Early spring has arrived in Utah and spring fishing is starting to heat up. Late March and April can be a great time of year to get out on the rivers in Utah and catch some trout. In this blog we will discuss some of the tips and techniques to catch more fish during early spring fishing in Utah.
The early spring water in most rivers in Utah is still very cold. This means that trout are moving slow and are sitting near the bottom of the river most of the time. Since trout are moving slow this time of year they are not likely to chase flies moving fast. Dead drifting or slowly swinging flies is much more effective this time of year. The most common dead drifting technique is using a strike indicator and dead drifting nymphs under a strike indicator. Using a larger fly as the first fly and a smaller fly as the point fly is a great technique to make sure your fly gets down fast and stays near the bottom of the river. Slowly swinging flies is also a great technique for catching fish in the early spring. Wet flies and small streamers are great for this technique and can be dead drifted through the run and slowly swung at the end of the run.
Early spring weather brings out small aquatic insects and fish are mainly feeding on small food. Using smaller flies will help you catch more trout this time of year. When dead drifting flies we will often use a large, heavy nymph such as a stonefly nymph as a top fly to provide some weight and get the flies down to the bottom and a small fly such as an olive perdigon, zebra midge, or small baetis as the point fly. Most trout will eat the small nymph in March and April. Small soft hackles such as blue wing olives are great for slowly swinging through runs in March and April. Small leech and woolly bugger patterns are also great for dead drifting and slowly swinging the fly at the bottom of the run.
Early spring fishing in Utah is a great time of year to get out and catch some fish. We hope that you get out and catch some fish this March and April!
