Eastern Utah trip report: fast trip, great results

[Six-Gun]

I am speechwriting for a 4-star general now, so time is precious. BUT, she took leave this past week and that left me time to make a short, final push to burn up the last few days of my annual non-resident Utah fishing license.

I packed a suitcase full of camping gear and set out to try some new waters on the east side of the state, camping along the way.

The first day was spent with a guide named Mike, owner of the Quiet Fly Fisher, a small fly shop and guide service in Loa, UT. Mike has given me tons of good advice for free for far too long and I promised him last year that I would return and pay him for a guided trip to some place fun and different. I made good on my promise and he made good on his work as a guide.

We went up into the mountains to hit a secluded set of very large beaver ponds that were part of a creek system. The whole section is home to Colorado River cutthroat trout, some of which he promised would be quite impressive. He let me do some warm-up catching in the lower creek stretch for some of the smaller ones...

Then we hiked uphill for about 3/4 mile and got to work on the beautiful beaver ponds. Mike surveyed for a good starting point and we got to work. Yeah...these were not small fish...

Video:
https://youtu.be/nU_hPKwJwj8

All in all, it was a pretty spectacular day. Lots of beautiful fish caught and a promise to do it again as soon as time and funds permitted.

After Mike and I wrapped up, I drove several hours north to another creek that I had never fished before. I set up camp and fished the last few hours of daylight and the first half of the next day. It was a pretty amazing stop for several reasons. First of all, this particular stream hold 4 different species of wild trout: rainbow, Bonneville cutthroat, brookies and browns. I managed to catch 3 out of the 4 species (no rainbows caught) in good numbers, but only after running into two Shiras moose on the way to my morning spot! One crossed the road on the way there and the other showed up 70 or so yards away in a meadow just before I reached the stream.

Video:
http://youtu.be/_KKkba6q_PE

The last day was spent on a tiny mountain stream that was more on an exploration stop than anything else. It held a decent population of small cutthroats and was a joy to hike. Lots of gorgeous scenery and critters to see on the way up there.

Video:
http://youtu.be/nemyzh30NJk

While my license is officially done, come next Spring, I plan to get another one and get back up into these amazing mountains. Once you experience them, there's just no way to escape their call.

 

[RCFetter]

Great report Six-Gun. Those pics are amazing. Thanks for posting.

 

[Wmass]

Those are some of the prettiest fish I have EVER seen. Congrats on a great trip.

 

[Six-Gun]

Thanks, guys. It was a lot of fun. I got the chance to toss bugs that I had tied up the night before I left (the elk hair caddis you see the Colorado River cutts had eaten) to some of these fish and, of course, that always adds to the joy of the sport.

If you look at the picture with Mike at the edge of the pond, you'll note that algae scum formed along the bank. That stuff is actually a very important part of the trout habitat up there. You will see what looks like clear, fishless water in that particular pond. Then, you chuck a dry or free-sinking midge right up to the edge of that scum (doing your best to not land in it and foul the bug) and watch 2 or 3 of those cutts scream out from under it and hammer your fly.

The bigger ones in the large pond are a good bit harder to catch on a dry because the hole they inhabit just has so, so many dead bugs on the surface. They are big because they have big water and eat like pigs. Mike said that in 15 years of fishing and guiding that larger hole, he never caught a big cutt on a dry up there. That morning, I caught two on a black sprout emerger that he correctly thought would match some of the dead flies on the water and entice a bite. You can see the fish with that very bug on his lip in the video of him netting my fish. He said that those catches made his day was a big deal. He actually posted the pics from that morning to his guide service webpage as a teaser for future customers. That said, we saw those same fish heads-down nymphing a bunch and can accordingly be caught much easier using a bird's nest or similar sub-surface bug under an indicator.

 

[David]

Awesome trip.. Love the pics

 

[GenCon]

Great trip and report. Some really amazing fish there.

Congrats,

GenCon

 

[AFISHN]

Absolutely beautiful fish.Congrats on the fish and the great post,Six-gun!!!

I'm heading out to UT for a week of FF in the Fall with a Forum member.After reading two books of FF Utah,I'm already seriously thinking of doing a 3 week UT trip in 2016.I'm going to contact the Quiet Fly Fisher Shop and work in a week in Eastern UT.thanks for the recommendation
Tom

 

[Six-Gun]

Thanks again, guys. I know I sound like a broken record, but I think that Utah is one of the most underrated states when it comes to Western fly fishing. Unless you are on the Green River or middle Provo River, both of which have a ton of fish, but an equally high number of anglers, you can expect to seldom, if ever see another fisherman while you're out there.

AFISHIN - If you need help figuring out your trip in UT, shoot me your cell # in a PM and I will gladly help you. Keep the focus in Utah is on much smaller rivers and creeks that produce abundant fish. Don't think you can't score big ones out of those smaller waters. I've seen 20+" fish in some fairly small water up there. Approaching them is tough in tight cover, sure, but they are there.

Mike at Quiet Fly Fisher is a great guy and will put you in a unique, productive spot for sure. I asked to do something cool and different and he delivered in spades. When its time to head on, don't be afraid to ask him where else you should try. He helped me find a secluded mountain lake last year the old fashioned way: by drawing directions on my gazetteer and giving excellent directions. It lead to a banner day in a float tube and 3 different species of trout caught.

Bottom line: if you have 3 weeks to spend in Utah, you will have an incredible time. There's just so much fishable water, both creeks and stillwater. Speaking of stillwater, if you have it in the budget to pay for the baggage to pack a float tube, do it! There are some stupid good lakes and ponds in the mountains up there. You can even get into grayling if you rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle and are careful not to thrash it navigating the rocky, brushy roads. Do your research on the waters in the various parts of the state and pay attention to weather/flows in the days leading up to your trip so you know where you should be hitting first.

 

[boychick]

Looks like you had another epic trip. I love reading about your adventures. Beautiful trout, thanks for sharing.

 

[Six-Gun]

No doubt. I love to share and hopefully inspire some other folks to stretch their legs out west. As a native PA guy myself, I think every fly fisherman from my home state should save up to make at least one trip out that way.