The effect of fires on fishing

With seemingly the whole western United States on fire I think we need to look at what kinds of effects these will have on the fishing for these lakes, streams and rivers that are in the fire areas.

With the increased run off it looks like it could be some dark times for fishing in a few of our favorite spots. 

The flash flooding that has occurred has further disturbed the water. I am hopeful that next year there will be a lot of grasses and an increase in the amount of insects that they can eat. I"m afraid for the eggs and the fry that are going to be laid in the fall and the spring. However I am sure that the DWR is up for the challenges if they have the appropriate funding. 

I'm continually hopeful that fishing will continue to improve in Utah.

Utah Fishing and Hunting License App

Here is a screen shot of home screen. Its very easy to navigate.

There is a new Utah Fishing license app that you can download on iphones and androids. I will be doing a review of both of them on here. I have down loaded them and initially I'm impressed with the feel and look of the app. it has a really clean design i would just like it better if the back button, on my phone not the one on the app, worked to go back to the previous screen. I liked the fishing information and the license download and purchase options. 

I really enjoyed looking at the different types of fish. Game fish, non game fish, and protected categories.  The game fish has both a picture of a typical fish of the named species and also the state records of the fish. This is a very nice set up i just wish it showed a few more pictures of the fish. 

The display of the name and then a picture of the fish followed by the angling record. 

On the hunting tab it has a bit more to go over. the greatest thing about this is the Walk-in Access finder and the guide books. The tricky part about this is that the app does have licenses but you'll still have to have your tags for large game and special draws. In both the Fishing and Hunting app if you choose the walk-in access it will take you to another site. I would like it better if it was all in app but this is a great improvement to not having an app for either hunting or fishing and being able to have your license on your phone instead of always putting it in a pocket and forgetting which one.

Hunting Tab 

Lunch break fishing

One of my favorite things about living here in Utah is how close the fishing spots are. There are even places you can fish on your lunch break.
A lot of these are the small community fishing ponds or even the rivers going through the valley. I would even recommend for people to fish little cottonwood river in Murray Utah right next to Intermountain Medical Center. Its right next to main roads but it also has a nice park and walkways up and down the banks. For the community ponds I head over to Kidney pond or over to the Sandy fishing pond. Its not far from city hall and south towne mall.

Bad news for Strawberry fishing

The Utah DWR has found whirling disease in the fish located in Strawberry. Every year they check for this and other problematic diseases in the fish populations. Fishermen and boating enthusiasts need to be taking head to he cleaning of all equipment prior to fishing in new waters.
I hope that it doesn't continue to spread to new fishing waters but I am no longer as optimistic about it.

Still Going

The Hoppers and terrestrials are still going strong even with the leaves changing. Its a great time to be fishing for those big hungry fish before winter. they really want to get all the calories they can get. The browns are in their spots eating all they can. When you think about some of the best fishing of the year combined with the beauty of fall its time to go out and get those fish.

Fishing the rivers

Right now is the perfect time to go out and fish the streams and rivers. We have tons of terrestrials and dry flies as well as nymphs that are hot right now.
There are some great articulated patterns that are working great great on the Provo and the Green. The Weber and the Logan are still running highg but the fishing has gotten better if you know where and what to use.

Flooding

with all of the run off and the rain it is harder than ever to get those fish on your hook. The best thing to do is to try small slower tributary streams and use heavy flies to get down where the fish are holding. If you're having problems finding the fish I would be happy to gelp you out in getting the proper location and depth. Lets go get some fish.
Remember we are posting how activr the fish are going to be the evening before on our Facebook page.

Our Facebook Page

Like our Facebook page and tell us your favorite place to fish and we will post the best times to fish for your spot the night before. We want to be your go to source for fishing info. Let us know what we can do to do that. All locations will be posted on Facebook only but other info about sites will be added here about what types of fish and best lures and bait for that time of year.

Tibble Fork

I fished Tibble Fork on Saturday morning and absolutely froze. I arrived there at 0500 and it was quite dark and overcast. Because of this I figured I would start off with bait and so I set up my spinning rod with a two hook set up the lower one had some Predator dough bait in green and the upper hook had a night crawler. The fish completely ignored the dough bait nut did nibble on the night crawler. They didn't take enough to get hooked it though. So I changed both hooks to nightcrawlers and waited. Still they just nibbled and ate most of the worm leaving only a small Parr left on the hook.
If you look at the population of trout there it seems that at the moment there are a lot of fingerlings and the few larger fish are very picky about what they eat. They were only biting on gnats and small dry flies. With the snow coming down while I was there it really wasn't the most enjoyable trip. I hope its warmer next time.

