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.

As we moved down river we started noticing heads poping all over the edges of the river and in slow back eddies. I’d been so excited about our large bows (Jeffs and Prestons hogs-too bad Preston) that I hadn’t even noticed the heavy midge hatch that was all around us.  There were hundreds of rise forms all over the river. It was a site to see  and frustrating at the same time, as the fish had so much food that it was hard to get our offering noticed.  Since we only had gone 2 miles and it was already 4:45pm we packed up and speed fished the remainder 5 miles before it got dark. The speed fishing was great with over-sized streamers and deep nymphs.

As we reached little hole the wind picked up while the temps dropped. We were frozen and couldn’t wait for a nice warm meal at the lodge. If you haven’t eaten at the the Flaming Gorge Lodge you need to. It is all part of the culture of the area, plus the food is tasty and there is plenty of it. The next morning we were graced with 50 mph winds and at least 12 inches of fresh snow. I wished I was on a snowboarding trip, but it was April and it was supposed to be nice fly fishing weather, but thats spring in Utah.

At breakfast we weighed our odds, but when Plan A fails its time to go to Plan B. This was to drive right at the storm and hopefully past it by the time we reached the Middle Provo.  Our plan worked and the fishing didn’t disappoint. We had semi blue sky’s with a little wind and 45 degree temps. Just perfect for another late spring midge hatch.

In all the whole trip was an adventure and hopefully one that will be embedded in the hearts of the two newbies and a father and son enjoying a special day together. But for me the odd man out, I had a trip of a life time. I had the opportunity to watch first hand as father and sons, friends and family enjoy time spent together. Because in life this is the way I imagened God meant it to be.

PS. Jeff, I still have your PONCHO in my truck…I’ll make sure you get that for our next trip

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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Lesson #1. Know your water-Having consistently fished a river for over ten years, I have come to know the the river on a personal basis. I have grown to understand its flow as well as its spirit. Most people that fly fish haven’t put in the time to understand a water. They just arrive and hope to find a hatch and fish. (Cause they read a hot spot online) Those that respect the water are the ones that are rewarded with knowledge of where the hatches occur, the time to be there, and the flies to use. You can’t put a price tag on river knowledge, period.

Lesson #2. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to fish with someone that I had never fished with or met. This outing thought me a great lesson and one I hope to always keep close to my heart. His name was Jacob Dowse, he is a student of law and fly fishing. From our stream side introduction to our last cast together Jacob was constantly learning and growing. He was excited to gain new incites to fly fishing and would constantly pose questions and then try out what I would suggest. By the end of the day Jacob was on his way to becoming a great top water fishermen. So why do I tell you Jacobs story? Its because we should all strive to be more like Jacob, students of our sport and in everything that we do in life. Never stop trying to learn.

Lesson #3. Saturday was a cold morning, the freezing canyon breeze ripped through our clothing making fishing near crazy. The forecast called for 51 degrees, but by noon it was still a cold day with no sign of letting up or producing any kind of hatch. Knowing the river, I continued to tell myself as well as our large 6 man group that it will happen, just be patient.  Just like it was supposed to around 2pm, the wind died and the midges and BWO’s can out in full force. At one time we had 4 hook ups at once. There were hundreds of fish eating like it was their last supper.  So why do I tell you this? Its because at around 1:30pm one of our group members couldn’t take it any longer. He was mad the hatch didn’t come off on time and thought he was wasting his time and left. Not realizing if he would have just stuck it out a little longer he would have had some of the best dry fly fishing of the year. So from Jordan I learned to be patient, if the fishing isn’t great hangout and enjoy the surrounding and friends, because you never know what you might miss on the water if you go back to the city.

Lesson #4. Be prepared- Lately I have been getting a lot of fly orders. Which is a good thing, but I haven’t sat down to refill my my own fly boxes. Those that know me are probably laughing,(Cause they know of the 1000s of flies I carry around) but when I got to the river last Sat. I needed a size 16 para BWO, which I was out of. I had sizes 22, 20, 18, 14, but not one #16. I ended up using a double emerger setup that worked just fine, but it got me thinking that the next time I go out I need to be prepared, since this is important to me. So that night I stayed up tying, refilling my old BWO box as well as some bigger buffalo midges.  That next time on the river, I was prepared for almost any situation and the fished seemed to like the new flies. So do as you learned in Scouts and be prepared.

Lesson #5. Fish Emergers-Plain and simple. Fish like emergers, better than adults. SO FISH EMERGERS! 

Lesson #6. On Friday I though I would throw out to a couple of buddies that I would be hitting the river in the morning. It turned in to a 7 guy group. I usually don’t like to fish in large groups, (2 or 3 tops) but today it was a great time and half of the whole experience. We had great conversations as well as lots of smack talk. I guess larger groups can be awesome if the situation is right. I might have to try that again. Didn’t hurt that the fishing was epic.

