By Pat Ronneburg

Imagine my surprise when I dropped a size 12 hopper into a stream I could straddle and the trout that took the fly was so big and aggressive that it scared me into breaking off! Our friend Aaron Adams from Trout Bum 2 had told us that we were in for a big day on a very small creek on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains.  When I saw the “river” I thought that we had wasted our time hiking.  Was I ever wrong!  We caught many fish, some of good size, some smaller.  Many more fish than I had imagined a stream of that size could support—and yet, in the deepest pools, I could hardly get my knees wet.  Unfortunately, this is the part where if I reveal the name and location of the stream, those who know will come and skin me.  If you really want to know, you’ll have to call Trout Bum 2 and ask Aaron to take you there. 

Despite the fact that Utah is very arid—much of it desert—you will be able to find an abundance of water for fly fishing.  First, go to the nearest fly shop.  These guys and gals not only know the how-when-what-why-where of fishing our two most well-known and not-to-be-missed waters, the Green and the Provo rivers--they also know about many exciting lesser known waters.  Just ask!  If you choose to adventure away from the beaten path and fish some of these lesser known waters, you won’t have a typical Green/Provo cookie cutter trout day, see some extraordinary scenery plus catch fish plus (just maybe) and not be elbow-to-elbow with fellow anglers.  

Don’t get me wrong:  if you’re only here for a few days, be sure to fish the Provo and the Green.  They are world renown, Blue Ribbon trout waters for a reason—fishing these rivers is truly some of the best I’ve ever enjoyed.  In Dutch John, Flaming Gorge Resort is a full service facility including motel rooms, condos, convenience store, restaurant, a dandy fly shop, and great guides for fishing the Green!  Down the road, Red Canyon Lodge offers fine dining, luxury cabins and a whole world of outdoor recreation.  Sundance Resort near the Provo River offers elegance personified in lodging, dining and amenities.

Last summer, I made it a personal mission to fish at least one water each week that I had not visited before.  I began collecting advice, maps, and guidebooks to identify fishable waters that I didn’t know much about.  (I’ve included a list of reference materials at the end.) 

In early June, runoff was clouding the creeks and streams.  There are some great tail waters close to my home in Park City, but they receive a lot of pressure and I wanted to keep my promise to find new spots.  I decided to familiarize myself with the Uinta Mountains, about 30 minutes from where I live.  The Mirror Lake area has many small lakes with campgrounds that are easily accessible from the highway.  For the more adventurous, there are many more lakes in the backcountry that require some hiking and perhaps an overnight stay.  This is small lake fishing from non-motorized watercraft.  Because of the area’s close proximity to the Wasatch Front, weekends can get crowded.  Weekday pressure is less.  Some lakes have wild trout populations, some lakes winter kill, some are stocked, so check before you go to assure you end up where you intend to be.     

Runoff finished early - over by the first of July as we’d had an unusually dry winter.  I decided to check out the Bear River system on the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains.  The forks of the Bear are small meadow streams, but they hold an amazing number of very aggressive small brook trout.  In the flat areas, there are beaver dams and ponds.  I especially liked the Christmas Meadows area where the water was like a spring creek running through an open park of sagebrush and wildflowers.  There are summer homes there and I was surprised to find out how close I was to designated wilderness.  On the north slope of the Uintas, the streams flow into Wyoming so be sure to take a good map and know where you are.  You may want to buy a second fishing license to continue fishing the Bear as it winds further north and west.

Next stop was the south slope of the Uinta Mountains.  Aaron, from Trout Bum 2, told me that I would be on private land from time to time and also that most of the south slope rivers flowed across the Uinta and Ouray Indian Reservation.  It would be important to know where we were.  If we were on reservation land, it would require a special license (in addition to the Utah state fishing license) and in some places, a Reservation guide.  We needed to know before we got there and also be sure to follow all postings. 

After crossing Wolf Creek Pass on Highway 35 the first river we encountered was the Duchesne River.  The drive from Park City to the road junction for the North Fork of the Duchesne took us about 1-½ hours. Even though the river starts high in elevation, daytime temperatures in July and August can be quite warm.  We found that the best action was early morning or late afternoon.  We fished the North Fork above Defa’s Dude Ranch where the river is a small meadow stream in a beautiful rugged canyon and loaded with brook trout.  Further down thru Tabby valley there is well-marked public access off the main highway.  The river is still quite small here and it does flow across private land.  If you go here, be polite, tidy up and leave no trace.  And… don’t chase the cows!  If they move around, you’re probably too close.  In this section, the trout take on size and there are some bigger browns.  There was a prolific hatch the evening we were there. 

On another visit, we fished the Duchesne River tail water from Starvation Reservoir.  Releases were huge that day and fishing was disappointing.  I have it on good authority, however, that this part of the river holds some very good fish.  Again, parts of the river flow on the Reservation; if you go, be sure you know where you are.     

When the Duchesne below the dam didn’t pan out for us, we decided to move to Rock Creek.  We fished the stream on public land just as it enters the Reservation.  Early in the day, we used hoppers and attractor patterns with success on some feisty browns.  There was a nice hatch around sunset and top action was good on the ponds.  We also drove up the road and found several other fisherman access areas to Rock Creek.  The drive to the impoundment at the top of the canyon is paved all the way.  Another day, in a hurry to get to Rock Creek, I decided to drive from Hanna to the top of the canyon.  The dirt road was very rough, narrow, and steep--not a drive I would take a second time.  In retrospect, I’m sure it took longer to negotiate this evil little road than it did to go all the way ‘round almost into Duchesne and back up to Rock Creek through Mountain Home, a drive of about 2-½ hours. 

On another adventure to the South Slope, we decided to fish the Yellowstone River accessed via a long drive in on a choppy dirt road.  There is also a good amount of private land here that is well posted “No Trespassing”.  We came to the second public campground (which was completely deserted) and pulled in.  We saw a small impoundment below us.  There was a deck on a small island with a wood walkway for handicapped access.  And behold!  Rising trout!  We worked all the way around the little lake with best success at the north end where the creek came in.  Access to the river above and below this little lake was excellent.

In August, we took a trip to Dutch John, but not for our usual purpose of fishing the Green River. Our friend Mark, at Red Canyon Lodge, told us that we would be more likely to find some solitude if we fished some of the high mountain lakes, particularly Browne and Spirit.   We skipped Mark’s private lakes at the Lodge and got on the road early the next morning.  We did get a chance to wet a line at Spirit Lake and hooked up with a nice rainbow, but the weather had been threatening all day and by noon it was snowing!  Hard!  When the lightning and thunder started in earnest, we decided to head back for a nap.  Another great spot in this area is Jones Hole Creek.  Don’t get lost trying to find it!   

In September, I decided to stick closer to home, so in addition to fishing the Provo, I got off I-80 in Wanship to sample the Weber River.  The Weber is only 15 minutes from my house and I hadn’t fished it in years.  Shame on me!  Access is good in the valley between Wanship and Coalville, again all on private land.   I fished the river on a number of occasions and was rewarded with a goodly number of respectable brown trout.    

That’s just a tiny sample of the streams, lakes, and ponds, available for fly fishers in Utah.  Ask questions at the local fly shops and you may be surprised to find out how many lesser-known fishing spots you might otherwise miss in the part of Utah you’ve chosen to visit!

Reference materials:

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area Topographic Map, National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map

Utah Atlas & Gazetteer, Delorme Mapping

Utah Fishing Guide, Steve CookWasatch-Cache National Forest Map, USDA Forest Service