Three's a Company

Ben and David came down for a day of fishing on the Provo. Ben had not been fishing for quite some time and he quickly tied into a little brown early on to break the skunk. The fishing only picked up from there and everyone caught a handful of fish. It turned out to be fairly cold and breezy but the fish kept us put and it was a great day to be on the river. I am glad Ben got a good break-in day and sometime we plan to head up to his territory and fish the Logan River. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking this time.

A Tale of Two Streams

The day started off at a fairly urban section of stream. We soon found a classic deep hole and started dredging the bottom with our nymph rigs. There was a large overhanging tree we had to cast up under and despite a few tangles we managed to save our rigs for the most part. We had no hits and we decided we could better hit the hole from the far bank. We waded across above the hole and started pounding it hard. We changed weight, leader length, and flies until we finally figured out what they wanted to eat...a wine colored san juan worm and a black zebra midge dropper. We started to get hits but we missed several potential hookups. Finally I stuck a football shaped brown that ran close to 16 inches. It felt very good to get this one since we were determined to figure the fish out in this hole.



Then David had at it and soon he stuck a piggy brown that must be sneaking caddis from the feeding lane at night...

It was incredible how well fed these two fish were. They had massive bodies in comparison to their heads which is a good sign that the stream's kitchen cabinet has been full as of late. We missed several hits and soon things started to slow down so we took off to a different smaller stream in the high country. It was a winter wonderland up higher with a good dose of snow covering the landscape. At the first decent run we came across I managed to hook into a small feisty brown on a rainbow warrior.


We came across a great looking hole and David waxed artistic with his camera and got some awesome landscape shots.



At the head of the hole I tied into something large but it pulled off. I don't know if it was a big whitefish or a large brown but it got my blood rushing for a few seconds. After this encounter we tried a few more holes then decided to call it. This second stream would have been good to fish if we had a little more time since we had to search out the good holes which were spaced apart quite a bit. The ambiance between the two streams was completely opposite however the fishing proved to be somewhat slow on both. It was a great trip with some good memories made.

Good News

HB 187 is defeated! Although I have not been involved as much as I would have liked I was able to head up to the State Capitol for a rally and I have emailed elected officials voicing my opinion on the matter. It was a poorly written bill that the author (Rep. Ferry) was trying to rush through the system. Thanks to all who worked so hard and to those legislators who voted it down.

Foreshadowing

I headed out solo to a favorite hole and although I could not dial things in I noticed a sipper along the bank. I had my new little fiberglass fly rod loaded and ready to go with an Orange Asher and after getting a decent drift in the breezy conditions I fooled the fish. He was only about 10 inches but put a nice little bend in the rod which was a lot of fun. The rod is going to be great for small streams. While stopping through the snow on the way to the hole I saw a bug crawling on the snow. A closer look revealed what I believe is a winter stonefly.

As indicated there were some rises on occasion and I suspected midges and possibly the occasional stonefly but something caught my eye on the water. There was no mistaking the sailboat-like silhouette on the water. I nabbed him (or her?) off the water and although I smashed the wings I got a good macro shot of a blue wing olive! Entomology can be tricky but all indications point to BWO which is the first major mayfly hatch of the year on most western streams. I was just surprised because it was only the second week in February which is pretty darn early for these bugs. It was a great foreshadow of what will occur come springtime!

New Tools

I had been in the market for a new reel and there were some great deals on some of the "older" Lamson models that were on closeout. When I was selling a few fishing items to fund the reel purchase I happened to come across an Okuma Helios that was selling for $80. The cheapest I had found this reel previously was around $130 but I had seen it all the way up to around $160. It is a fully machined reel that has a fully sealed drag. It also has the "bling" factor in my opinion. For most trout fishing around here all you need is a $30 reel like I have fished with a bunch but I just wanted to upgrade for a slightly higher cosmetic appeal. It is a 4/5 weight reel instead of a 5/6 which is fine since it makes for a lighter setup. So far I really like the reel.

For Christmas I was looking for a inexpensive lightweight setup for small stream fishing and I came across an Eagle Claw Featherlight 6' 6" fiberglass fly rod. I had seen it before at Walmart and thought it was ridiculous since it was such a noodle compared to my graphite rod but I saw one at Sportsman's and starting messing with it. Having small fish in mind and feeling the slow action and bend in the rod I was sold. I lucked into an older model that still has a metal reel seat. The newer ones have a nylon which does not look half as good but probably just as functional. All I needed was a reel for the rod. I then noticed online that Cabela's was blowing out their Prestige reels for $15 which is half off. They are exactly the same as the Okuma Sierra reels which I already have and the spools are interchangable. So I got the reel using a Christmas gift certificate. I had a new white fly line (and backing) lying around that would suit the little rod so I didn't have to purchase either of those. With the reel costing $15 and the rod $17 I put together the ultimate small stream setup for a whopping $32, ha ha. I have fished with it (post coming soon) and a little 10 inch brown put a nice bend in the new little rod. Also, casting the rod at the park yielded some 50 foot casts which is far greater than I'll need in most small stream situations. I can't wait to get out and sample some small streams this spring/summer.

Lastly, for Christmas I recieved some Airflo Ridgeline. I was sold on the durability/5 year no crack guarantee. Supposedly it cast very well too. I heard it was not the best line for winter fishing but I was thinking ahead to spring and summer. I have been slightly dissapointed since the tip has been sinking on me a little bit. I know it is not sucking water since it has a sealed loop. Hopefully the performance improves with warmer weather. I don't really know why the tip is sinking on me. In the meantime I can simply grease up the tip and that should solve any problems. It has not affected my fishing too negatively though so that is good. I will be able to make a slightly better judgement in another outing or two. If I still experience the sinking tip I hear that Airflo has great customer service and I might just try trading it in for a new line.

Slayed Em'

Quite a bit of fishing has gone on since a few posts ago but only one of the days was noteworthy and I only have cell phone pictures of the good day. I was armed with the camera today though and I am glad I had it. I planned on doing some urban exploring around the river through town and at least get a few glam shots of my new reel on my rod, it looks awesome. The weather was great for winter although at the first stop I was still getting quite a bit of ice in the guides. I had no success at stop numero uno and then I remembered a deeper slow hole that the fish would probably be stacked in during the lethargic days of winter. A few casts at the new spot and I had a fish on. I was stoked but thought maybe it was a fluke. I set my expectations fairly low, but low and behold another fish on after a few minutes. Then it went gangbusters from that point on. A red copper john with a black zebra midge dropper was the ticket. I only fished at the second spot a little more than an hour but it was non-stop action. I caught over 10 fish and that number would have doubled if it were not for the slow hook sets/long line releases. Most were only about 10 inches but one probably went close to 15. I would have had a few that topped the biggest of the day but I did not get good hooksets on them. I could tell they were bigger because of the split second of dead weight before I moved them off the bottom. The ice in the guides was minimal and the warm sun felt great. It was a very rewarding and refreshing day to be outside.

For the Love of it

My good fishing buddy Scott came to town over the Christmas break which happened to coincide with some of the nastiest weather of the year. We hit the river and had fun despite the conditions. Bundling up and going ice fishing was on the agenda for the second outing but it turned out that the ice was not safe enough to get out into deep enough water. David needed to head home after the ice attempt so Scott and I toughed out the conditions (snowy, windy, and freezing) and hit the river. My boots were completely frozen and Scott had to hike down the bank and give them a good dip before I could even pull them on. During his stay the fishing was slow but it was still a lot of fun.