Dean Dorcas doesn't fish in Washington without first hiking in for at least an hour, and not because he craves the exercise. He heads upriver away from other anglers, a strategy that pays off with a satisfying day on a stream. Dorcas, CEO of Integrated Management Systems, a Seattlebased company that specializes in warehouse staffing, grew up fishing with his grandfather.

Anyone who's ever cast a fly understands the challenges of the sport. Otherwise, we wouldn't return or, in the case of most fly fishermen I've met, become obsessed with the pastime. Time of day, season, water depth and date make up just a partial list of variables that may separate a day to brag about from striking out. Of course, picking the right nymph, laying your line subtly upon the water, and knowing when to pull on a hit also come into play.

Fishing is in the blood of the Dorcas family. Dean Dorcas' brother, Dale, created a nonprofit website, fishingcoaches.org, dedicated to sorting out the variables. Fishing Coaches, which describes itself as a group of "fishermen helping fishermen," has developed an algorithm of some 50 variables to consider before heading out to one's preferred riverbank.

Dorcas contends that Washington's relatively few rivers, the extreme popularity of fly fishing and our anadromous fish combine to set local angling apart. These elements may make it more challenging, but like most locals, Dorcas is lured by the opportunity to catch several species of salmon on a fly.

"I like the Snoqualmie. The fish aren't as big, but it's a nice setting in which to fish," he observes. "And I love fishing the smaller streams on the east side" of the Cascades.

Most Washingtonians believe the finest trout fishing in the state can be had on the Yakima River, rich in rainbows with some cutthroats and browns as well. Roads parallel most of the river and numerous public access points make it fairly easy to get to the water. You can either cast from a float boat or wade up the river.

Farther from home, the waters of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Bend, Ore., offer bountiful opportunities for anglers. A pilgrimage to either high-altitude locale promises exceptional dry fly casting; hitting both areas in a single season is a fly fisherman's fantasy.

Justin Yax, a Seattle transplant and partner in an advertising and PR agency in Bend, waded into this fantasy last fall. Although Yax didn't fish when he moved to Oregon six years ago, it only took a couple of outings before his vacation schedule began to reflect the trout runs. Heading to the Snake River and its tributaries added another notch on his fly rod.

Mention Flat Creek or Henry's Fork in a crowded room and the fly fishermen rise to the surface.

"But my favorite fishing was just north of Jackson, in the Snake River," Yax says. "You can practically reach out and touch the peaks of the Tetons."

Sam Clapp, a former guide, has lived in Wyoming for 20 years. He averages about "six-plus days a week" fishing in Jackson, where "you have this huge diversity within a couple of hundred miles and every location is 'oh-my-God' beautiful." Clapp's enthusiasm for fishing the Wyoming-Idaho border is only surpassed by his knowledge. "The key here is that you're sitting in the middle of about 10 million acres of national forest, park and wilder- ness lands. Head in any direction and you find amazing fishing.

"For instance, to the north you can fish Yellowstone Lake or Henry's Lake for large, hybrid cutthroat rainbows up to 15 pounds. Then you have Hebgen and Earthquake Lakes for classic gulpers. Keep going and you hit the Madison River for great brown trout wade-ins or floats."