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Small streams close to the Wasatch Front |
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By Dave Webb (As published in Utah Fishing magazine) I enjoy exploring new country almost as much as I enjoy fishing. On many outings I do both at the same time. Now that's living! Of course, there's nothing wrong with fishing your favorite water over and over again. There is a lot of satisfaction in that activity. If your main goal is to catch fish you probably don't want to explore new country. Choose a productive section of the Provo, the Weber or the Green and fish there every week. Get to know the water, the rocks, the bugs and the fish. When you get to know a water, you have a much better chance of catching fish — particularly big fish. Other satisfactions come from exploring. The excitement of seeing beautiful scenery for the first time. The challenge of having to read a new water ... adapt to new fishing conditions with little advance preparation. To get away from the crowds, boldly fishing where few have fished before. I get a real thrill when I catch a spunky wild trout from a clear stream in a remote mountain setting where you don't hear the rumble of cars on the highway and you are more likely to see a deer than another fisherman. Utah offers a tremendous opportunity for this kind of adventure. There is some mighty good fishing waiting in back country streams and lakes. I always have a few trip ideas working around in the back of my mind, waiting for an opportunity. For example, sometime this summer or fall I would like to follow Gooseberry Creek down to Fish Creek and then into Scofield Reservoir. I would like to fish the Fremont River from the Grover Bridge down into Capital Reef National Park. And I would like to follow one of the many forks of the Duchesne River high up into the Uinta mountains. There are dozens of other remote areas which offer good fishing — waiting to be explored. I only listed a few which have caught my attention. These are major trips which require several hours of driving and at least an overnight stay. But you don't have to take a major trip satisfy a bit of your wanderlust. There are little known fishing opportunities close to the population centers but off the beaten paths. Places like the South Fork of the Provo or the many forks of the Ogden. Or the multitude of small lakes high up in the mountains around Salt Lake City. These are small waters in rugged areas. That's why they're little-known. You have to work to fish them. But they offer good fishing for people with a sense of adventure. For example, on June 26th I left work at 5 pm and just over a hour later I was hiking up a rugged canyon ready to battle a few cutthroats. This time of year you can fish until about 9 pm, if you dare hike back down the canyon in the dark. (I usually carry a small flashlight.) That means you can get in a good two or three hours of fishing any evening you choose, and still get 8 hours of sleep that night. On this outing I chose the Middle Fork of the Ogden — a stream new to me. It's a small but very fishable stream which comes out of a canyon to the northeast of Pineview. (Take SR 162 around the reservoir and through Eden. As you drive east the highway skirts an arm of the reservoir and then turns south. Don't turn. A country lane continues due east. Follow it until it's joined by another road and then head northeast up the canyon.) The canyon is closed to motor vehicles, even though a dirt road follows the stream up the canyon. It's a popular area for horsemen — groups go up the canyon virtually every night during the summer. But only a few fishermen venture into the area, and most of them fish the lower part of the river. So, of course, I skipped the lower part, hiking a mile or so up the road before I even put my rod together. The water in the stream is clear and the fish are wild and spooky. You've got to sneak up on the holes or you don't have a chance at catching fish. That's a challenge because the brush and rocks are thick in the canyon. I like to work my way upstream, stopping several yards below a hole. I then gently cast up to the top of the hole and let my fly or bait work down through the last riffle. (It's often right at the very bottom that a fish hits. If you are standing at the bottom or if you pull your line out too soon you blow the chance.) I caught small fish that day — 7 to 10 inch cutthroats. I saw larger fish in the water, but couldn't persuade them to bite. The farther up the canyon I got the better the stream looked. And, of course, the closer to dark the better the fishing. I'm glad there was a dirt road to hike down after dark. The South Fork of the Ogden divides into three streams above Causey Reservoir, and I've fished two of them. Again, they are small streams in rugged canyons which offer plenty of small cutthroats and a few larger fish. If you want to really get away from people, this is a good place to do it. The canyons are extremely rugged at times, then level out for some nice fishing opportunities. The South Fork of the Provo is bigger and easier to fish, mostly because a gravel road follows it for miles. I generally catch 8 to 12 inch rainbows and cutthroats there — but again there is always the possibility of catching a bigger fish. Take SR 35 east from Francis and then follow it up the canyon. I like to park at the Mill Hollow turnoff and fish upstream and downstream. There are a lot of beaver dams and large holes in this area. There are also a lot of willows and rose bushes, making it difficult to get around without wading the stream. (None of these streams are made for small kids). It is a bit of a challenge to cast flies in some areas along this stream because of the thick brush and trees. The fish readily take a well presented fly. This is also a good stream for spinners. I use an underhand cast and work the deeper parts of the beaver dams and holes. This area gets heavy dew. If you fish in the early morning the grass along the stream will be soaked, and so will you if you don't wear waders. Big and Little Cottonwood Creeks and Mill Creek provide good fishing for stocked catchables, if you get there shortly after the hatchery truck. They get a tremendous amount of fishing pressure because they are close enough to attract youngsters on bicycles. But above these canyons there are more than a dozen high mountain lakes which provide good fishing for people who don't mind a rigorous hike. The trails leading to these lakes attract a lot of hikers — particularly on weekends — but few fishermen. You will pass crowds as you start up the trails. But the higher you get the fewer the people. By the time you reach your destination lake you will be almost alone. I will talk more about the high mountain lakes at another time. |
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