Provo River
First Time, Not the Last
Sep 14th
Rudy is a die hard snowboarder and mt biker living in Park City, UT. With all this outdoor experience, it surprised me when he said he has never had the opportunity to try fly fishing, so we set it up for Friday on the MP. The water was still a little high and cold, but the fish we there and they have to eat in not so prime conditions. So we rigged up and with a short Fly Fishing and Casting lesson we were wet wading to a promising run. With in his first 20 casts Rudy was hooked up, but the acorbatic brown leaped out of the water an threw the hook. Now with the the feel of a hook up Rudy was pumped and ready. Within minutes I looked over and saw him doubled over and in a fight with a nice MP brown. This the fish hunkered down running up and down the run giving Rudy a taste of a true fly rod fight. But after a couple minutes the big fish got the best of us and shook the little hook loose. After the hole settled down we tried another promising area. Rudy once again showed that he was a quick learner and caught and landed his first fish on a fly rod. It was great to see the excitement on his face as he released the little brown. The rest of the morning we caught a couple more fish, but the bugs weren’t giving us any help and the fish were just a little lazy. But the day was a huge success as Rudy got to experience another outdoor activity and is now planning on buying a rod and reel and going after those fish that got away.
On the way home I stopped by a favorite hole on the LP. It was void of fishermen (which is rare) but full of emerger (pmd, caddis) eating fish. After a couple hrs of fishing I had landed 10+ fish and the smallest being a bow around 17 inches and the largest was a toad brown that had to be over 23 or more??? It was a great day and nice way to top of a little bit slower than normal morning.
Griffs Birthday Present
Jul 22nd
Its not everyday a teenager wants to have his 14th birthday party on a river. Griffen isn’t your tipical teenager, he is an avid fly fishermen that would rather send an afternoon with his best friend Preston and Dad chasing rising fish than chasing little girls. We had a great day on the river with perfect weather. With the blue bird spring day, the BWOs weren’t popping to hard, but there were enough emergers to keep the fish up and feeding all afternoom. I think the pics tell the story.
Memorial Day Surprise
Jun 2nd
Memorial day is a great day to honor those that have fought for our countries freedom, to do what we want, like fly fish. I woke up thinking about the men and women that have given there lives for my freedom. I though what better way to honor their legacy then to go and take advantage of the land they fought so hard to protect. 7 am found me knee deep in the Lower Provo River targeting only large rainbows and browns in a popular spot named after a famous vacuum. The morning started off quick as a 21 inch brown slammed my over-sized playboy bunny on my second cast. It fought great and tried to bull dog me up river, but I wasn’t using 12 test for nothing.
On my very next cast I got a strike, but the fish seemed to fight differently than a normal trout. It wasn’t very fast and it would only try and dive. As I got it to the shore, I saw the markings of a perch and thought how in the world did a perch get that streamer in it mouth? But as got a better look, I noticed it was a feisty little Walleye. WOW! That was a surprise. Its not everyday that you get the chance for a Walleye to bite a fly on a Walleye lake let alone on the Lower Provo River. I was pretty excited for the rest of the morning. I landed a few other trout, but nothing could top the surprise of the day.
Lets Do Lunch
Apr 13th
I have been spending way too many lunch breaks on the LP lately. Some days are better than others, but a bad hour is better than good hour eating lunch at my desk. One this particular break the wind was howling and the BWOs that escaped onto the rocks found refuge from the hungry trout, that seemed to be eating ever cripple that passed their lane.
Green! More Like White
Apr 6th
I get ask to go fishing with others almost on a daily basis, but this time it was different. Griff was turning 13 and all he wanted to do for his b-day was to go fishing with me, his dad Jeff, best friend Preston and best friends dad Todd. The plan was set for a 2 day float trip down the coveted Green River in NE Utah. This was going to be a trip of firsts for our group. It would be the first time Griff and his dad experience the Green as well, as Preston and his dads first time fly fishing. I couldn’t think of a better
way to spend a b-day as well as a first time fly fishing then on the Green with your boys. I knew this trip was going to be special. The trip started out with a forecast of 1-3 inches snow, but as we got to the summit and ready to drop down to the lodge there was already 3 inches of snow and it didn’t seem to be letting up. The Green River Canyon was a surreal experience to see the high red cliff walls covered in a blanket of snow. I couldn’t help hoping that the snow would stick around a give us some amazing scenery and most importantly epic fishing. I must have done something right, because the snow never quit the whole time we were there. Being 1 of only 3 boats on the water we took our sweet time enjoying the best runs and holes. Todd started the trip off catching a nice brown on his 2nd cast ever on a fly rod. (Beginners luck to the max)
After a great start we had a nice consistent day of catching and missed hook-ups. One of the high lights of the trip was Dave’s monster bow he caught after fishing for it for over 30 mins. It was amazing to see him focus on this larger fish, until it finally fell to a #22 midge. Hooking it was only haft the battle. This fish fought hard! It tarpon leaped at least 5 times giving him a truly trophy of a fish. It was his largest trout ever and by the shaking of his hands, it won’t be one he forgets. More >
Early Spring and a Hatch or Two
Mar 7th
When the fishing is great, the great do whatever it takes to be on the water. This past week the fishing has been great. The famed Blue Wing Olive Mayfly has been hatching daily on a local trout stream, bringing some of the best top water action of the year, as well as producing a hatch of die hard fisherman. With the fishing off the charts I couldn’t sit around until Saturday to get back on the water. Fortunately I have a flexible job and was able to take a couple of half days and fish the river with some friends as well as hit it on Sat. So with 4 days on the water this week, I was able to witness first hand the majestic beauty that God has giving us to experience and respect. During these days I have learned some great lessons about fly fishing as well as life. So here they are:
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