First Trip in Utah

[aggieflyfisher]

Howdy all,

I'll be heading to Utah for the first time Jul 5 - Jul 10. Really looking forward to it. Currently, my wife has agreed to backpack in with me for an overnight fishing trek - we were planning on going to Grandaddy Basin in the Uintas due to its reputation as more easily accessible (don't have time to fish if you hike 10mi in on a overnighter) and plenty of fish. This will also be her first time to fly fish.

Does this sound like a good fit to y'all? We will do the hike Wednesday/Thursday, so hopefully it won't be as crowded as normal.

Also, the reason we are in the area is for a wedding in Park City that weekend. After backpacking I was hoping to hit some streams/lakes in the Wasatch. We will be staying in Solitude. Pretty clueless as to where to go in that area and would love to hear suggestions.

Thanks!
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[richyd4u]

Hit the Middle and Lower Provo River while you are in that area...great stretches.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

I assume that you are an experienced backpacker, so I don't need to warn you (and the Mrs.) that the biting insects are quite intense this time of year at 10,000 feet? Seriously, the Uintas are breathtakingly beautiful... prepping for the bugs will enable you to enjoy all of that as well as the fishing. []

Quick hitter from Park City? Hard to go wrong with the Middle Provo River this time of year. Plan to fish it mid-morning thru mid-afternoon and you should see PMDs, Green Drakes, Yellow Sally's, and even a few Black Quills and Pink Albert's.

Check out this link to access points... find the one just south of River Road (north of Heber)... good fishing here throughout this time of year. [url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/brwaterbody.php?id=32"]http://wildlife.utah.gov/...rwaterbody.php?id=32[/url]
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[aggieflyfisher]

Yes, experienced backpacker and been game planning on how to combat the bugs for some time now. Still don't have a better idea than high concentration deet and just sucking it up for the couple days at that altitude.

Thanks for the pointer on the Provo. Is that easily fishable for beginners as well? This will hopefully be the trip that gets the wife hooked... [cool]
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[Lonnie]

If you are staying at solitude, you can go right over the top of guardsmans pass from brighten this time of year. Nice drive and it will drop you right into midway and the middle provo drainage (save you a lot of driving.) Locals should be able to direct you.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

[quote aggieflyfisher]

Still don't have a better idea than high concentration deet and just sucking it up for the couple days at that altitude.

[/quote]

Early/mid June is peak mosquito season in the Uintas. When I fish there I prepare accordingly:
- Wide brim hat (good idea anyway to keep the sun off your ears/neck) makes a nice platform to support one of those fine mesh bug screens around your head.
- Long sleeve shirt... one of those light fabric, fishing shirts.
- Off brand fan-type repeller. Fresh batteries and a fresh refill clipped to your backpack or fishing vest completes the force field. [laugh]


[quote aggieflyfisher]

Thanks for the pointer on the Provo. Is that easily fishable for beginners as well? This will hopefully be the trip that gets the wife hooked... [cool]

[/quote]

Yes, tons of trout actively feeding and any half decent nympher should be able to land 15-20 fish in an afternoon.

Set your wife up as follows; 9ft 4X leader/tippet... #14 red Copper John... 5X tippet off the eye to a #16 PMD Barr Emerger (about 12-15 inches apart). Fish this in knee to thigh deep runs below riffles (about 5 FT below a strike indicator) and she will clean up.

Keep an eye out for the Green Drakes... #12 bright olive Comparadun Sparkle Dun will dupe 'em.
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[aggieflyfisher]

[quote Joe_Dizzy]

Early/mid June is peak mosquito season in the Uintas. When I fish there I prepare accordingly:
- Wide brim hat (good idea anyway to keep the sun off your ears/neck) makes a nice platform to support one of those fine mesh bug screens around your head.
- Long sleeve shirt... one of those light fabric, fishing shirts.
- Off brand fan-type repeller. Fresh batteries and a fresh refill clipped to your backpack or fishing vest completes the force field. [laugh]

[/quote]

I assume you mean early/mid July? Just clarifying. If that is the case should I reassess my mosquito defense? Not desirable but definitely better than mosquito that can overpower deet! []

Thanks for all the pointers... very helpful to come here!
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[Joe_Dizzy]

Sorry about the confusion. I should have expanded upon that... early/mid June is peak mosquito season in the Uintas. They tail off as summer progresses and are nearly non-existent once we are well into August.

So the good news (for you) is that they may not be as big a nuisance as I make them out to be by the time your trip rolls around. []

Best to be prepared though. The wide-brim hat and long sleeve light shirt are good ideas regardless of the insect prospects (UV index above 8000 feet is extremely high), and the head net weighs nothing and crumples into the size of a ping pong ball when not used.

I should have mentioned as well; if you're a fly tier, good assortment for the Uintas are scuds in sizes 12-16, Rickards' Stillwater Nymph and Callibaetis Nymph, Mity Mouse, and various terrestrial-type dry flies. Ants especially... the weakness of all alpine dwelling trout.
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[aggieflyfisher]

[quote Joe_Dizzy]

I should have mentioned as well; if you're a fly tier, good assortment for the Uintas are scuds in sizes 12-16, Rickards' Stillwater Nymph and Callibaetis Nymph, Mity Mouse, and various terrestrial-type dry flies. Ants especially... the weakness of all alpine dwelling trout.[/quote]

Not a fly tier (yet), but yet but heard that several of those were good... especially the ants. Any particular recommendations on rigging these?

Thanks again. So helpful.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

I usually fish'em in tandem… larger/heavier fly on a short dropper, smaller/lighter fly about 2ft behind on a lighter tippet. Cast, count it off a bit… short strip/pause retrieve. Mix it up until you hit that magic combo of flies and presentation. I almost always start out with a scud early/late in the day. This is when scuds are most active and cruising trout in the high country will rarely pass them up.

Regarding ants I prefer a slow sinking pattern actually… I'll fish them on a 24-30" dropper, light tippet tied to the hook of a large (dry) terrestrial pattern.

I should have mentioned leech and wooly bugger patterns as well… they all have their days when fish won't stay off of them. Long slow strip pause retrieve is good for starters. Then again, mixing it up until you hit the combo is normal.
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[_6x_]

If Joe Dizzy had a flying fishing blog, I would follow that blog closely!
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