Overcast weather combined with all the run off makes for some really murky and low visiblity for the fish the best thing to fish with right now is some bait. The reason being is that the fish are looking forfood using their sense of smell and what ever settles into their holds. These holds are down where the current is slower so they use less energy and don't get washed away or hit with debris. The difficulty for fly fishing is quite high due to the speed of the water and the visibility. The trick is to use the heavy flies with tungsten to get down into the fish holds. Now lets get out and get some fish!!!

Big cottonwood canyon

I spent the afternoon up little cottonwood canyon fishing today and I just missed a BWO hatch that would have been perfect for me. I saw the last few BWO flying around. I tried a bead-headed nymph to no avail. I also tried a few scuds and other flies. It would have been nice to had made it for the hatch. I guess there's always next time. As it is the full moon today I will have to be out there for the next full moon and get in on all the good hatches for the season.

This Last Weekend

This last weekend we had some interesting weather that made it difficult to know where the best places would be for the fish. with the hit and miss aspects of the snow storms that were hitting us I figured that the cottonwood canyons might be the best places. That way I could get the fish between the snow flurries. The only problem I ran into is that the conditions were changing so fast as soon as I was set up I would have to change the set up. In retrospect I should have just used a woolly bugger and let the weather change until they started biting instead of changing flies so much. I was just so excited to be out in the water that i couldn't wait to try everything I had with me that day. I caught a few small ones but I feel I could have done better. Next time out I'll get some pictures of the place and the fish.

Intermediate Fly Fishing Equipment

Those of you that are looking for the right pole and you have some experience I would recommend the Orvis Clearwater II. Not only is it a nice pole for the money it also comes with a 25 year guarantee. It is the best rod for the money thats under $400. This set up is a 5wt so it's not for large waters but it does offer a chance to really feel the fight while working smaller waters. In my opinion the bast thing about fly fishing is the chances that you have to really feel the fish fight. As a bonus you get the reel line and backing as well as a case for it.   

Prime Time Fishing

Who is ready for the prime time fishing season to get started? I can't wait to get out there almost every day. Does anyone have a favorite spot they love to go that they want to tell us about? I love fishing the Logan River between 2nd and 3rd Dam. There are a lot of good pools and big trout all along that stretch of the river. I also like Little cottonwood canyon when I don't have time to drive up to Logan. There is a good spot right next to the road that has some deep pools and get cover for the fish. Let us know where your spots are.

Great Streamer for large trout

This Fly is tied on a 0/1 Mustad salt water hook and uses flash marabou through the fur. I used Deer tail hair for the main body. Natural color above and Lighter dyed color below to simulate the natural coloration of a small prey fish.
I love going after the big brown trout using streamers. By nature they more aggressive towards other fish and tend to eat more fish as they get bigger. This makes it so that they will hit a lot of lures that some people think are too big for the water. I have used six inch jointed Rapalas that look like juvenile rainbows and browns and I get huge hits. They also love to hit woolly buggers if you bring them in with an intermittent return.
Now lets get out there and get some fish!!!

Android Application

I am still working on creating an android fly fishing app. I hope you'll share some insight on what features you want available in it. I am hoping to have this done midway through the summer fishing season. If anyone has any tips on how to best go about getting everything working together on it please let me know.
Let's get out and get some fish!!!

Today was nice

Today was a good day to get out and get some fish in the Salt lake Valley as well as the lower canyons. The insects have started to hatch but now that we have some snow coming in I'm thinking that streamers will be the thing to use once again.
I cant wait till it really warms up myself. I love wading in the cold water on a hot day casting my flies into the pools on the rivers and getting the fish to rise and take my fly. It's going to be a good summer. Lets get out and get some fish!!!
Rasczack

time to replace your Line and some of the old hooks

Fishing line is known for being hard to break when you're pulling on it. Unless its a monster fish that's doing the pulling. The key thing to remember is that heat, cold and UV light all break down the line so it becomes brittle and breaks in the cold water. To fix this the solution is simple buy some new line for your spinning rods and tippet for your fly fishing. That way you know your using the strongest line you can and its not going to give out out on you when you hook that world record fish. Also remember that color does matter when choosing a line. A clear line will work in most conditions. Some people prefer to have the green lines for muddy water. I haven't noticed an increase in hits using it so I'll leave to you.
Let's get out and get some fish!!!
Rasczack

Lots of wind but warm

I think its a little too windy for fly fishing the Canyon streams. Its definitely a day for bait and lures. Good luck to everyone that goes out today. Let us know how out do. Feel free to email us pictures and stories the best ones will be posted here.