When should you go fly fishing? Well, any time you go is better than the time that you don’t go. That being said, some forethought and discernment can go a long way in getting the most bang for your buck.

Have you ever considered the day of the week and how much of a part that plays in your own enjoyment and the fishing opportunities? You ought to. Every day is not equal, and as your schedule and the seasonality of the year changes, what might work one month could very well be a big zero the next.

So here it is: a brief synopsis of the seven days of the week and how fly fishing fits into each of them.

Saturday Let’s start at the end. This is not the day to go fishing if you want solitude. Maybe if it is raining/snowing/hailing/football playoffs. Otherwise, you’re going to have to get pretty far off the trail before you find some fish for yourself. And even if you do happen upon some spot of water where you can’t see anyone, there is a good chance that those fish have been hammered the last few days. Plus, you have yardwork. And there is college football. And “people.”

Sunday The first day of the week. The day of rest. “Saturday II” for the non-religious crowd. And for that reason, you can basically apply all of the Saturday truths to Sunday. Although, early Sunday morning is a surprisingly quiet time. That isn’t necessarily because all the other fly fishers are at church. Even in our present culture, Sunday still has a “day of rest” feel to it. Whether it is because Saturday night was crazy, or that Monday looms large, many folks take it easy. Easy like Sunday morning, even.

Monday Now, you could make the argument that fish in popular streams are still feeling the effects of a few days of heavy pressure. This might impact your success, and thus discourage you from using a precious vacation day. But my issue with Mondays is more psychological. If you work (and let’s hope that you do something productive), your brain is just plain wired to think of everything that you’ve got to do. In most fields, missing a Monday is like being late off the blocks in a race where you have meetings and paperwork instead of hurdles. You don’t want that in your head while you’re fishing.

Tuesday If you go fishing on Tuesday, you’re essentially communicating “It’s Saturday somewhere!” Pull yourself together.

Wednesday Now Wednesday is interesting. Scoot out on a Wednesday, and you basically give yourself a mini-weekend in your week. The fish have probably been living happy and peacefully for a few days, and the rest of the world is in full-swing. You, on the other hand, have taken care of just enough that you can justify jettisoning from the cubicle. And then, when you return, it is already Friday Eve. Genius move, fishing on Wednesday.

Thursday This might be the absolute best day for actual fishing. “How can anyone even know that?!” you skeptically ask. Let me assure you that years of highly complicated mathematical-scientific research and data collection have gone into this algorithm. Weather and season notwithstanding, Thursday is the best day for fishing. Don’t ask to see my notes, just take my word for it. If you don’t fish on Thursday, you’re missing out. Its where the angling magic happens – like some rare orchid that only blooms during an eclipse. Or something.

Friday “The easy way out.” I understand the allure of the three-day weekend. So does everyone else. However, the early bird gets the trout. You really have to commit to fish on Fridays. Knuckle down, treat it as a fishing trip and not vacation, and get out there before all the fair-weather lightweights do so. It is the most reasonable of days to go fishing. You can take a day off, commit yourself to kith and kin for the rest of the weekend, and probably not look like a heel to your superiors at work. And assuming that no one took my advice about wonderful Thursday (oh, Thursday…), you’ll have fish that haven’t seen much action.

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There it is. When you should go fly fishing… and kind of “why” as well. If you have all the time in the world, this will be helpful. If you don’t, then disregard everything you just read and just go fishing. After all, a bad day fishing is better than a good day working! Am I right or am I right?