Where to Begin?

Finding a Suitable Location

All photographs in this post courtesy of  Matt Denton

Until I make a firm decision on where to go, I cannot make any real plans. A while ago I did a bit of random searching using google earth, I found a number of interesting islands. Some of them looked like the traditional tropical paradise, others looked more like the antarctic (some were indeed part of the antarctic region). There are also many remote areas worth looking at on the major land masses. I soon discovered that my haphazard approach also meant that each time I looked, I found yet another place which looked good. It was time to come up with a simple plan of attack. Here it is, step by step:

1. Deciding Where Not to Go
After a bit of thought, common sense prevailed. There are a number of areas that can be discounted readily. Some exceptional looking areas are extremely dangerous. War zones, areas at high risk of terrorism, and areas where pirates are commonly to be found are out. I will be searching to find out what areas are dangerous in a variety of ways, mostly relying on smart traveller, the Australian Government website detailing travel warnings based on all sorts of issues including the ones I have mentioned, as well as health warnings and a few other things that need to be considered. Any highly populated areas, or popular tourist destintaions are also out, as well as remote areas commonly visited by anglers such as Christmas Island/Kiribati (featured in the pictures). This should remove a lot of areas, but there is still a lot of the world left to scan.

2. Breaking it down
The world is huge, and rather than simply going back to randomly searching all over, I have decided to divide it up into regions and look thoroughly through each one . Each continent will be a region, as will the big oceans.As I search each region, I will compile a list of all possible locations before moving onto the next.

3. Selection
I will next look in more detail at each of the possible locations on my regional lists and pick what look to be the best three locations from each region. These will be studied in even greater detail still, using the usual online search methods, as well as map searches and talking to locals and people that have been there via email, and through discussion forums. The single best option from each region will then be selected, after gathering every necessary bit of information I can on them. From there I will pick the one that looks to have the best opportunities for both fly fishing and photography. I will also select a second location as a backup, just in case. I may well end up asking for your help in making a final decision on flywater x. At least for now, I have a plan of attack. The search begins!