in a lifetime.

And in many of these rivers swim some VERY large brown trout. With over two decades of experience exploring Patagonia, our knowledge of the fisheries is intimate. From float fishing trips to walk-and-wade waters to sea-run brown trout, if big brown trout are desired, then Yellow Dog can help find them.  

Anglers have been exploring distant waters for decades. From the first exploratory fly fishing trips in the jungles of the Amazon to un-mapped atolls for fly fishing for Giant Trevally in the Seychelles, the quest to fish further and further afield is deeply rooted in the souls of many anglers. For some this thirst for adventure is rarely fully quenched, because the next best fly fishing trip is the one yet to be taken.

With over 200 destinations for the best fly fishing trip, it is hard to determine which trip is the best. What might be "best" for one angler isn't for another. Each trip we create is often custom-tailored to each individual angler. This unique ability to only sell what we know--and we know a lot--means we can probably create "the best fly fishing trip" for anyone wanting to fish any of our destinations.

So, whether it is close to home or across the world sight-casting to New Zealand brown trout or seeking a double-digit bonefish on a Bahamas fly fishing trip, opportunities exist to experience Eight of the Best Guided Fly Fishing Trips on the Planet.

For two decades we’ve booked anglers across the globe. As 2020 marks our 20^th year in business, we now book over 225 destinations in 28 countries. From these experiences, we’ve heard and seen just about everything! One question we are always asked is: when should I book my trip? 

Compiled in one place are two decades of insight on when to begin planning your trip for all of the countries we fish.

Fly fishing for trout is steeped with many traditions. One of these is convincing a trout to rise to a dry fly. Many anglers fell in love with trout fishing by casting small dry flies on a remote mountain stream. As our skills improved our desire for more challenging fishing grew. From a six-inch Brook trout on a size 10 Royal Wulff to a 20-inch trico-sipping wild rainbow, fly fishing for trout is anything but ordinary. 

Enter in Yellow Dog's John Hudgens. John, or "Hudge," as most of his friends call him, is a twenty-year veteran guide throughout Montana and Idaho. Hudge has seen thousands of trout feed on a variety of hatching insects. Pursuing these "selective trout" is his passion and has brought him throughout the US West, Patagonia, and New Zealand seeking out selective trout.

In his own words, Hudge tells us how to catch more of these elusive trout.