One out of two 'aint bad and while I have skimped on blog posting, I have not skimped on outings on the Provo. The caddis hatch is in full force, water levels are ideal, and quality fish are to be had. In the last two outings, I have averaged at least two browns per outing that are over 20 inches. Earlier this week (Tuesday), I caught a 25 inch brown that dwarfed my net. Between matching the caddis hatch and nymphing, you should be into the fish from start to finish.
Early morning brown
I also enjoy this time of year as one of Utah's native fish start to migrate upsteam to their spawning areas. Don't sleep on Mountain Whitefish Prosopiam williamsoni, who provide a formidable challenge using a 5 wt or smaller rod. Mountain Whitefish play an important ecological role, as their thousands of will drift downstream, much to the delight of Browns and important populations of subsurface species of insects. Last Friday, I caught my first autumn whitefish and it put up a ferocious all-out fight. If you nymph for Browns this time of year, there's a great chance you'll run into a whitefish, especially in riffles.
Last Friday was a stark reminder that winter is right around the corner. The Middle experienced some frozen rain and the peaks of mountains revealed a dusting a snow. I look forward to winter's solace on the Provo, but it comes with a price.
It has been a while since I have created a blog entry and fortunately, the absence of entries does not indicate an absence in my angling. Since my last entry, I spent a few days fishing the Upper Provo in early August and the conditions were dramatically different from my last outing up there--only one month prior. The water levels dropped noticeably and algae blanketed the river bottom. While I was not able to catch any brookies, much to my disappointment, the browns were fairly active and I experienced consistent action using salmonflies, caddis flies, and BWOs.
The Middle's waterflows have been somewhat of a mystery this year and a lot has to do with middle vs. lower priorities, low reservoirs, and yah, mostly low reservoirs. Typically by late August, the Middle's water levels have tapered off, but this year's late summer levels are closer to the spring runoff. I sometimes wonder whether the early 1990s construction of the Jordanelle Dam, whose flows control the look and feel of the Middle, play second fiddle to Utah's crown jewel in the Lower Provo, which is controlled by the dam and Deer Creek Reservoir.
Since my last report, I have fished the middle 3-4 times and have observed caddis and BWOs coming off the surface throughout the day. I have enjoyed moderate success matching these hatches and have continued to be successful nymphing. My brother, who is visiting from Washington, and I caught between 15 to 20 browns, though the largest of browns humbled us and we were unable to land any of them.
I have also mixed in some hikes into my outdoor routine and was able access the twin peaks from the broadfork trail. Where the trail meets the two beaver bonds, and shortly thereafter, we were forced to cross the brush just past and two the right of the ponds. While cutting through the brush, my brother heard the distinct rattle and we both were able to spot a very healthy rattler give off a few more warnings before slithering deep into the brush. Several moments later, we stumbled upon a bedded moose that scared the bejesus out of us. Needless to say that it was a memorable hike and I rekindled my enthusiasm for hiking. It does not seem all that long ago that my kid brother and I were making our way through the brush in Washington's Indian Heaven and spooked a black bear that fortunately bolted off.
After fishing my old stomping grounds on Washington's Upper
Lewis River about a week ago (above Swift Reservoir), I found myself a little
homesick. I'll have to save a summary of the trip for another post, though I'll
take this opportunity to mention the two steelhead that I caught : ). Don't get
me wrong, I am absolutely thrilled that the Provo River is so close to home,
but it can be a little tiring fighting the river traffic, as everyone rat
race's to their favorite run. This certainly is not a complaint about the
anglers of the Provo, because I have had the pleasure of meeting and a great
cast of characters, many who have been kind enough to help net fish, give
fishing reports, and even swap a few lies, errr, I mean flies. Still, the Upper
Lewis has that off-the-path feel, as does many sections of the Upper Provo, only
with more river, wild steelhead and rainbows, and old evergreens along the bank.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the section of the
Middle that I fished received little traffic. Water levels have also dropped some,
and it's much easier to locate seams and holding spots. The water levels are
high enough that large browns are actively seeking undercuts and hanging grass.
It can be a bit tricky floating a hopper, bwo, or nymph along the undercuts
without getting caught up, but it's well worth the risk.
