No this is not a Highlander quote; I am asking what would your “ONLY ONE” fishing hookup be? This means year around, all weather, nothing else is allowed.

FLY FISHING FRESH WATER    This one fly needs to fished dry, wet or as a streamer. I would choose a Muddler Minnow. In a pinch, it makes a great hopper, streamer, dead drifted as nymph or crayfish. They come in many sizes and colors.

FLY FISHING SALTWATER    means minnows so I would select variations of Clouser Minnows. You can make them heavy and light and in a variety of colors with a lot of flash and trash on the flies.

SPIN FISHING FRESH WATER    There are so many crank baits, spinners, and jogs to choose from. I would pick a Blue Fox spinner in a variety of colors and sizes. You can tie multicolored impala hair to the treble hooks. These are heavy spinners and can easily cast far. 

SPIN FISHING SALTWATER    In saltwater, I still feel minnows are the way to go. Hopkins spoons come in several colors and hook/tail modifications. You can jig with them or retrieve as a baitfish. These are perfect for trolling, jigging suspended school fish, and casting from the surf or into breaking fish

BAIT FISHING FRESH WATER    There are certainly plenty of natural and commercial baits to choose from. Some bait may be as simple as corn or … My choice is worms. Everything that swims will eat a worm. You can scent, color, and float them. Lots of ways to present them. Worms also work well in saltwater. 

BAIT FISHING SALTWATER     Plenty of choices but everything in the sea will eat squid. Add some stinky squid to anything and you will get a bite.

The idea of using a single bait, lure, fly, or fish catcher is a fun challenge. One Summer, I guided using just Royal Coachmen’s, for fly fishing trout trips. They came in many sizes, configurations, colors, weights, and patterns. It was easier to tie and fill my fly boxes. Fishing and catching were great with the one style of fly. What bait, lure, fly, or rig would you choose?

Catch a Big One! 

Montana Grant