Strawberry 2010

Hopefully more pics to come before the ice hits!

Fall Brookies

I love the fall, and the changes that occur to brook and brown trout. Their colors deepen, their jaws often become hooked, and their aggression triples! My dad and I had the chance this week to fish a lake that I grew up fishing. The lake is small, and the fish are too, but they make up for size by their colorful appearance.
Earlier in the morning we fished a lake located 12 miles east of the lake with the brightly colored fish. The lower lake is larger, but much less fertile. Consequently, the fish caught there always appear to have just hit the water from the hatchery truck. Most, if not all, are stocked rainbows, but many have been there for years. I failed to mention that the upper lake with the pretty brookies also has rainbows that are stocked regularly. Due to the abundance and quality of food, these rainbows quickly become deep in color and outshine the fish in the lower lake. It makes me want to stay far away from McDonalds, Taco Bell, and all other fast foods. And maybe, just maybe, my mom was right about fruits, veggies, and so called "healthy" foods. Surely the quality of food really does make a difference in us too.

Fly Fishing Entomology

On our fly tying blog flytying123.com I have began an entomology page that has some basic info on aquatic inverts that trout eat. It is still in the making, but there is already some valuable info there. Check out our fly fishing entomology page and let us know what you think!

Jethro the Fisherman

My friend Jethro is a fishaholic. Until now there was only one problem with his obsession, he had never been fly fishing. We couldn't have that now, so we got together last week and fished the Middle Provo one evening. He landed some nice fish including a nice rainbow for his first fish (pictured above). He had some dry fly action on top, and except for the 30 minute hike back to the car (bushwhacking through the pitch black night) everything went really well. Jethro now has a new hobby, and unfortunately for his wife he is on the path to becoming a Trout Bum which will undoubtedly waste more time than all of his previous hobbies combined. Sorry Tracy but he is a goner for sure!

Surveyor Nymph on Middle Provo

Kohler and I had an awesome day on the middle Provo today. We caught a lot of nice fish, and I landed my biggest middle Provo brownie yet! Fly of choice: Two-toned Surveyor.
One of the few hog-whitties of the day.
We landed a handful of nice fish like these, but our catch was dominated by 7-10'' trout, which isn't uncommon for the middle. Luckily for all of us there are always some nice fish mixed in the bunch. For that reason it is a fantastic river that I love to fish!

Idaho Cutthroats

This last weekend I went to Idaho for a family reunion and snuck in a little fishing while I was there. I met up with my friend Devin and together we fished a small trib to one of the many large lakes in Idaho. We had a blast and we landed some fantastic fish! Next time I make it back to Idaho won't be soon enough!

Middle Provo Green Drakes and Rainbowzilla!

As everyone now knows, judging by all the people on the river, the green drake hatch is hot on the middle Provo. Phil came to town this morning and we met up to fish together. Phil was fishing by eight a.m., but I didn't meet up with him until about ten, and needless to say the parking lots were full! Luckily for us there was so much food in the water that the fish were low on fear and willing to eat every life stage of a green drake.

Phil did really well on top with a Green Drake Epoxyback Emerger from Rainey's, and an extended body adult tied by his friend Joe. At one point I found Phil on the ground grasping his head in unbelief after watching a giant brown slam his dry and then proceed to snap his 5X with with an explosive leap from the water. Phil landed a double, and I caught my largest fish yet on the middle. I caught most of my fish on a Green Chunk (Green Drake Nymph that I tie), and a large Two-toned Surveyor. As the pics show we had a great day, and I can't wait to get out and hit the middle again.

Green Drakes on Middle Provo

It has begun! Once again trout are looking up, and this time its green drake adults that are causing the commotion. Fly fishing on the middle Provo is really getting hot, and for the next few weeks the drake fishing is going to be fantastic, much like it was today. I caught a lot of fish on a drake nymph dropper, and I will hopefully be posting a tutorial or video on flytying123.com soon to show the nymph of my choice and how to tie it.

See you on the river!

Underwater Brown Trout

I finally got an underwater picture of a fish that I think is just awesome! This brownie was caught by my client Nick last Thursday. He was played to exhaustion before landing and after a quick waterless picture, we released him where he briefly caught his breath in the shallows and allowed me to capture this picture.

Utah Small Streams are Amazing!

I had almost forgot how fun it is to fish small streams. I am still on a high after last Saturday's adventure that Kohler and I had. I'm sure my euphoria will continue still for a while.

If it looks like Kohler ended up with all the huge fish it's really because I am the one with the camera that snaps most the pics, while he constantly refuses to take pictures of me with giant fish... at least that is the lie I tell myself when the luck rolls his way and he turns over more hogs than I do. Good job Kohler. Next time the luck is mine!

Watch out for these guys! You never know when you are going to walk within three feet of one and not know it, right Kohler?