(weather: calm/faint breeze at times, sunny/overcast, high
80s, no water temperature taken--thermometer broke)
Brown that sent me down river and through the "woods"
As for insect activity, I observed smaller caddis flies throughout
the day (size 14 or 16), light bodied duns
(size 18, yellow) and grasshoppers. Please see the complete list of macroinvertebrates of the Provo River.
I arrived on the Middle around 6:45 am. Fishing has tended
to be slower in the early morning, but I was itching to go. This morning seemed
to buck the trend and I was into the fish until around 1 pm when the action
dropped off. At this time, I switched from my nymph set up to duns, and I
probably averaged a fish an hour--mostly smaller. Around 3 pm, I switched back
to my nymph set up and hooked into back to back monsters--literally, unhooked
one and went back to the same run and hooked into another behemoth of equal stature.
I was also grateful that another angler, who was with his son, stopped and
watched, and then offered to help net him. The brush is pretty thick at the
moment and the first brown took me down river and I was forced to follow along the
river bank, which required several line loops over larger brush in order to
keep pace. I was pretty fortunate it didn't break free, especially given that
the brown twice made it into some undercuts.
What am I?
I also saw quite a few critters today, including two beavers, an otter, two does--one crossed upriver from where I was fishing and this guy, which I am not sure what it is.
If you suspect that the holiday week and the anticipation of
mayfly hatches will lead to increased traffic on the Provo, you are partly
correct. When I think of traffic, I think of moving vehicles, albeit slowly.
Yesterday felt more like a traffic jam, as the hoards of anglers leaped frogged
each other, until there was nowhere to leap frog to. Still, there are angling
opportunities abound for those looking for a good time-- a lot of water gets
skipped over in search for greener pastures. I arrived on the Middle around
7:30 am and decided to nymph until I observed a hatch. Nymphing proved to be very
productive. With the very high water levels, I recommend scanning for slower
water lanes, as well as the water to the left or right of the central water
lane. These tend to be some of the more productive water to nymph in high water
conditions.
The first and largest mayfly hatch occurred shortly before
11 am and lasted for over an hour. I had planned on shooting footage and taking
photos for the blog, but that all went out the window when I hooked into a large
brown that took my Hare's Ear--I had planned on one or two more casts before
making the switch to a BWO, and submarined upriver--Das Boot! In true Brown
fashion, the fish made a b-line for the cover--undercut with grass and branches
hanging down on the opposite side of the stream. It is important to recognize
the consequences of letting a large fish reach this cover, as there is a high
likelihood that your line will get caught up in the hanging cover or even wrap
around the fish, preventing it from being able to fight the current. And with
the very high water levels, I certainly wasn't interested in doing my best Brad
Pitt Impression of floating down the river while fighting the fish--would be
the only similarity. So, I raised my rod high and tried to foil its plan.
Knowing that there was a small margin for success, I was not surprised that the
fish broke free. I was surprised at the point in my set-up that gave way, the
knot connecting a small section of heavier test to my main floating line, which
I use to create a perfect loop and attach my strike indicator. While all this
was occurring, a caravan of anglers had stopped to watch. I stood with my
floating line flapping in the wind, until I spotted my indicator zinging up
river. I went to shore, dropped my gear off, and went back and tried several
times unsuccessfully to grab the bobbing white thingamabobber--almost looked
like I whaling. I was finally able to grab it, but without being able to let
line out or allow for some give, the fish snapped free moments later and at
least I was able to retrieve my line and flies.
I switched to a green bodied BWO and after letting the run
rest, a large brown broke the surface, took my fly, bolted for cover, and
promptly freed itself. After the hatch ended, the fishing dropped off
noticeably and though I had planned on fishing until evening, I lacked stamina--the
night before I went on a Google adventure and stumbled across a few blogs worth
checking out: The River Damsel-- a fellow Utahn blogger, and Fishing Through Life--Alabama.
On Monday, heading "home" to Washington State.
Final note:
Here's the pic of the day:
Who Leaves this Kind of the Stuff?
