63rd Day Fly fishing – December 6th, 2024 – Middle Provo River, Heber, Utah
These days, it is getting harder to find places to fish in a post pandemic US that are not pressured. It may be just me, but it seems like there has been an explosion in the sport both during and since the pandemic. Crowds of fly fishers everywhere, and I say “fly fishers” because a fast growing segment are women, which is great! However, when it comes to crowds, better get to the river early or be prepared to walk the banks looking for an open hole. For me, Friday was no exception. Ron and I got there at 10:30, the loot was more than half full and someone was already in my spot. Anyway, now that the intro point has been made it allows me to segue into talking about pressured fish and what you can do about it to be more successful.
The Middle Provo River is one of those places that sees a lot of pressure, and yes, even in December! It is a fabulous tailwater flowing ouut of Jordanelle Dam, which is situated between Park City and Heber, UT. The proximity to the greater Salt Lake City metro area is the problem. That and the fact that the Provo is a very managed fishery with a high “trout per mile” count and in spite of the crowds, it is possible to have a really good day of fishing there. For me, the prolific hatches offer the greatest opportunity for that good day, as I am a dry fly first fisherman. April, May, June offers BWO, caddis and the most magnificent hatch of all, the June green drake hatch!
But here we are in December and now through February, it is the midge hatch that dominates. Although, sometimes if the water warms enough it is possible to get a baetis hatch too, but the winter baetis numbers may not be enough to get the fish targeting them. Today, my plan was to fish the midge hatch first and foremost and to also bring my Euro nymph rod for backup. I really hate the two rod thing, but today ended up being one of those days where it was the right call.
In the parking lot I rigged my 3wt Scott G2 for fishing the midge dries. I had just put on a brand new fly line – RIO Tactical Trout, which is now my new favorite for casting dry flies. I had an SA line on previously, which was good as well and before that, RIO Gold, which has been a staple for me for many years. When I am casting dry flies, accuracy is extremely important as is getting the leader to lay out completely. It’s OK to have some slack in the tippet, in fact that is a good thing! But the leader is a thicker diameter than say your 6X or 7X tippet and it can definitely spook the fish. In any case, the RIO Technical Trout has a very nice feel, the head is not overweight and I can make a very accurate and delicate presentation, which is so important fishing to pressured fish. So my line was new and perfect for the conditions. Next, I had also loaded on a brand new 9′ leader, terminating in 6X. Normally, I would begin adding tippet, but instead wanted to add a tippet ring which would extend the life of the leader. I also wanted my first tippet section to be 5.5X and so I cut off about a foot of leader to match that up on the other side of the tippet ring. Finally, I added another 2′ of 6.5X, which I felt was correct for the conditions today – fishing midge dries in the 22-26 size range. The tippet sections were both fluorocarbon. The end result was a new leader that was about 12′ long including tippet.
In my experience, fishing dry flies to pressured fish dictates a long leader and 12′ is about the minimum. When I fish the Ranch section of the Hennry’s fork, my leaders are typically 15′. The point here is the rig has to be right, perhaps it is even more important than fishing the right fly! Speaking of flies, the fly I chose to start with this day was the orange Asher. It was recommended to both Ron and me after our last visit to the same section by another fisherman. Today, my fly was a size 22. In my experience, early winter midges run around size 22 and get smaller in January and early February. By late February, the buffalo midges appear and they are closer to a size 18.
After finding my favorite hole occupied, I found another good spot with similar characteristics upstream. My Euro rod is an Orvis Recon in a 10′ 2wt. After fishing the Asher a bit in the most obvious spots and not seeing any rises, I decided to rig the Recon. The Euro setup includes a 15′ leader with a 2′ sighter section. Ideally, you want the sighter at the water line, so adding tippet to the tippet ring below that corresponds to the depth. If your water depth is say 3′, you want to add about 5′ of tippet to the point fly, or to the split shot if you are using a drop shot rig. Again, because the fish are pressured, I went with lighter weight tippet – 5.5X. And becasue my “money fly” is a size 22 zebra midge, I tied a 6″ long, 6.5X outrigger to the 5.5X tippet using a triple surgeons knot. I used a size 18 perdigon for the point fly. Perdigons really sink fast!
It took many casts to get my first eat but the fish that ate, caused my line to stop cold on the drift and I thought it was a snag. As I came tight on the snag, it didn’t move, until it did! It was then that I realized that this was a big fish! I played her for about 3 minutes, then in a final run, she came off. Bummer! I continued to nymph thinking that there had to be more fish in that hole, which was about 4 feet deep. But alas, no additional eats, so I went back to the dry fly rod, the G2.
At this point Ron joined me. He was fishing the from the other bank. The pic above shows Ron working that edge. He spotted a couple of fish rising on that side I began casting at the tail-out, across from Ron. No rises, but hey. I was really surprised when I had a couple of eats! And ultimately two respectable fish. We fiahed another couple of hours but did not score any more eats.
To put a wrap on the day, I rarely get eats where the fish are not rising, especially in Utah. In Idaho or Montana, it is another story altogether. I’m convinced that the Asher fly was a solid attractor. But I also believe the long leader, all brand new helped. Long leaders and fresh tippet really make a difference when casting at picky fish. New tippet was also a factor in hooking that big brown. This is not to say that you need to change your tippet every time out. But always check your tippet to make sure it is still clear and that the knots are solid, particularly those on the tippet ring. Even the best rings will cause knot wear, so I change those knots almost every time!
Another great day on the water and I’m looking forward to many more!
