Fishing Utah in 2016

[AFISHN]

I have fished quite a few places out West of the years.
While my legs and health are still good,I'd like to plan a fly fishing trip to Utah in 2016.
My plan is to just use just a few guides during the trip and to concentrate on one section of the state.

i took advantage of the moving sale at Sporting Gentleman in Media this week to buy two books on fishing Utah.("Fishing Utah" by Brett Prettyman and "Guide to Fly Fishing in Utah" by Steve Schmidt.

The number of places to fish are over-whelming me ,so I have a few basic questions,at this time, for forum members who have fished Utah,to help me narrow down my search:

1)Areas and Rivers to fish
2)Suggested time of year for the trip
3)Any recommendations for guides
4)Any motels or camp ground suggestions to stay

A real bonus would be if a forum member took a trip there and had worked out a trip plan that they could share.

Thank you
Tom

 

[nymphingmaniac]

fished near SLC multiple times and the Green river once. No need for guides on the the provo and weber (two good stops) near SLC.
Green river, the best of the rest. I had a guide- actually my first guided trip- on a drift boat. Highly recommend. I'll get back to you with information about the guide. i have info in my office.
It depends on the season, water levels etc, but I recommend the "B" section of the Green. Day before I had the guided trip we wade fished the A section. Its not easy to wade fish this river.
I fished the Green the first week in oct.
I fished the provo and weber in early April and twice in oct. You could fish near the reservoir, but I recommend the middle river in the late summer, fall and the lower river early in the season. The weeds are too heavy on the lower provo in the fall/late summer

 

[riz]

I fished the middle prove in mid sept and thought it was a beautiful river. caught some nice sized fish. you will be fishing with others in the area. it is not a remote river. I also fished the weber, it was early july and the water was up abit. I did not do vey well but there was a lot of nice water. I also read many good things about the bear river.

 

[dryflyguy]

I fished the green river once - 10-15 years ago now.
Spent a week camping along it. Very scenic area - and the water is so clear, you can often see the fish.
We just wade fished the first section below the dam - and did quite well. I remember a pretty well worn trail running along the river. And not really having that much trouble wading it - although you had to pick your spots for sure.
Can't remember much about the hatches - but I do remember catching fish on chernobyl ants and cicadas.
We were there in either july or august.

On out way back to SLC to fly home, we spent an evening on the provo river just outside of town. And caught some nice fish there too.

It was a very enjoyable trip. And I remember thinking afterward that I'd like to go back some day - but still have't done so

 

[STONEMAN]

This month's Fly Fisherman mag has a nice article about Utah fishing. I added it to my bucket list.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

shop: http://www.westernriversflyfishing.com
Guide: Brad

We stayed at the
Flaming Gorge Resort
1100 E. Flaming Gorge Resort
Dutch John, UT 84023

The rooms were ok, standard no-frills fishing room. The restaurant is ok, nothing fancy. Your'e out there so not a lot of choices.
The on-site fly shop at flaming gorge was very expensive IMO.

We met our guide at Trout creek flies and they were much more reasonable. The flyshop is attached to a Phillips 66 gas station/- go figure. Its not far from the resort.

 

[1fish]

How long you plan on being there? Here's a couple of posts of somewhat recent trips.

Thread #1

Thread #2

The links don't seem to work from this site, but if you can copy and paste to your browser window, that may work. Or maybe better yet, just do a search. This site has way too many quirks.

 

[AFISHN]

I'm thinking 2 weeks of fishing.
The length will depend on weather I can find someone to join me on the trip.so far,my initial inquiries on my regular ff buds has not been encouraging e.g"too far",,money,etc

If I go alone,it will probably be a 9 day trip.

 

[riser]

I've fished Utah several times over the last 15 years, staying at an in-law's house in Park City.

My 2 cents:

1. For the Weber and Provo, go in mid to late July after the streams have settled down from melt-off.

2. Absolutely hire a guide for at least one day in each area you fish. You are spending a lot of money to get there and stay there. $200-350 in guide fees will maximize your investment. I don't care how good a flyfisher you are. The guides are better than you, and you will learn from them.

3. Had an excellent experience with a guide named Drew working out of the fly shop in Heber City.

4. My in-law has floated the Green several times. I'd hire a guide for a float trip on the Green (and I will, next time I go).

Good luck!

 

[1fish]

If it were me, I would fish the northern part of the state and plan my trip around the Flaming Gorge area. You'll have plenty of access along the Green and also some smaller streams in the area. I personally would stay away from the SLC area, just too many people roaming around, especially on weekends. I just came down route 150 from Evanston WY last Friday, and the mountains there were full of campers, both in the campgrounds and dispersed.

I'd fish the Provo if I was visiting or working in the SLC/Provo area, but I wouldn't make it into a primary fishing destination, just too suburban like. Once you get east of Strawberry Reservoir, things get a little less busy. There are quite a few options from Strawberry to Flaming Gorge up in the Uintas.

You may want to consider fishing the Green at Flaming Gorge, then head up into Wyoming and fish the Green below Fontenelle Res. You also have the Ham's Fork in Kemmerer. It's kind of a rough landscape around Fontenelle, but nice along the river.

 

[gfoledc]

pm sent

 

[AFISHN]

One of the members of this forum graciously invited me to join him for a week in Utah this year and I accepted.He has fished Utah quite a bit over the years,so I will just tag along and fish with him for the week.
BTWne of the great benefits of this site is the vast knowledge and helpful attitude of its members!!!