December 28, 2012: Middle Provo Fishing Report: Water Levels, Temp., & Questioning my Use of a 5 wt.

The Middle Provo saw its water temperature dip under 40F (39.5F) for the first time this winter. A reputable website just reported that water temperatures on the Middle Provo are 42 F. Unless my thermometer is broken--brand new, I am a little miffed by their report. Water levels continue to be optimal--consistent with previous reports, and quality fish can be found in holding water and in the middle to latter half of runs. After thoroughly fishing one of my favorite runs, I grabbed several submerged branches, in order to inspect subsurface insect activity. The number of midges that can be found on a single branch is truly remarkable. By running a branch across your hand, you can observe the light bodied midges for yourself--maybe take a picture and share, as I keep forgetting to. Light, cream-colored UFOs, as small as you can tie on, will produce quality fish when presented in a dead-drift.

Fishing continues to be excellent and I managed to catch and successfully land a 22 inch brown on a UFO. Given the river's temperatures, he was not too difficult to bring in and I was able to release him before he knew what hit him. I managed to take several photos and you'll see that this good 'ol boy has a badly damaged jaw--I assure you it's not from the UFO. Once home and reviewing my notes and taking a closer look at some of the photos, and again noticing his damaged jaw, I found myself reflecting on my approach to fly-fishing during the summer, which has been partly documented in this blog. Simply put, I am wondering whether the use of my 5wt rod has left many large browns with significant injuries, or even worse. During the summer and its warmer water temperatures, some of the browns pack enough gusto that it takes an uncomfortable amount of time to land and release one--well over 15 minutes. Even then, I have experienced about a 50%, or maybe even slightly less, landing success rate, which often leaves me wondering how long would it have taken to land the fish. Sure, it's exciting to feel the brute strength and witness a large brown making rhinoceros-like charges up and down the river, but at some point, I have found myself silently swearing in hopes that the fish would finally give in and I'd be able to release it with enough left in its tank to recover.

I did a quick Google search to see if others were also questioning the ethics of using today's 5 wt rods when fishing for larger sized trout, and I stumbled upon Tom Chandler's (Trout Underground, 2012), "fly fishing keeps losing weight, and why that might be a bad thing" (click title to read the full article and user comments). Chandler and his readers, who have been around the block for a lot longer than me, comment on the industry trend that has downsized the all-purpose fly-rod several line weights to a 5wt. Several of his readers comment and share the same concerns that I have raised. In summary, I am seriously considering purchasing a 6 wt, or possibly a 7 wt rod to add to my arsenal for summer fishing. Again, it's well worth reading Chandler's article, along with his readers' comments. 

December 20, 2012: Middle Provo Fishing Report: Water Levels, Water Temperature, & Ice

Middle Provo, 8 AM-- My car's temperature gauge reads 14 Degrees Fahrenheit and temperatures for the day would stay well below freezing. Fortunately, two pairs of thick wool socks, thicker neoprene waders, and a snowboarding jacket helped to neutralize the cold. Since last week, the water temperature dropped another degree and a half  to 40.5 F.

For as cold as the weather was,  fishing started off with a bang. Within the first several casts, I hooked into large brown and then another shortly thereafter. Fish are still taking baetis nymphs, UFOs, and grayish scuds--they seem to take anything that is tiny. My hands took a beating, especially when unhooking and releasing fish. After releasing a medium-sized brown, my lead fly was embedded in the mesh netting and it required nearly 10 minutes to free the stubborn bugger. I then tried to shake off all of the water from the net, to prevent it from freezing up--I had to dip it in the water to thaw it out, and I somehow managed to completely hook a UFO into my pointer finger. Fortunately I was able to remove the fly with minimal effort and between the weather and several sips of Eagle Rare Bourbon, I didn't feel a thing.

By midday, the fishing dropped off noticeably. I probably caught 75% of my fish before 12 pm. By about 1 pm, the repetitious nature of casting four or five times, having to go to the bank to remove ice from my lead guide, then removing gunk from my flies, and then starting the whole process over, began to take a toll on my mental well-being. So it is quite possible that the fishing didn't drop off, but my abilities to dead drift nymphs suffered greatly.

It probably sounds like I am complaining, but it's weather like this that I enjoy the most. I didn't see a single person on the day, I miraculously found my pair of clippers amongst some rocks that I had lost several weeks earlier, and I saw many winter wondrous sights, which I tried to capture with my camera and failed--will still show. I also enjoyed several smokes that I received from a good friend. After polishing off the last bit of coffee around 8:30 am, I lit up one of Drew Estate's Dirty Torpedos from their Natural Line. Normally, I am not a fan of flavored cigars, but the light chocolate flavored cigar tip, combined with its smooth and medium-full bodied, complex flavors, really worked well for a morning smoke. Again, this caught me a little off guard considering the many unfavorable reviews that I have read--perhaps the cigar I received, or maybe the wintry conditions, made the difference. Also, I am no cigar snob and I haven't refined my taste to the point that I turn my nose down at "lesser" cigars.

