Author Archives

2012 Orvi Endorsed Fly Fishing Lodge of the Year

When we packed our bags early last week headed to the Florida Keys and the annual Orvis Endorsed Lodge Convention, we had no idea what an exciting, educational, and truly unforgettable few days were in front of us.  Read More

Rainbow trout caught by Grant Bench

Spring still water fishing is always exciting no matter where you live. Fishermen, especially out here in the west, get a little antsy in anticipation of the day when the hard deck disappears and the trout’s metabolism (I know, it’s a big word for me too ) speeds up. Read More

Sherron Catches Record Tiger Trout

 Fly fishing provides great enjoyment for us as anglers – big fish, small fish, many fish or no fish, something keeps us coming back for more and I often wonder if Mother Nature is playing a big magic trick on us. Some days, some seasons, some hatches, and some moments are more magical than others. Read More

Utah fly fishing tends to get overlooked quite frequently as a fly fishing destination. I think this is mainly due to its proximity to other stellar fishing states (ID, MT, CO, WY) who hold epic reputations for big water and big fish.  In addition, aside from the Green River, the state lacks any really big well known water.  However, what the state lacks in large popular waters it makes up for in its abundance of small streams that hold some big fish.  I’ve found more skinny water in this state that holds impressive fish than really anywhere else in the west, and on a cool spring day in 2010  Spencer Higa and myself set out to test our luck on just such a river. The draw of fishing small streams is all about the challenge.  The often times tiny casting windows and impossible structural hazards that must be avoided create an atmosphere in which you celebrate an accurately placed cast weather or not you land the fish.  But of course convincing a fish to take the fly makes it all the more sweet.

It was about the time of year when just about any bugs may be hatching on the river, and from previous experience on this particular stretch we knew that it was likely that most everything would be hatching.  We were most excited about the prospect of a drake hatch.  After a  15 minute or so hike to the river we began turning over rocks and quickly saw that the green drake nymphs, while large and motile, were not looking like they would pop that day.  Despite this, as is virtually always the case on these rivers, we soon found more bugs in the air then I could possibly imagine, and plenty of trout seemed to be interested in these flying critters as well.  If you simply touched a bush or tree within 100 ft of the river it would explode in s cloud of insect life, the likes of which would make an excellent scene from a crappy horror film for some.  For me and Spencer it elicited much different feelings.

We quickly pinpointed the large golden stones that were hatching as the most likely targets of the fish’s systematic feeding.  In some rivers you would anticipate these numbers of bugs to stimulate a sort of uncontrolled feeding frenzy, like a salmonfly or cicada hatch, however on these rivers the fish act as if these insect sightings are common place and feed on them in a much more confident fashion as if they were sipping midges.  They don’t overreact to these bugs because they know that if they miss one, something else will becoming along soon thereafter.  The calm sip of these large dry flies that we were presenting fell in stark contrast to the explosive reaction that followed the hook set.  These are athletic fish.  They leap out of the water in many cases literally jumping from one shore to the other, and in other cases just putting their nose down and moving for cover.  Once you have hooked the fish you have to very gently direct it’s fight away from the strong fast boulder filled currents and the log jams and move it into water here they can be landed.  This may be one of the most challenging ways to land big fish.
On this day we landed many nice fish, and we spooked or lost just as many.

Take a look at the video we took on this great day of fishing skinny water.

Written by: Tim Jenkins

 Fly fishermen have different expectations when they set out to the river. Some like to catch lots of fish, others just want to catch big fish. Here on the South Slope of the Uinta Mountains, a lot of anglers set out aiming to get a “grand slam,” which is to catch four different species of trout- brown, rainbow, cutthroat and brook- in a single day. Even better if they all come from a single river.  I had the rare experience this summer of witnessing a unique double grand slam while guiding Travis and Todd from San Diego, California.

 When booking their trip they expressed interest in fishing streams and that they would like to do a little hiking to get to these streams. I told them that we could do that, no problem. I decided long before they arrived that we would fish the YellowstoneRiver (no, not that Yellowstone River) which flows from high in the Uinta Mountains toward the Green River and then into the Colorado. The upper stretch of the Yellowstone is a beautiful freestone stream with good numbers of trout. Although not big in size these fish are feisty and at times will explode on any dry fly you drift to them.

 When they arrived late in August the river was in great condition and the flows were perfect. I had told them the game plan the night before that we would hike to an area that I liked and that there would be a possibility of catching a grand slam. Their eyes got big as I explained that few people catch a grand slam because it’s hard to find all species at such high elevations, particularly the elusive brown trout.  It was clear they were excited at the challenge of doing what so few had done this summer.

 As morning came we sat and had a nice warm breakfast but I could see that Travis and Todd were not interested in the spread of hot food. They wanted to get out the door as soon as possible. We got the rods ready, lunches and waders packed and headed out the door. All we talked about during the thirty-minute drive was the grand slam. I told them that the brown trout would be our biggest challenge. I also told them that they would be rewarded with a grand slam pin if they caught all four species of trout.  I knew of a few places that we were able to catch them, but it was going to be tough. They were up for the challenge.