By the end of the day, I ended up with a gallon freezer
bag full of mostly spent line and some garbage. Given the proximity of the
middle and lower Provo to Salt Lake and Park City, there will alwaysbe a plethora of spent line and garbage. I am
not sure these culprits are reachable and energy is probably spent better
elsewhere. If you are able to, please bring as much of this garbage home at the
end of the day as you are willing to stomach. Hopefully a collective effort of good river stewards can keep
our river banks mostly garbage free! I have always been a proponent for public
access and rights to fish streams; however, there's times when I can certainly see
the other side's case.
I'll be on the Middle Provo all day tomorrow and I am
looking forward to observing a hatch or two--hopefully I'll get some excellent
footage and some decent specimens to share on the blog. As I'll be MIA in the next few weeks, if you fish the Lower, Middle, or Upper Provo, a brief fishing report for the blog would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to email them, along with a short description of yourself to info@provoriverflyguy.com.
With the string of 100 degree plus days that we have
experienced this week, I am looking forward to wet-wading and donning a pair of
my river sneakers--that is if my wife hasn't thrown them all away. I tried to
explain to my wife that my shoe collection features a fragile fraternity, where
the condition of the shoe determines its practical hierarchy and certain pairs
must be recognized as keystone species. For example, if one pair of shoes were
to go missing, such as my back-up river shoes that are held together with two
year old duct tape, my lawn shoes would be catapulted into an endangered
species standing, as I would be forced to use these shoes if anything were to
happen to my primary river shoes, or if I were to take a friend or family
member fishing--as they would obviously need a pair of seasoned river shoes. It
is not easy to preserve my shoe collection from being tossed aside, but I
believe that I have made a strong case, and
my annual conservatory efforts will preserve the delicate order for years to
come. If you sympathize with my struggles, I wear a size 10.5 and I'll be happy
to take a pair or two of river worthy shoes off your hands--feel free to email
me.
I am heading to Washington next week and I'm particularly
looking forward to fishing the Muddy and Upper Lewis Rivers, Merril Lake, and
the Swift Reservoir, which were all instrumental in my early angling development
and are the backdrop to some of my favorite childhood memories. I'll have some
great photos from Washington and if I'm lucky, the Deschutes River, for the
blog when I get back.
I made it up to the middle yesterday around 4:30 pm and a small
BWO hatch was going on. I tied on a size 18, grey and olive bodied BWO and landed
a small brown with my first cast. The hatch slowed down pretty quick and I
decided to move around a bit. Caught a few in the riffles on various sizes and
colors of mayflies.
The action started picking up pretty heavy around 6 and there were
a couple hatches going on. One was a lighter bodied, large mayfly (didn't get
the species) and the other was a smaller, dark bodied mayfly. I tied on both
but had the most success with a size 18 grey and black bodied parachute adams.
That hatch lasted until about 7:30, when I had to head home.We fished down river
of the HGTV dream house and found little traffic. I think people were not
moving much due to the awesome fishing.
Cody
Green grew up in Utah and has been fishing the Provo for 10 years. During
Cody's college years, he was a drift-boat guide on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and
guiding helped him to graduate debt free. After living out of state for 5 years, Cody recently moved back to Salt Lake City and can be found making up for lost time on the Provo.
First, I cheated on the blog. Last week, I fished the Middle
from 7 am until just before dusk. In terms of action from start to finish, it
was some of the best I have experienced on the Middle--was hoping to see the hatch.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Jim and his son, Chris, who are both
out-of-towners from San Diego. Jim informed me that even though they do not
live near any rivers, his son surfs the web, soaking up information on trout
and fly-fishing and even practices catching sponges in their backyard pool. After
rigging up Chris's fly-rod and moving up river, a brown took his baetis nymph
and I helped him land his first fish on the fly--was good times all-around.
Chris proceeded to catch several more browns, not including the few that broke
free.
Fast-forward 4 years and two rods later, I convinced my wife
that we should camp at the base of the hill, near that same section of the
Upper that I had spent a good half an hour on. Minus packing all of our gear
down and the even more treacherous task of hauling everything back up--harder
when you are dodging items that your wife is dropping, the
"spot" is as good as it gets if you enjoy off the trail camping. In many ways, sections of the Upper remind me of one of my childhood favorite fishing destinations: The Muddy River, which flows into the Upper Lewis River, above Washington State's Swift Reservoir. Unfortunately for the Muddy, significant residential developments--"cabin communities," were recently built in close proximity and I suspect that the fishery has been affected by the increased pressure.
