Little Cottonwood Creek

[skrewflanders]

Decided to make the most of the little freetime that I had today and head up LCW since I've never fished up there before. I parked by the lower gate and trudged into the snow down to the creek. The water was gin clear and a little cold, I tied on a zebra midge and a thingamabobber. I'm very new to fly fishing and have only ever fished the Provo once, that was the total of my river/stream experience. I've watched a few videos and read a bit about it. I tried hitting the faster moving flows hoping one would be waiting to ambush my fly but to no avail. I worked my way up the creek, stopping at about every castable spot to see if I could get a hit or at least spook some into affirming my assumptions that were would indeed be fish in this icy water.

A ways up the creek I spook a trout out of a hold under some of the faster moving water between to smallish boulders. He was about 7" or so, and extremely slow moving. If I'd tried I'd probably been able to dip net him.

I was initially going to drive up to Midway and try to hit the Middle Provo but instead chose to go there so that was probably a waste other than the lesson to not venture back anytime soon...

I took some video and will upload soon when I get time.
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[Lech456]

Good on ya for trying something new. That goes for the LCW as well as fly fishing. I have had some luck up that canyon in the past and I really enjoy fishing the smaller streams. I'm definitely not the expert on this forum but it has been my experience that during the colder months, the fish tend to gather in the slower and deeper pools to winter. As you mentioned, they move super slow in the cold water and usually don't want to, or can't fight the faster moving water. The zebra midge was a great choice in my opinion but sometimes in very clear and smaller waters, a big strike indicator (like a thingamabobber) can spook the fish. You might have better luck with a small yarn indicator, or if the water is clear enough, you might be able to see your fly and just go without an indicator all together. When I have fished this stream in the past, I would use a tandem nymph rig with a bead head lead fly and a small midge trailer. I found that I could see the bigger nymph pretty well and would just watch that. It is a thrilling way to nymph fish that you can't really do on most bigger streams. Just start low and work your way up the stream, casting to likely spots. I wouldn't give up on the LCW. Maybe just adjust your approach a little.
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[skrewflanders]

Thanks for the advice, I might just give it another shot soon since its so close.
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[downed_Phly]

For what it's worth, I've always had better luck up BIG cottonwood canyon, vs little cottonwood. But you'll have a fair amount of ski-related traffic to deal with either way.
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