 As we pulled down to the river their eyes lit up and I could hear the excitement in their voices when they asked if we were going upstream or downstream.  We wadered up and got the rods rigged with yellow stimulators, a great fly for these small streams. We began our little hike downstream to an area that I like to fish with more than one client because it’s a big enough stretch of water where I could have both of them fish together. We finally made it down to my favorite stretch when Travis, out of breath from the altitude asked if we could hike down further. I said, “Sure, no problem”. We waited a minute for them to catch their breathe before we resumed our hike downstream. After around 10 minutes of hiking I rounded a bend and waited for Travis and Todd to catch up, I asked, “How’s this?”, They looked at each other and said, “No, let’s keep going”, I nodded and kept going. We got to a bend in the river that had a downed Christmas tree from the fierce winds we had in the spring which formed a nice pool below it.  They looked at me and out of breathe said: “This is it”.

 Todd was the first to get his fly off of his hook keeper. He began to cast just below the tree anticipating something to happen. It did. A nice trout came up and devoured his stimulator. Todd set the hook like a pro and the fish immediately headed for the downed tree. I told him to keep pressure on the fish to keep him from tangling us in the tree. He dipped his rod to the side and began applying side pressure and got this fish to come back downstream and right into my net. I looked and couldn’t believe it. It was a brown trout, the most difficult fish to catch on this stream. We celebrated with a high five, got a picture and released it back to the tree. It all happened so fast that Travis hadn’t even made his first cast. I now felt the pressure to put Travis in a position to catch a brown.

 Travis saw a nice cut bank that he wanted to try. I rigged him up with a dropper because I knew we needed to show the fish something yummy if they weren’t interested in the dry fly. On his second cast his stimulator disappeared which meant he was hung up on the bottom or it was a fish. I yelled, “Set” and as he lifted the rod it began to bounce with life. I walked over to net the fish and I realized that it was brown. I couldn’t believe it. I suddenly felt scared because I didn’t want to lose this fish. After two stabs at the brown I finally got him to the net. We cheered and bumped knuckles knowing the hardest part of the day was over. Already this day was like no other I had ever had.

 Todd’s next fish to the net was a 12” rainbow, the next an 8” brook trout and the fourth was a beautiful 14” cutthroat. Yes, Todd caught his grand slam on his first four fish. Something that after 17years of guiding I’ve never witnessed.  We both sat and took it all in as Todd released the cutthroat.

 Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I looked over and Travis had a fish on. I ran over netted it and it was a little brook trout. His next fish was a cutthroat and the next a nice 14” rainbow. Travis had also caught his grand slam on his first four fish. I looked around thinking someone was playing a joke on me, but there was not a soul around, just pine trees and a gorgeous trout stream.

 The rest of the day was amazing; they each landed 20+ fish as we worked our way back to the car. Out of those fish we landed not one of them was a brown. I was convinced that the fish gods were looking down on us that day and they made sure Travis and Todd had a memorable day trout fishing on Utah’s Yellowstone River.

Winter Fly Fishing

Many fisherman hang up their gear once the temperature drops and the snow flies. Some just flat out don’t like the cold weather and having to break the ice from the guides.

Fly fishing in the winter can be very rewarding not only to the nymph fisherman but also to the dry fly enthusiast. Most rivers, especially tailwaters have great hatches of midges throughout the winter and provide some of the best dry fly fishing of the year. Most midge hatches will occur during the warmest time of the day which is usually from 11am-3pm on most rivers. During this time of day you will find fish sipping these little bugs from the surface without a worry in the world. Midges range in sizes but more often than not you will be using a size 20-24 to fool the pickiest trout.
Here are some tips to remember when venturing out in the cold this winter:

- Dress warm. Fleece fingerless gloves, fleece under your waders and jacket and a fleece or wool hat are very important to staying warm. When you are comfortable in the river you’re focusing on fishing.

- Only fish during the warmest time of day.

- Avoid breaking the ice from your guides too hard or you will break your rod. Take your time and you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration. Stanley’s Ice Off Paste works very well.

- Have a variety of Midges in your box in sizes 16-24.

- Rig two rods. One with a dry fly and the other with a nymph rig.

These are just a few things you can do to make your time on the water as productive as possible. Probably the most appealing thing about fishing in the winter is that you can fish dry flies to feeding fish without the crowds. See you on the water.

Snow-capped Uintah Range in the distance and waist-high barley

Nearly perfect October weather produced unforgettable wingshooting excursions at Orvis-

Endorsed Falcon’s Ledge Wingshooting Grounds in Utah last month.

Head Guide, Spencer Higa, captured these photos during a hunt with a group of guests who had traveled from across the country to enjoy over 3,000 acres of hunting grounds, cultivated and managed to provide the highest quality bird habitat in the West.

Click “Read More” to see four more images from the hunt.