Upper Provo Fishing Report:
One of the reasons that I enjoy fishing the Upper, is the diversity
of trout species that it holds. Unlike the Middle and Lower, where browns reign
king, anglers are likely to catch Brooks, Cutthroat, Rainbows, Cuttbows, and
Browns. In the three days that I logged in on the Upper, I managed two Browns,
while the majority of fish were Brooks and Cutties--two of my personal
favorites! As you can see from some of the photos, fallen trees and underbanks provide excellent trout cover and habitat to support impressive trout and insect populations.
While this undercut features very shallow water, look for undercuts that feature deeper water and you'll find the Browns
The Salmonfly--one of my favorite insects of all-time!
Nymphing baetis nymphs, hare's ear, UFOs, and rainbow
warriors was successful in the morning and day and dropped off noticeably
towards the evening, or when the sunlight is off the water.
Dry-fly fishing was superb. June 25, from 6:45 pm until 8:30
pm, the mayfly hatch was in full effect. I couldn't help but sit on the bank
and just observe the frenzy. I had hoped to take reading of the water temperature, but I busted my thermometer during a small spill on the way down the hill. After about an hour of taking pictures and filming
the hatch, I tied on a size 16 BWO and headed to one of the deeper runs, which
are far and few in-between on the Upper--prepare to do a little walking.
Mayfly Hatch--Around 7 pm
Several
casts in, I was caught off guard as a large trout rose and took my BWO. As the
trout started to reset its feeding pattern, it soon realized it had been hook
and I struggled to angle him away fallen tree that hung over the run. Short
story, short, I lost and the trout won. The next morning I tried the same
pattern in the same run and to my dismay, a equally huge trout took my BWO and
away we went. This time, a humble me got the upper hand I was able to photo
document--more like collect evidence for disbelieving family members, of the
large, what I believe is a Cuttbow--if you disagree, feel free to comment. As a
colorblind guy, I won't take offense : )
For dry fly fishing, I tied on a 4 to 5 ft. section of 5x fluorocarbon
tied to a smaller section, roughly 8 inches of 7x tied to the BWO. With my 9ft
rod, I was able to manage the BWO through runs and achieve good drifts.
That's it for this week. Hoping for an outing on the Middle
or Lower next week.
It is better to fish some, than to not fish at all. That was certainly the case this morning, as the Mrs. and me were only able to log several hours on the Middle. Fortunately, during that short period, we were Bonnie and Clyde and the river was our bank. The Mrs.' first cast yielded a stocky brown that required a little play.
Only seconds after she released her fish and waded back to her prior spot, a longer brown took her baetis nymph and torpedoed upstream. While I tried my best to instruct her to keep the line tight--was likely using a vernacular of Angler English she was not accustomed to, some lessons are best learned in action. Alas, the brown craftily created enough slack in her line to break free and I watched with understanding, as my wife's face morphed from joy to disbelief, to anger, and then helplessness. The events marinated a little, before she reset and was ready for another run. Though none of the subsequent fish challenged her quite like "the one that got away," it was great to see her angling evolve.
Next week, we will be fly-fishing on the Upper Provo and some of the Uintah lakes.
Mollan Media produced this great short showing some excellent footage of mayflies in their various stages. If time permits, I hope to write a blog entry describing the different mayfly species of the genus, Drunella, and chronicling their different stages in the Provo River. For a complete list of macroinvertebrates of the Provo River, please visit this blog's new page (Comprehensive List).
Mollan Media has an excellent youtube channel and if you are youtube fan, please consider subscribing to their channel.
In other news, my wife and I are heading to the Middle tomorrow. Hopefully the South blowing wind will be somewhat kind to us.
Minus the slightly higher than optimal river levels, yesterday's
conditions were near perfect. Water temps continue to warm and fish can be
found in riffles, deeper runs, and holding pools. Yesterday was also my wife's
first fly-fishing outing and it was exciting to see her in action. Unlike many
men that I have taken fly-fishing for their first time, where their emphasis is
on casting as far as possible, my wife understood that presentation and staying
within a "water lane," leads to a more natural dead drift. If you are
on the river and are trying to instruct a first time angler how to properly dead
drift, I find it best to describe the river as a huge freeway that features
many water lanes. The more your files cut across the lanes of traffic, the more
disturbance you create. By staying in your water lane, you create less line
disturbance, or micro tension, and you have a greater chance of inducing a fish
to take your fly.
