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!