I followed up this tasty torpedo with another smoke around 2 pm. This time, I sampled one of CAO's Italia Ciao. While unintentional, the timing of this smoke was impeccable. After performing the described pattern of casting, removing ice, freeing gunk, and repeating, and repeating, and repeating, I was starting to feel a bit lifeless, especially given that I was going through these motions with very little return on my effort investment. From the first puff to the last, this cigar packs a powerful zesty punch. It's hands down one of the more complex and flavorful smokes that I have had in a while. For a more frequent smoke, I'd probably lean more towards CAO Brazilia's line, but this one did more to warm me up and give me the extra umph to repeat the tedium. So there you have it, I'm not a big cigar buff and I am certainly not qualified to write reviews, but these were both tasty and selected at the right moments.

Until next week!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-Brendan J. (Provo River Fly Guy).

December 13, 2012: Middle Provo River Fishing Report: Water Levels & Water Temperature

Since last Friday, water levels on the Middle Provo have dropped some and fishing conditions are back to being ideal. Water temperatures remain 42 F and quality fish can be found in deeper holding water. The weather was much more cooperative this week--overcast and a gentle breeze.

Fishing started off a bit slow, until I made two adjustments to my normal set-up. The first being a switch to a light green colored UFO, from a dark brown UFO, which I trailed to a green baetis nymph. The other switch, though the water levels dropped, was to add three more 0.12 g split shots to my current set-up and to adjust the weights a bit closer to my lead fly, in order to keep my flies closer to the river bottom. If you find the need to adjust your split-shot closer or further from your lead fly, never make the adjustment when your tippet is dry. The friction will severely weaken the line and you're likely to experience a break. I typically apply some lip balm or petroleum jelly to the line below or above where the current weights rest. I also recommend moving one split-shot at a time, so as to identify any stubborn ones that'll require a little more work--good reason why you shouldn't press a split-shot too hard onto your line. Also, it's well worth bringing a small container of petroleum jelly, which can be applied to the guides to prevent ice build-up during the cold winter months and is a cheap alternative to the "official" products that serve the same purpose.

After a short cigar break--Hoyo de Monterrey's Excalibur Dark Knight, I was back at it. The same section that I had fished thoroughly prior to the described adjustments, produced a 17 inch brown on my first cast. The brown took the light green UFO and shot upstream. I netted him, took a photo, and released him moments before I hooked into another healthy brown, though not as large as the first. I'd go on to hook into a good many more fish and unfortunately, a good many broke free.

At about a quarter to five, as I was getting ready to call it a day, the cloud cover momentarily gave way to the setting sun, and buttery beams of light shown on the sides of distant, snow-capped mountains. After fishing all day on the Middle Provo, surrounded by wintry dull grays and faded browns and greens, the view was rather exotic. I told myself to take a photo and knew that'd I'd have only a short while to do so. I ended up deciding that some things are best stored in the memory bank.

Until next week. 

December 7, 2012: Middle Provo Fishing Report: WWW: Water levels, Water Temp., and Wind.

Fishing was a struggle last Friday. A cold weather system was moving in and the wind made it difficult to dead-drift nymphs. The weather hurdles were on top of less than favorable water conditions. The Middle Provo's water-levels were higher than my last trip on November 26 and the water temperature dropped another degree, to 42 F (from 43 F in late November). Larger browns seem to be holding in deeper, slower moving water. Smaller and medium sized fish can still be caught in shallower, faster moving water.

For dry fly guys, the wind kept most of the insects off the water, though there was some small activity in the late morning, or right before the wind really picked up. For nymph guys, fish were taking brown, size 20; 22 UFOs, Rainbow Warriors, and baetis flies (size 18 was the largest I used at any point in the day). There is quite a bit of subsurface insect activity, and if you happen to spot a branch in the water, it's worth picking up and closely examining it and then your hands. You're sure to see an impressive population of tiny midges and some nymphs.

With the weather challenges and the drop in fishing, it is still well-worth making the trip. For a Friday, I only saw a handful of anglers all day and I was able to enjoy most of the river to myself. The picturesque snowcapped mountains were alone, worth the trip. Then, there's something humbling and even appreciative about struggling all day on the Provo and averaging less than a fish an hour--most were small too. The unknown and mystery associated with fishing and hunting is what makes these activities so enjoyable. From a number's standpoint, fishing was forgettable last Friday. From a spiritual standpoint, the Provo injected a healthy dose of mystery and even caused a bit of self-doubt--"do I really know what I am doing?" Truthfully, I'm still unsure and I got to know ASAP!  I plan on taking a trip tomorrow or Wednesday.