July is one of the best months for fly fishing in Utah. Water levels have dropped from spring runoff, and many rivers and mountain streams around Falcon’s Ledge Lodge fish very well. There are many hatches in the month of July and dry fly fishing is some of the best of the year. In this article we will discuss the hatches that occur in July and the best flies for July fly fishing in Utah.
Caddis hatches are one of the best hatches in July in Utah. Most evenings in July caddis hatches occur on many of the rivers and streams around Falcon’s Ledge. The elk hair caddis and Goddard caddis are two of the best dry flies to use in July during evening hatches when fish are rising to adult caddis. During the afternoon when fish are not rising Spanish Bullet perdigons are one of our favorite nymphs to imitate caddis larvae.
Pale Morning Duns (PMDs) is the most common morning hatch in July in Utah. PMDs hatch most mornings on the rivers and streams around Falcon’s Ledge in July. Parachute PMDs and Sparkle Duns are great patterns for catching trout on the rivers and streams in Utah during the morning and early afternoons in July. When fish are not rising a Wonder Wire PMD or Split Case PMD nymph is a great pattern for catching trout in July on the rivers around Falcon’s Ledge.
Yellow Sally Stoneflies are another big July hatch on the streams and rivers around Falcon’s Ledge Lodge. Yellow Sallies typically hatch the third week of July in Utah and continue to hatch the rest of the month of July. Yellow Sally dry flies and yellow-bodied stimulators are great dry flies to use in late July in Utah when fish are rising. When fish are not rising a tungsten yellow sally nymph is a great pattern to use on the rivers and streams in Utah during July.
Hoppers and Ants begin to show up in late June and are on the menu for trout in July. Big brown trout love hoppers in our area and it is hard to beat the big splashy rise of a brown trout eating a hopper pattern. A parachute hopper or PMX are great patterns for northern Utah to imitate the grasshoppers and catch some great fish in July.
We hope to see you this July at Falcon’s Ledge for some great dry fly action!