Lesson #7. Do our part- As I walked the river this past week I noticed garbage, pop cans, flip flops littering the banks. Each time out I would pick up the piles I would create and pack them out in my net. I know that this problem will never end, but if we all do our part and pick up any trash we see, we can keep our rivers clean and pristine.  

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures of the week. Can never have too many, right?

Thanksgiving to most is a time to be with family and friends. For the first time in 27 yrs I found myself wondering what I was going to do before the big feast. Normally I have plans to play football or basketball with the family, but with everyone in Cali visiting my bro, I found myself free until noon. So, I decided to hit the river and spend a little time with my third family (The LP). I am glad I did, the scenery was serine. You know those freezing winter mornings where the steam lifts off the water like hatching BWOs and fills the canyon walls. The fish were even in the giving spirit in the short time I spent on a familar run. It really was a great time to stop and reflect on what is important in life and think about those that I am thankful for. It was a great way to spend a Thanksgiving morning.

A few pics of a quick trip to the LP with Hoss…It was a good time (see Hoss’s movie he made in the last post)

With snow in the forecast I didn’t think much about fly fishing this weekend, in fact I was thinking bird hunting or some late season deer rut.  Saturday found me chasing birds in the morning and after that I had the whole afternoon to hit the river. As I drove up the canyon I though what a beautiful day to be out, it had snowed earlier masking the trees in a blanket of pure white. I couldn’t help thinking back to last seasons amazing winter midge fishing that I missed so much. As I stepped out of the truck I was instantly greeted by the canyon’s bitter cold breeze. Wow, I thought it is going to be pretty tuff fishing on the hands today. (Cause anyone who knows me, knows I hate to wear gloves and only do on the coldest of days) I got to my spot, tied on my outfit and my hands were already done…I could barley move them and they had that uncomfortably hot feeling. I made a couple casts with my nymphs at the end of a run, when I looked behind me and noticed the water boiling with rising fish. By this time it had started to snow again and I though no way am I changing my whole outfit again!!! But as I watched 50 or more rising browns the excitement of small flies, light tippet, and sippers overcame my frozen hands. I took my sweet time re-tying my set up to make sure it was right. I decided to go with an #16 orange asher and a WD-40 as my emerger. I thought that the asher would help break up the hatch and the WD would be a perfect match for the smarter-picker fish. These flies did the trick and after a few missed hook sets (Ok, way too many) a small brown fail to the asher. Just as I thought things were starting to heat up, I caught a tree behind me and had to once again re-rig again. This time I sized down the asher to a #18 and used a brighter orange and I dropped a #22 para adams behind.  This set up was deadly, I hooked more hungry browns than I could count.  In fact I got to the point where I had to put on my mitts, but nothing mother nature could throw at me would push me off  the river.  Days like this where you’re the only one on the river and the fish are rising like it is their last super only happen so often. So as I sat on the banks half-frozen waving my 9ft stick to happy fish, I couldn’t feel any of the cold…I was living a fly fisherman’s dream.

So back to the post. I have been pretty occupied with hunting this fall, (more than ever in fact) but I had an itch that wouldn’t go away. I knew it was time to chase big browns with big ugly flies…So just like any addiction, I gave in and spent a few hours after work trying to shake the rust off. It was a beautiful fall day, you know the ones you don’t want in the spring…I had the river to myself and I couldn’t be any happier to be out on a familiar water. The browns after a few terrible missed hook sets, gave me a break and started to play along. In fact it was one of those days that you wished you invited your friend who never really has that good of luck, but you constantly are telling him how good it was, even though he can’t believe it. You know those days? But maybe the reason it was such a good day was because I didn’t have anyone tagging along? Who knows and really I don’t care…It was what I needed to fix my itch and to renew my respect with a part of a river that I hold very close.

 Utah is a perfect place for me.

So with all the craz of family parties and getting back into life, post mission. I hadn’t had a chance to take my little bro fly fishing on our favorite local river. One of our favorite times of year and hatches to fish is the summer caddis hatch. It occurs on most western streams nightly and can be some of the best fishing one might experience as a fly fishermen. I caught wind that Jordan and Gunner were hitting up the river, so right after work I rushed home grabbed my gear and meet them on the river, where I thought they would be. The hatch didn’t really give us too much excitement until the sun went down and the fish came up. For the next 2 hrs we enjoyed fish after fish hitting our dry flies with reckless abandon. It was nice to be stream side again with my little bro that I spent so much time as a kid with learning this river. The difference is now we can land a fish or two if we are lucky.

The days menu

Gotta love the trail side scenery