Provo River Tributary: The Burk

Suckers have moved into tributaries of the middle Provo. I think they are spawning, but I am not a sucker expert by any means. This giant ate a hot head wooly bugger as it bounced along the bottom. Kohler and I were actually fishing for a few renegade browns that were in the mix, but we only pulled out suckers of which this was the largest. Crazy huh!?

Weber River Caddis Hatch

Carpet caddis hatches are going on right now on the Weber! I guided some clients up there last Saturday and the caddis were so thick we couldn't keep them off us.

Elk Hair Caddis patterns will work on top, Sparkle Pupa, Graphic Caddis and probably any other caddis pupa pattern will catch fish. We also had success on cased caddis patterns. Anything caddis seems to be working on the Weber right now! Check out flytying123.com for all your tying needs.

Success on the Lower Provo

On Saturday I took James (above) and Steven (below) fishing on the Lower Provo. They are both new to fly fishing, but after just a few minutes both of them had the hang of casting and mending. The river was fishing a little slower than I had expected, but after just a little while both of them started hooking into fish.

I am very excited for James and Steven since they both have intentions of continuing their fly fishing experience. They have all their own gear and, in my opinion, they were wise to book a guided trip as they are learning how to fly fish. This can shave off months and months of trying to figure things out for themselves. I was able to pass along some basic tips and techniques, and at Utah Pro Fly Fishing, who I guide for, we guarantee that people will catch fish or they don't pay a dime. Wise decision by James and Steven, and I'm sure they are now ready to catch fish on their own, no problem.

Fishing with Andrew

My son Andrew turned two in March, I can't believe how fast he grows! He loves to go to the river with me to throw rocks and look at bugs. Yesterday we decided to venture out and try to catch a fish or two in between the rock chucking and bugs. We took along the fly rod, net, and four flies (my boxes were left at my in-laws house up the road, so thats all we had). After breaking off the first three flies in the first ten minutes we resorted to our last hope, a simple wet fly/streamer made from duck and thread. Neither Andrew or I had ever really fished it much, but we decided to gave it a try. Low and behold, FISH ON! It was actually a nice 16'' brown that scared Andrew to death every time it wiggled in my hands. We had a blast, and neither Andrew nor I can wait to hit the river again and try our luck again with that simple streamer that we now know catches fish.

First Fish Felicidades

Justin and I took his roommate Oswaldo and his father and brother-in-law out fishing on the Logan last friday. We had a great time, and help them get into some fish. They are from Venezuela so there was a solid language barrier between us (Justin and I) and them, excluding Oswaldo Jr. who speaks very good english. My Portuguese helped me a little, and when it was all said and done it was a very fun and successful trip for all of us. I can even prove it was successful, just check out the pic below of Oswaldo Sr. with his first fish ever. That picture speaks a thousand joyful words for sure!Justin is the owner of Utah Pro Fly Fishing guide service. Him and I are going to be working together this summer guiding on the Weber, Provo, and other local streams. We guarantee you will catch fish, or your trip is on us. Contact Justin for a guided trip and we'll see you one the water!

Monster Rainbows: End of Finals Celebration

Today was a great day. I have been going to college since the fall of 2001, with a few breaks here and there, and I today I took my very last final. That feels good! I also caught an eight pound rainbow today, and oddly enough, that felt even better! I'm sure it is just a stage of euphoria that goes along with catching huge fish, but it has definitely got ahold of me right now.
My buddy Clarence (pictured below) has been telling me about some private ponds here in Cache County that harbor monster trout. Well, it's true, there are HUGE trout in these ponds!
Clarence, Phil (pictured below), Paul, James, and myself all went out to celebrate the end of the semester. We all caught fish, most on nymphs, some on streamers, and all fish were over 20".
Phil actually caught a bow that was pounds bigger than the one he is holding here. Pictures were taken with a different camera, but I'm sure he will post it on his blog The River Warrior so make sure you check it out.

Mayflies of April

Just a few pics from the past few weeks.

March Brown Dun

March Brown Spinner

Provo River BWO Dun

BWO Spinner

While Andrew and I were playing outside in our yard, this BWO decided to pay Andrew a visit. For the past few weeks the blue wings have been abundant here in Logan.

Aaron's First Fish

Saturday was my friend Aaron's first time fly fishing. I decided to take him to the Weber in search of hungry trout. Fishing our first hole, about ten minutes into his fly fishing career he landed his first fish ever- a 15" white fish.

Needless to say, the day followed suit and Aaron continued to catch fish. He ended the day having landed 7 fish including the last fish of the day, a feisty 15" brown.

All of us know exactly what it is like spending time mingling with streamside trees. Aaron actually spent a lot less time tangled and hung up than most beginners.

It was a beautiful day on the river, many nice fish were caught, one more fortunate soul is now hooked on fly fishing, and one more wife will soon be complaining about money and time spent on an addiction. Sorry Brooke, but Aaron is a goner!