The morning started off slow, but by midday, we were both
consistently into the fish. Unlike my past set-ups, where I have bounced very
small baetis nymphs and UFOs off the river bottom, yesterday I took a slightly
different approach and it paid dividends. We both used a size 14 pheasant tail
(beaded) as our lead fly, with a green bodied baetis fly (size 18) as our
trailer fly. Though there's more water moving through the Middle right now, our
lead flies provided enough weight to reach water depths from the middle to just
off the river bottom. I should also preface that we were both using a long
section of leader (9 ft in total length--2/3 5x and the final 1/3, which
featured our flies with 7x). We also used medium sized thingamabobbers attached
by perfect loops--leader section also tied onto the perfect loop.
As for the insect activity, there was not much above the
surface, though we ended up leaving around 4:30 pm. I did observe a few smaller
fish taking some insects off the surface in a deeper pool. Most of the action
is clearly occurring subsurface. As I have noted in prior blog posts, turning
over a rock or examining a submerged stick will reveal an impressive population
of midges and nymphs, which also provides the opportunity to match coloring,
sizes, and patterns.
Traffic on the Middle continues to pick up, and it will only
increase until after the spawn. This is certainly a turnoff for most anglers,
including myself, but I encourage you to not despair. About 90% of the anglers
that I have observed lately are fishing dry flies. While a few of these anglers
may be getting into the fish, the vast majority are reporting that the
"fishing is very slow." If you ever want to gauge an honest account
of an angler's outing, observe the frequency of their changing flies, or in
yesterday's case, how long they stay on the river. My wife and I observed around 8 vehicles pull up after we
arrived and leave only a few hours later.
Moreover, it has been my overall experience that the browns,
cutts, and whitefish tend to reset fairly fast after the presence of an angler.
Case in point, one my favorite runs was being fished by two anglers and we
decided to fish several runs above them. After the two gentlemen had left, my
wife moved down to the run and hooked into two nice sized browns within the
first 15 minutes.
It is hard to believe that the last time I fished the Middle
was in early to mid February. Given the increased traffic on the Middle as the
weather warms, I tend to prefer cold weather fishing. There are some positives
that I can get use to though, such as not having to break free the ice from
guides every 6 or so casts, having to thaw my net in the river to make it usable, or snow shoveling a path to free my vehicle.
Yesterday's outing featured a mix of good and bad conditions.
The wind was tenacious and casting was difficult--very difficult to fish the
surface and challenging to dead drift. Water levels, despite last week's abrupt
temperature increases, were only slightly higher than the levels I prefer. I
placed my water thermometer in a shallower section of some riffles and after
nearly forgetting and then struggling to find it nearly 30 minutes later, it
read 48 F. Because of the wind, I did not observe much insect activity. I did
observe some surface activity--looked to be smaller sized fish taking insects
off the surface in a pool that was sheltered some from the wind. True the
Middle Provo's form, there was an impressive amount of insect activity on the
river bottom. I turned over a few rocks and spotted several baetis nymph, their overall size being the largest that I can recall. There were
plenty of midges in their larvae stage, which I observed when freeing my fly
some submerged sticks throughout the day.
As for the fishing, I managed to catch three under aged
browns. My wife's uncle, an all-around good guy from Montana, was in town and I
spent a portion of the day semi-guiding--his first time fly-fishing. His two
dogs, Dudh and Lukla also added a dimension of difficulty to the trip, but it's
all about having fun and the lot of us certainly achieved that. I ran into a gentleman
named Walther and we chatted some. We swapped some flies, shared some
stories--some true, and went about our ways. He was also nymphing and confirmed
that it had been slow. I also recognized a familiar face from last summer. I
can't recall his name, but I believe he attempted to net a fish for me--fish
ended up breaking free. Anyhow, he showed up late and left early.
Possible outing next week. Nothing boils my blood and gets
me more motivated than a slow outing. The vulnerabilities are already starting
to creep in and I consider them an important aspect of fishing, as they stir
the battle within. Good luck on your outings!
