Why the Blog?

In the last two weeks (September 24th - October 4th), I have spent more time fishing the provo river (lower and middle) than I have since relocating from Washington to Utah--about 4 years ago. I have also caught 20 times more the total number of fish in the last two weeks, including an 18 inch brown, a 15 in cutt, and a number of very healthy browns. I have also hooked into a number of very healthy fish, causing me to quikcly realize that I need to improve my ability to play fish and net them--purchased my first net within the last two weeks because of preventable losses.This is not to say that fly-fishing is a recent hobby that I picked up since my moving to Utah, but rather, fly-fishing on the Provo is heaps and bounds different from my past fly-fishing adventures on Washington and Oregon's more remote streams. Whereas selecting a size 16, general dry fly from the box and blindly casting it to the middle of a mountain stream yields tremendous success, Provo River cutts and browns are considerably less forgiving for obvious reasons.

I'll be the first to admit that the Provo River knocked me down to size quicker than a college grad after his or her first day working in the real world. Shamefully, it wouldn't be until year 2.5 of my being here that I managed to catch my first brown. It happened on a tepid--ha! afternoon in February on the lower provo. After applying anti-line freeze solution to the eyes of my fly-rod, I managed to take a humble-size brown--the only fish of that day, who must have had a hankering for a more exotic meal--another shameful detail that I will spare the reader.

Though my first fish on the Provo is a lot like more hunters' first buck (yearling), it created the spark on my journey to improving myself as an all-round fly-fisherman, and not one who only enjoys success on Washington and Oregon's mountainesque streams.

The purpose of this blog is threefold: 

First, instead of logging my fishing reports into my blue legal notebook, which I have lost on more than several occasions, I will post my reports on the blog. This is not to say that my reports are indicative of what will and won't work on the Provo, but what worked for me. I am still a work in progress and have improved faster in several areas and am struggling mightily on others (dry-flies).

Secondly, I am hopeful that a more experienced fly-fisherman may be kind enough to share some wisdom with me and others.

Finally, I plan on using the blog to share some of my personal outdoor stories based upon the adventures my brothers, friends, and I have shared.

Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts.