Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 27, Issue 1
August 16,17, 2011
Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park,
Packwood, Washington
Tuesday, August 16, 2011—Conor, Mason, Cian, (grandsons) and I fished below the bridge (at the north-east corner) over the Ohanapecosh River in the Ohanapecosh Campground at 9 am. This is a fly fishing-only stream inside Mount Rainier National Park, see further details under Miscellaneous Information/Observations below. Conor caught a 12” cutthroat trout near the edge of the stream (in about 1 foot of water) on a size 14 black ant fly. We got no other bites and walked back to camp about 45 minutes later.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011—Mason, Cian, and I a long, deep stretch on the east side of the stream about 300 yards above the bridge in the Ohanapecosh campground at about 6 pm. I caught an 8” cutthroat on a size 8 ‘stimulator’ fly (long shank hook with an orange body and elk hair-type hackle.) I casted it across the stream into the shallows near the far bank and he took it off the top of the water. From where we were (up on an outcropping above the water where a small hot springs stream comes down and falls into the river), we could see 8-10” fish wandering around in the stream. They would not take any flies we put in front of the. We returned to camp about 7 pm.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. The Ohanapecosh River is an upper part of the Cowlitz River. The Cowlitz River was dammed back in the mid-1900s and that cut off all upstream-spawning salmon and steelhead. Hence, the stream no longer has sea-run fish in it. It also has not been stalked with fish probably since the 1940s. It is a fairly large, very cold, clear stream with a green tinge of glacier flour in it. There is some but not a lot of aquatic life in it, hence, the fish population is sparse and they do not grow to be very big. It does have a sustainable population of cutthroat trout, the only true native trout in the stream. Below Grove of the Patriarchs I have caught small cutthroat, rainbow and brook trout, all out of the same hole. I did catch one ~14” cutthroat about 20 years ago up near the confluence of Deer, Boundary, and Kotsuck Creeks, which form Chinook Creek, the main stem of the Ohanapecosh River. I had been fishing with Marcus and Tyson in this area for about 3 hours and we were ready to go back to camp. I was sitting on a large boulder waiting to leave. I was done fishing. It was a bright, sunny day. As I sat there resting, a large, light and dark brown striped beetle landed on the rock right next to me. I picked it up, put it on the fly I had on my fishing line, and dropped it into the white foam and bubbles of the stream directly below me. Immediately, a fish came from below and took the beetle right off the top of the water. I was surprised to say the least because I had just tried that with flies earlier with no luck. Also, how could a fish see it on top of the water through all of the bubbles and foam! In 30 years of camping at Mt. Rainier that is the only ‘big’ fish I have ever seen there. We let him go.
2. No fishing license required to fish in the Park. In addition there is little knowledge or encouragement by Park rangers or personnel regarding fishing there anyway.
Rainbow Trout
Caught by Tyson Lower Provo River
Monday, September 5, 2011
Lower Provo River--August 8, 12 2011 w/Larry, Dale
Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 26, Issue 1
August 8,12, 2011
Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah
Monday, August 8, 2011—I arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 4:00 pm above the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. I parked in at the wide, sweeping curve parking area and hiked down to the stream about 200 yards below what we call “Moose Bend”. The weather was sunny and warm. I fished the rapids behind a rock in the middle of the stream. I tried nymphing ‘Tyson method’ with several flies with no luck. I switched to a size 14 ‘silver spider’ (a fly Tyson ties—a silver body and some soft hackle) and hooked a fish immediately. I worked him all the way in and he ran right back out using the swift current. I got him in a second time but the line snagged up on a small tree clump of branches out in the bottom of the stream. I waded out as far as I could go and was able to reach and net him under the water. It turned out to be a 17” brown trout. I left at 6 pm.
Friday, August 12, 2011—I, Tyson, Dale and Larry (Dale’s brother who did not fish) arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 6:15 am at the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. We hiked downstream of the trestle on the north side of the stream about ½ mile and fished what we call ‘Jason’s Run’. The weather was sunny but cool. Dale and I fished nymphing with a strike indicator. Tyson fished with a streamer above and below us. I caught a 15” fat, pretty rainbow on the size 14 ‘silver spider’ fly described above. I then hooked two more similarly sized fish on a size 18 flashback midge. One I got all the way to the milfoil next to the shore then lost him. The other fish jumped about 2 feet out of the water then flipped the hook. Tyson had two fish on but did not get them in as well.
(Dale is a good friend from southern California and is just learning how to fly fish. He went out earlier in the week with a guide and caught several fish. I guess that tells me how good a guide I am since he did not catch any fish with me….I knew I should have had Tyson help him…..oh well.)
We left at 8 am.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. On August 8 there were a lot of rafters coming down the river. Wading, I worried little about getting hit by a raft out of control so I was constantly glancing upstream to avoid getting hit. Other than this, rafters don’t bother the fishing at all.
2. Fishing August 8 I noticed now on the other side of the stream is a ZIP-LINE with people zooming across the face of the mountain.
Vol. 26, Issue 1
August 8,12, 2011
Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah
Monday, August 8, 2011—I arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 4:00 pm above the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. I parked in at the wide, sweeping curve parking area and hiked down to the stream about 200 yards below what we call “Moose Bend”. The weather was sunny and warm. I fished the rapids behind a rock in the middle of the stream. I tried nymphing ‘Tyson method’ with several flies with no luck. I switched to a size 14 ‘silver spider’ (a fly Tyson ties—a silver body and some soft hackle) and hooked a fish immediately. I worked him all the way in and he ran right back out using the swift current. I got him in a second time but the line snagged up on a small tree clump of branches out in the bottom of the stream. I waded out as far as I could go and was able to reach and net him under the water. It turned out to be a 17” brown trout. I left at 6 pm.
Friday, August 12, 2011—I, Tyson, Dale and Larry (Dale’s brother who did not fish) arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 6:15 am at the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. We hiked downstream of the trestle on the north side of the stream about ½ mile and fished what we call ‘Jason’s Run’. The weather was sunny but cool. Dale and I fished nymphing with a strike indicator. Tyson fished with a streamer above and below us. I caught a 15” fat, pretty rainbow on the size 14 ‘silver spider’ fly described above. I then hooked two more similarly sized fish on a size 18 flashback midge. One I got all the way to the milfoil next to the shore then lost him. The other fish jumped about 2 feet out of the water then flipped the hook. Tyson had two fish on but did not get them in as well.
(Dale is a good friend from southern California and is just learning how to fly fish. He went out earlier in the week with a guide and caught several fish. I guess that tells me how good a guide I am since he did not catch any fish with me….I knew I should have had Tyson help him…..oh well.)
We left at 8 am.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. On August 8 there were a lot of rafters coming down the river. Wading, I worried little about getting hit by a raft out of control so I was constantly glancing upstream to avoid getting hit. Other than this, rafters don’t bother the fishing at all.
2. Fishing August 8 I noticed now on the other side of the stream is a ZIP-LINE with people zooming across the face of the mountain.
Flat Creek, Snake River, Greys Creek-- August 2,3 2011
Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 25, Issue 1
August 2,3 2011
Flat Creek, Snake River, Greys Creek
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Tuesday, August 2, 2011—Jerry, Steve, and I arrived at Flat Creek. It is a meandering, middle-sized meadow stream just north of Jackson Hole, by the National Elk Refuge. We arrived at about 6:45 and parked at the fish hatchery next to Highway 26 about 3-4 miles north of Jackson. This stream just opened to fishing on August 1. There were no other cars there. The weather was slightly overcast but otherwise comfortable. We hiked east to the stream through small sage brush about ¼ mile. We fished working our way down stream about ½ mile with no luck trying nymphs, wet flies, and dry flies. I had one fish break the surface after one fly, but no other activity. We left about 8 am as other fishermen were arriving. This was a big disappointment.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011—Jerry, Steve, and I left Flat Creek and fished with Les and Emma (Steve’s daughter) on the Snake River below the Highway 22 bridge over the river leading west into Wilson, WYO. (This place was only about 1 mile away from where we were staying in Wilson.) About 100 yards downstream of the bridge on the west side of the river the water of the very big, cold and swift Snake river washes over a gravel bar into a ‘side stream’ next to the bank . Jerry and I fished by wading out on the gravel bar and Steve, Les and Emma fished in the same side stream from the bank. Emma caught a 20” Snake River Cutthroat Trout on a small piece of a nightcrawler. (It is legal to fish with bait below Wilson bridge.) I had one fish on using a San Juan Worm fly for about 5 seconds, then it was off. The fish Emma caught had many fine spots across its body and the distinctive orange ‘slash’ below its gills. A beautiful fish. We fished about 1 ½ hours then left.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011—Todd, Jason, Erika, I and Jerry travelled to Greys Creek about 40 miles south near Alpine, WYO. We drove up the Greys Creek road to about 9 miles to where the Little Greys Creek joined the main stream. We arrived about 9 am the weather was warm and the water was green and not yet fully clear from snowmelt runoff, which was unusual for that time of year. We fished above and below the bridge over the Little Grey, but only on the main stream. Above the bridge off the bank Jason caught a 15-inch Snake River Cutthroat trout on a size 14 Prince nymph. I fished in the same spot and had a fish on briefly on a size 18 flashback nymph. Jerry, fishing at the junction of the two streams had one on as well, but lost it. At the junction I caught a 13” Mountain Whitefish on a size 8 black stonefly. In hindsight we probably should have driven another 10 miles or so south of Alpine and fished the Salt River, which appeared to be much like the Provo River in Utah with a reputation to match. We left about 11:00 am.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. Non-resident Wyoming fishing license for 2011 is $14/day. There was no weekly rate for a license.
2. We tried to fish on Fish Creek running through Wilson, WYO but could never find any access to the stream. (We drove along it south of Wilson about 5 miles.) It is essentially all blocked off by private land owners, which is unfortunate for the public.
Vol. 25, Issue 1
August 2,3 2011
Flat Creek, Snake River, Greys Creek
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Tuesday, August 2, 2011—Jerry, Steve, and I arrived at Flat Creek. It is a meandering, middle-sized meadow stream just north of Jackson Hole, by the National Elk Refuge. We arrived at about 6:45 and parked at the fish hatchery next to Highway 26 about 3-4 miles north of Jackson. This stream just opened to fishing on August 1. There were no other cars there. The weather was slightly overcast but otherwise comfortable. We hiked east to the stream through small sage brush about ¼ mile. We fished working our way down stream about ½ mile with no luck trying nymphs, wet flies, and dry flies. I had one fish break the surface after one fly, but no other activity. We left about 8 am as other fishermen were arriving. This was a big disappointment.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011—Jerry, Steve, and I left Flat Creek and fished with Les and Emma (Steve’s daughter) on the Snake River below the Highway 22 bridge over the river leading west into Wilson, WYO. (This place was only about 1 mile away from where we were staying in Wilson.) About 100 yards downstream of the bridge on the west side of the river the water of the very big, cold and swift Snake river washes over a gravel bar into a ‘side stream’ next to the bank . Jerry and I fished by wading out on the gravel bar and Steve, Les and Emma fished in the same side stream from the bank. Emma caught a 20” Snake River Cutthroat Trout on a small piece of a nightcrawler. (It is legal to fish with bait below Wilson bridge.) I had one fish on using a San Juan Worm fly for about 5 seconds, then it was off. The fish Emma caught had many fine spots across its body and the distinctive orange ‘slash’ below its gills. A beautiful fish. We fished about 1 ½ hours then left.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011—Todd, Jason, Erika, I and Jerry travelled to Greys Creek about 40 miles south near Alpine, WYO. We drove up the Greys Creek road to about 9 miles to where the Little Greys Creek joined the main stream. We arrived about 9 am the weather was warm and the water was green and not yet fully clear from snowmelt runoff, which was unusual for that time of year. We fished above and below the bridge over the Little Grey, but only on the main stream. Above the bridge off the bank Jason caught a 15-inch Snake River Cutthroat trout on a size 14 Prince nymph. I fished in the same spot and had a fish on briefly on a size 18 flashback nymph. Jerry, fishing at the junction of the two streams had one on as well, but lost it. At the junction I caught a 13” Mountain Whitefish on a size 8 black stonefly. In hindsight we probably should have driven another 10 miles or so south of Alpine and fished the Salt River, which appeared to be much like the Provo River in Utah with a reputation to match. We left about 11:00 am.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. Non-resident Wyoming fishing license for 2011 is $14/day. There was no weekly rate for a license.
2. We tried to fish on Fish Creek running through Wilson, WYO but could never find any access to the stream. (We drove along it south of Wilson about 5 miles.) It is essentially all blocked off by private land owners, which is unfortunate for the public.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Middle Provo River, Below Jordanelle Reservoir, Midway, Utah April 22, 2011
Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 24, Issue 1
April 22, 2011
Middle Provo River, Below Jordanelle Reservoir, Midway, Utah
Friday, April 22, 2011—Alan and I arrived at the Middle Provo River at about 10:00 am at the Utah Fish and Game Parking area several miles north of Midway, Utah. There were about 6 cars there already. The weather was sunny and comfortable. The water level was up a little (maybe about a foot at the bank) from the normal summer flow. We hiked upstream about a mile or so, passing a number of fishermen along the way. (This is the first nice day that was not raining or snowing in several weeks, hence a lot of fisherman seemed to be out.) The water in this area of the stream is fast with few obvious pools or holes. We fished the water between the bank and the faster flow in the main stream, which could be 3-5 feet deep in places. Alan fished just below me. I caught a brown trout nymphing about 14” long on a size ~14 ‘silver spider’ tied by Tyson. (It is simply a long shank hook with a thin silver body and a small amount of hackle training back along the body of the hook.) We moved down lower after about an hour to a place where the stream pooled (about 7 feet deep) near and under several fallen trees paralleling the stream. I caught two ~ 10 inch browns on the streamer pole (sinking tip fly line) stripping line in with a size 20-22 bead-head zebra midge. We then moved just below this pool to a long stretch that was deep (maybe ~10 feet deep). I caught two ~12 inch browns nymphing on the bottom on a size ~20 midge with a red body and brown head. I tried a number of flies nymphing here before catching these two, i. e., sow bug, and silver spider described above, flash-back midges, mating midge dry on the bottom. We tried down lower on the stream where the earlier fishermen were gone, but with no luck. Just before we left I found 3 what looked like earth worms under a large rock with mud underneath it in a small side stream flowing into the main flow. May want to try a San Juan worm or similar pattern the next time.
We left about 4:00 pm.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. We saw a large sandhill crane and several ospreys. Last year the fish and game department released several otters into this part of the Provo River. We did not see any.
2. Weather was sunny and surprisingly warm before a small breeze picked up in the afternoon.
3. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2010 is $70 for a 1-year license. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.
4. Utah Legislature just passed a law in March 2010 that will restrict fishermen’s’ use of streams in the state if the streams run through private property. So far I see no impact of this law on fishing the ‘normal places’ we fish on the Middle Provo River.
Vol. 24, Issue 1
April 22, 2011
Middle Provo River, Below Jordanelle Reservoir, Midway, Utah
Friday, April 22, 2011—Alan and I arrived at the Middle Provo River at about 10:00 am at the Utah Fish and Game Parking area several miles north of Midway, Utah. There were about 6 cars there already. The weather was sunny and comfortable. The water level was up a little (maybe about a foot at the bank) from the normal summer flow. We hiked upstream about a mile or so, passing a number of fishermen along the way. (This is the first nice day that was not raining or snowing in several weeks, hence a lot of fisherman seemed to be out.) The water in this area of the stream is fast with few obvious pools or holes. We fished the water between the bank and the faster flow in the main stream, which could be 3-5 feet deep in places. Alan fished just below me. I caught a brown trout nymphing about 14” long on a size ~14 ‘silver spider’ tied by Tyson. (It is simply a long shank hook with a thin silver body and a small amount of hackle training back along the body of the hook.) We moved down lower after about an hour to a place where the stream pooled (about 7 feet deep) near and under several fallen trees paralleling the stream. I caught two ~ 10 inch browns on the streamer pole (sinking tip fly line) stripping line in with a size 20-22 bead-head zebra midge. We then moved just below this pool to a long stretch that was deep (maybe ~10 feet deep). I caught two ~12 inch browns nymphing on the bottom on a size ~20 midge with a red body and brown head. I tried a number of flies nymphing here before catching these two, i. e., sow bug, and silver spider described above, flash-back midges, mating midge dry on the bottom. We tried down lower on the stream where the earlier fishermen were gone, but with no luck. Just before we left I found 3 what looked like earth worms under a large rock with mud underneath it in a small side stream flowing into the main flow. May want to try a San Juan worm or similar pattern the next time.
We left about 4:00 pm.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. We saw a large sandhill crane and several ospreys. Last year the fish and game department released several otters into this part of the Provo River. We did not see any.
2. Weather was sunny and surprisingly warm before a small breeze picked up in the afternoon.
3. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2010 is $70 for a 1-year license. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.
4. Utah Legislature just passed a law in March 2010 that will restrict fishermen’s’ use of streams in the state if the streams run through private property. So far I see no impact of this law on fishing the ‘normal places’ we fish on the Middle Provo River.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah (MARCH 2011)
Fly Fishing the West
Vol. 23, Issue 1
March 10, 2011
Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah
Thursday, March 10, 2011—Alan and I arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 11:00 am at the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. The weather was sunny but cool. We hiked down from the trestle on the north side of the stream about ¼ mile to ‘half-moon bay’. I fished the rapids up top and Alan fished the slower tail-out downstream. No luck on a flash-back midge, mating-midge, sow bug. We then moved downstream to ‘Jason’s run’ which parallels the freeway just above us. We fished this ¼ mile stretch for about 3 hours with no bites, trying a myriad of different nymphs, egg patterns, and wet flies. Then, at about 4 pm I caught a brown trout about 13” long on a size 10 yellowish stonefly. I then caught two rainbow about 12-13” and then a 12’ brown. I then switched to a size 12 ‘silver spider’ (tied by Tyson—it is a long shaft hook wrapped with one layer of silver for the body with a thin, light-brown streaming hackle that ends just short of the bend in the hook. A really simple fly.) With this fly on I caught another brown and twelve more rainbow ranging from 9” to 12” in length. At the same time Alan caught several rainbows, one pretty fish about 14” long. We were both fishing on the bottom (I was nymphing with a strike indicator and Alan had a size 10 or 12 caddis-looking fly trailing about two-feet off of a large, black weighted streamer.)
This was a really odd day, having fished the Lower Provo for about 2 years now. We fished basically the same way, same place for about 4 hours without a bite, then in 1 ½ hours we caught about 24 fish, albeit not real big fish. This is my first time of fishing the Lower Provo and catching 1) so many fish and 2) nearly all small fish.
We left about 5:30 pm.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. One of the 12” brown trout I caught was just speckled all over with red and black spots. A pretty fish.
2. Weather was sunny and cold. I ended up with a mild sun-burn on my face and hands at the end of the day. A lot of reflection of the sun off the water and also old snow piled up along parts of the stream. Some places we sank in snow up to two feet hiking below the railroad trestle.
3. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2010 is $70 for a 1-year license. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.
4. Utah Legislature just passed a law in March 2010 that will restrict fishermen’s’ use of streams in the state if the streams run through private property. So far I see no impact of this law on fishing the ‘normal places’ we fish on the Lower Provo River.
Vol. 23, Issue 1
March 10, 2011
Lower Provo River, Provo Canyon, Utah
Thursday, March 10, 2011—Alan and I arrived at the Lower Provo River at about 11:00 am at the railroad ‘trestle’ about 5 miles below the Deer Creek Reservoir. The weather was sunny but cool. We hiked down from the trestle on the north side of the stream about ¼ mile to ‘half-moon bay’. I fished the rapids up top and Alan fished the slower tail-out downstream. No luck on a flash-back midge, mating-midge, sow bug. We then moved downstream to ‘Jason’s run’ which parallels the freeway just above us. We fished this ¼ mile stretch for about 3 hours with no bites, trying a myriad of different nymphs, egg patterns, and wet flies. Then, at about 4 pm I caught a brown trout about 13” long on a size 10 yellowish stonefly. I then caught two rainbow about 12-13” and then a 12’ brown. I then switched to a size 12 ‘silver spider’ (tied by Tyson—it is a long shaft hook wrapped with one layer of silver for the body with a thin, light-brown streaming hackle that ends just short of the bend in the hook. A really simple fly.) With this fly on I caught another brown and twelve more rainbow ranging from 9” to 12” in length. At the same time Alan caught several rainbows, one pretty fish about 14” long. We were both fishing on the bottom (I was nymphing with a strike indicator and Alan had a size 10 or 12 caddis-looking fly trailing about two-feet off of a large, black weighted streamer.)
This was a really odd day, having fished the Lower Provo for about 2 years now. We fished basically the same way, same place for about 4 hours without a bite, then in 1 ½ hours we caught about 24 fish, albeit not real big fish. This is my first time of fishing the Lower Provo and catching 1) so many fish and 2) nearly all small fish.
We left about 5:30 pm.
Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:
1. One of the 12” brown trout I caught was just speckled all over with red and black spots. A pretty fish.
2. Weather was sunny and cold. I ended up with a mild sun-burn on my face and hands at the end of the day. A lot of reflection of the sun off the water and also old snow piled up along parts of the stream. Some places we sank in snow up to two feet hiking below the railroad trestle.
3. Non-resident Utah fishing license for 2010 is $70 for a 1-year license. The annual license is good for the 365 days subsequent to the day it is purchased.
4. Utah Legislature just passed a law in March 2010 that will restrict fishermen’s’ use of streams in the state if the streams run through private property. So far I see no impact of this law on fishing the ‘normal places’ we fish on the Lower Provo River.
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