Been a busy month at work. The Cottonwoods are in my backyard and it has been difficult to view them, knowing that on the other side and just a tad further south, the Middle Provo is waiting. I am sure a few of you have been able to keep it company. Enjoying a robusto on its banks, breaking the ice off your guides, and following the river, in search of lethargic tophies holding in their winter spots.
There's a bit of a break in my schedule next week and I plan on rekindling my relationship with the Provo. I will be using sow bugs and may try a few midge patterns. Weatherman says there is a snowstorm on the horizon and I am hoping to be the first to fish the Middle after it has passed. Hope to have a goood post with pics next week.
Nearly two weeks have passed since my last outing on the Provo
River. Salt Lake City was hit with heavy snow and now that the storm's passed, we're left with nearly record breaking temperature lows. Some of my favorite winter fishing
conditions occur following a storm. For one, there's only a few troutbums that seek the harder to access spots, which requires tromping through powder that feels twice as deep with waders on. Yes, there's solace to be found in winter's isolation. As a bonus, once a snowstorm has passed through, there's usually no more than a gentle breeze to contend. These attributes earn high marks in my book of preferences for fishing. A final note: If you drive a car, don't forget your snow shovel.
Fish are taking grayish sow bugs and cream colored
UFOs--all that I used today. I placed my thermometer on a submerged rock and
unknowingly bumped it with my boot. I was able to track it down, which involved
turning over a handful of rocks and I happened to catch sight of several baetis
nymphs, about a size 18. Fortunately, I was able to locate my thermometer and today's Middle Provo temperature reading was 37 F. The fishing peaked in the morning and dropped off noticeably once the cloud cover burned off. As noted in previous reports, browns are holding in deeper, slow moving water. If you move to riffles and add a few splitshots, you may a induce a mature Mountain Whitefish to take a UFO. This species feeds actively during the winter, more so than trout, and you're likely to find yourself with a more than worthy opponent on the line. Case in point, while I was able to haul these beauts in with moderate effort, I hooked into a mature whitefish that tanked back and forth, a warpath that my little midge couldn't sustain. R.I.P cream colored UFO.
Middle Provo--It's as cold as it gets on the Provo right now.
Yesterday's morning temperature registered in the single digits and it
certainly took a toll on my gear. The metal hardware that connected to my net's
magnetic-releases failed and it was a small miracle that I didn't lose my net
to the river. If you fish the Provo this time of year and use a quick release set-up,
spare yourself the issues I've experienced, and ditch the factory rings that
connect to each of the magnets. The metal rings are prone to straightening out
after repeated use in cold weather. Though it's bulky, I like to wear a medium-sized
backpack and until the weather warms up, I'll be carrying my net "guide
style."
I meant to take a reading of the water temperature, but
managed to forget. Yesterday was my first day of filming on the Provo and I was
a little preoccupied between setting up, taking down, setting up, and taking down
the cameras all day. The added dimension to my outing instilled in me a healthy
level of respect for outdoor videographers, especially the ones that go at it solo.
As for the fishing, it was superb. Gray sow bugs elicited
action all day, which included my re-acquaintance with a very large brown from
last week's trip--at least I believe it is the same fish. Also, by using sow
bugs, you're likely to catch the occasional mountain whitefish, which are a
highly underappreciated fish on the Provo. Going back in memory to a late
summer outing on the Lower Provo, I had on my line, perhaps, the largest fish overall--in
length and girth, since my move to Utah. I say "perhaps," because I
was unable to land him after a considerable period that saw me at the mercy of
this fish's will. I did manage to get rather close to netting him, but made the
fateful mistake of missing him with my net on the first pass, and then grabbing
my tippet, which resulted in him breaking loose.
While all of this was happening, several anglers that had
been fishing downriver from me, observed the epic battle, made their way towards
me, and offered to help land the fish. One of the anglers caught sight of the
whitefish, from the opposite side of the bank, and bemoaned that it wasn't a
brown. These fish are beautiful and deserve respect in their own right. Their
presence is an indicator of river's overall health and I plan on writing a
short piece profiling their importance to the Provo River's
ecosystem...hopefully it won't be too much of a bore.
