Dr. Ramon Zabriskie’s fly fishing tales have a way of reeling in listeners.
“Have you ever had a chance to fish for roosterfish on the fly? It’s pretty great,” Zabriskie said. “I’ve fished all around the world, and I’ve fished for a lot of fish. I hosted trips in Alaska for 20 years. I’ve caught billfish on a fly. Big tarpon, tuna, dorado, anything, I’ve chased ‘em on a fly all around. I’ve caught big fish here locally, fished Pyramid Lake, caught all the salmon and steelhead you can think of. To me, nothing compares to roosterfish.”
Zabriskie will present his talk, “Rooster! Rooster! Rooster!,” for High Country Fly Fishers’ monthly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. in St. Mary’s Catholic Church Social Hall in Park City.
Zabriskie grew up fishing in Utah and owns Dr. Z Fly Fishing, where he offers angling lessons and fish-themed neckties. He is also a top leisure studies scholar and experience and design management professor at BYU Marriott School of Business, where he has taught fly fishing classes for 20 years. He will discuss location, rods, reels, lines, fly patterns and techniques from boat and beach, as well as the excitement, panic, challenge and exhilaration that accompany catching the 100-pound roosterfish, with blue water flies available to examine.
The group will also discuss its Annual Rooster Fish on a Fly Tournament next July in Mexico and offer a custom-designed inside/outside experience to Costa Rica.
High Country Fly Fishers is the Trout Unlimited chapter representing Summit and Wasatch counties dedicated to fly fishing, conservation and community building since 1989. The group offers hands-on conservation projects with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Trout in Classrooms for local students and monthly fish-outs. Group meetings draw up to 50 members from beginners to Fly Fishing Hall of Famers.
Zabriskie named his talk to reflect the mayhem that ensues upon sighting the roosterfish’s distinctive comb poking above the water.
“You have to be ready at all times because, all of a sudden, boom, they’re there and you have a split second to do everything perfect, and at the same time everybody is freaking out, screaming and hollering, ‘Rooster! Rooster! Rooster!’ Eventually, hopefully you’re hooked up, then you can calm down and fight the fish,” Zabriskie said.
While enticing the oceanic roosterfish brings unique thrills, Zabriskie builds on techniques familiar to any fresh water fisher.
“Especially folks that are local, fishing at Strawberry [Reservoir] and haven’t had that kind of experience in salt water, can see the difference and go, ‘Hey, the same basic things that we do on Strawberry, we do on a bigger or different scale on the ocean,’ and you can catch anything out there,” Zabriskie said.
Attendees can also count on local discussions, as October and November are prime Utah fishing months.
“Last month at Strawberry has been great,” Zabriskie said. “As it starts to cool down it gets better and better every day all the way up until mid-December.”
And even then, the hardy will still find themselves on the water.
“You can go in the Middle Provo or the Provo Canyon any day of the year and have success, and that’s one of the reasons we really make a big effort together to maintain our fisheries,” Zabriskie said.
Considering the scarcity of water in Utah, a healthy aquatic system is essential for all living beings.
“We provide resources for each other,” Zabriskie said. “We can gather and talk fishing adventures and get each other excited and go on adventures around the world. Then we come home to our home waters and we’re going to take care of them so that when people come visit, they can have that experience as well, and so that our kids and our grandkids and our grandkids’ kids’ kids can have similar experiences as well.”
More information is available at highcountryflyfishers.com.