Chris called me up the other day and we started discussing a possible trip down to Central Utah for some reconnaissance on a new trout stream. Of course we love wetting our lines on the many local streams we fish regularly, but what angler doesn't enjoy the opportunity to road trip in search of un-tapped stretches of fishy water? I Initially had some hesitations about racking miles up on the new Subaru Outback, but after some coercing, Chris convinced me that it was going to be worth every mile driven. So, we loaded up the car at about 9am and started heading southbound. If all estimates were accurate, we had about 100 miles of road ahead of us and we would be on the river in a couple hours. As we soon approached the 100 mile mark, we began to realize that not only did we still have a good chunk of driving left, but that we really didn't know where the hell we were going. We drove another 50 miles down the road and approached the signs we thought we were looking for. We made it to our general destination, but still didn't know where we needed or wanted to try and fish. We decided to pull into the gas station and load up on snacks and discuss the local fishing situation with whoever looked knowledgeable. We found a gentleman who was initially a bit reluctant to share with us his local fishing knowledge, but he gave in and provided us with good directions and information on what type of fishing we might expect. We checked out, loaded our snacks in the car (Chris got corn dog grease in the new vehicle) and drove another 10 minutes up the canyon to our final destination.
The weather forecast called for mostly clear skies, but as we geared up to head into the water, the clouds and cold winds started to blow and the sky's looked to threaten with rain. As soon as we reached the river bank, we knew we were going to be in for a treat and the thought of rain or bad weather left our minds. We spooked several fish upon our approach, which is usually a good sign. It meant the fish were there and that is half the battle. The other half of the battle is matching the hatch, which we are able to do pretty quickly.
This river proved to be one of the more technical rivers I have fished in quite some time. The dead overhanging branches reminded me a lot of Lost Creek and I found myself snagged in the trees on numerous occasions. For those of you who fish a bounce rig, loosing one in the trees means standing aside for 20+ minutes re-rigging, while your buddy stands in the river and slays all the fish. I think Chris has become quite accustomed to this method if fishing and it is the primary reason why we fish together so often. I'm the guy in the trees and he's the guy in the river with a fish on and a big grin on his face. He cordially asked me to set my rod down and stop trying to fetch my rig out of the tress so that I could snap the photo below. Notice the grin?
This proved to be one of the most unique and memorable fishing experience I have had. The water was gin clear and our day consisted of primarily sight fishing our bounce/swing (Nymph) rigs. There is something so exhilarating about seeing fish upstream and long ranging a cast at them in hopes of a bite. Occasionally the fish would spook, but when they didn't, it was a treat to watch them hover in a clear pool and slowly approach your bugs and take a slow gulp at them. This happened hole after hole and we soon began to loose count of the number of fish we had caught.
After a few hours of fishing and landing fish cast after cast, we decided that is was probably time to head back to the car. Prior to doing so, we took a few minutes to digest our surroundings and enjoy the beauty around us. There was not a single person on the river all day and all we heard were the sounds of the wind blowing through the tress and our feet as the splashed through the river. We quickly realized that it was days like this one that make you appreciate fly-fishing, Utah, friends, nature and the ability to hop in the car and drive a couple of hours into the middle of nowhere and be alone on the river. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the daily hustle of work and errands, yet it is so easy to escape it on the weekends and find unscathed stretches of water loaded with hungry trout. I have not stopped thinking about this stretch of water since we left it last weekend and I can not wait until we have an opportunity to head back.
Thanks for reading and check back soon!
Jon
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