Urban Fly Fishing can present unique challenges to the angler that can be found in no other environment. There is a serious difference between fishing in the middle of a preserve and fishing next to a highway, or in an urban park.

These tips are for the angler to catch fish, survive and be safe during an urban fishing trip.

Some of these are very serious, and some, not so serious…..but still very important!

1. 1.  Know your surroundings: Anytime you are going fishing you have to know your surroundings. In this case, know the urban area you are going to. If you are fishing in Philadelphia, know how to get into the area, out of the area, and things around the area. This means investing some time looking at some maps, and doing some investigating.
   

2. 2. Scout your target area: Don’t just show up and start fishing. If you are fishing an area in the city, or close to the city, drive around and scout it out. You don’t want to pick a spot, start fishing it, work it upstream and end up in the middle of the hood. I have fished my local park in Philadelphia and found myself in the middle of a graffiti covered barbecue filled gangland. It was in a secluded area of the park! There were literally gang members guarding the area. If I had done a little more scouting ahead of time, I would have seen that whole area from afar….but no, I just went fishing and ended up being stuck walking thru the “badlands” of my park. Yeah, it’s a big park, in the city.
   

3. 3.  Check your cell signal in the areas you will be fishing. If you can, pack an extra battery in a sandwich bag in your vest. You don’t want to be in a dead zone. Buildings, rock formations, and valleys can sometimes block cell signals, and you will be fishing at a level below the buildings, so know ahead of time if you will have signal.