Night Fishing Trip (Thursday, Nov 19 5 - 11pm)

When: November 19th 5pm
Where: Vivian Park
Meeting Place: Vivian Park Parking Lot

Remember the largest browns hunt at night.

Preparation For Winter Fishing

While fishing today, I couldn't help but think how miserable it is to fish while you can't even feel your face because of the cold. To help you make it through this cold winter, I have put together a few tips for winter fishing.

Right now, most people are thinking about stuffing their face with turkey. Trout are thinking about feasting on Blue Wing Olives (BWO) and Midges. In fact, these two bugs may be the only consistent insects hatching in late fall and throughout the winter. An understanding of these insect’s lifecycle can help you catch fish by knowing how trout feed.

Blue Wing Olives (BWO)

Olive's, which are a type of mayfly, tend to hatch in droves during the fall and early winter months, usually when the weather is cloudy and rainy. Eggs hatch into young nymphs that migrate to the underside of a submerged rock where they mature and grow in size. The nymph then makes a run to the surface of the stream after hatching from the egg. While at the surface, the insect emerges from its nymph shuck and ‘stands’ in the surface film to dry its wings in what is known as the ‘Dun’ stage. The BWO will crawl onto streamside vegetation and completely shed its nymph shuck, mate, and lay eggs. At this stage, they are known as ‘Spinners’ and are recognized by their transparent wings. After laying eggs, the dying mayflies lay on the water, with their wings flat. This cycle is completed in one day and sometimes lasts only a few hours. BWO nymphs, emergers, and dries can periodically work very well.
Midges

Midges are very important to trout in the long, cold, lifeless winters. People often mistake these bugs with common mosquitoes because both are extremely similar in size shape and lifecycle. Midges will hatch even below freezing, thus giving the trout a constant food source throughout the winter. The life cycle of a midge is a little different than BWO. For one thing, they have a larval stage where they bury themselves in the riverbed, usually in a slower, calmer section of the stream. After this stage, they transform into pupae and swim to the surface. This is their most vulnerable stage where trout will happily pick them up before they even make it to the surface. The insects that make it to the top will hatch into adults. While midges can range from size 20-8, your common midges are going to be very tiny. Griffith's Gnats, Midge Dries, and Midge Clusters are perfect flies for the adult stage, while Disco Midges and Zebra Midges are great for the larval and pupil stages.

Angler Etiquette for Spawning Redds

Redds' are areas carved out in shallow sand and gravel beds where the females lay their eggs. To ensure that brown's repopulate proportionality each year we must all do our part. Here are two great tips to know and pass along to other anglers.

Avoid wading in or near the redds

Stepping in an active redd should be avoided because it drastically reduces the chance of the eggs maturing. Even though a small portion of the redd may be damaged, there is no guarantee that the host fish will return to protect the eggs.

Fish for trout that are downstream of the redd

If you do decide to fish in the vicinity of a spawning redd, be selective. Generally speaking, feeding trout will pod below a redd. These fish are relying on water currents to dislodge eggs as well as other foods. The consumption of dislodged eggs play an important role in a trout's pre-winter feeding cycle. Focus fishing efforts towards these feeders as opposed to the trout that are actually on the redd.

Fishing Trip (Friday, Nov 11 - 2pm)

Where: Lower Provo Possibly Middle

Meeting Place: Vivian Park

We had a great time other than the fact that we suffered semi-frost bite on our fingers.
Fishing tip - wear gloves with the fingers cut out.

The spawn is looming!

We are beginning to see that the browns are starting to make redds. This is and a great sign that the spawn is almost upon us. During this time, brown's lose some of their caution and move into shallow riffles above or below pools looking for redds. This is the time of year when we get even with the super selective browns in heavily fished sections of the Provo; they don’t act the same when the spawning instinct kicks in. Now is the time to get out and catch a ton!

Fishing Trip (Saturday, Nov 7 - 10am)

Where: Lower Provo River
Meeting Place: Vivian Park

We had a great time. Our success came from blue wing olive nymphs & emergers, eggs (i.e. glow bugs) and sow bugs. 

Here are a few pictures from our day!

Streamer Techniques

Streamer flies are created to resemble small minnows, such as chubs, darters, and sculpins. However, since the browns have become extremely territorial, use larger streamers with unnaturally colorful tails. The trout will then look at the bait as more of a trespasser and might actually attack it. Contrasting colors as well as flashier colors do a better job of attracting fish.

If the area of the river is fast moving, you might want to choose a lighter streamer so fly can skim just underneath the surface. In slower moving waters, you should use flies that are heavier, so you can concentrate on the dark pockets and pools along the banks and closer to the bottom. Using a sinking leader can make this much easier. As you strip your fly after casting, try to present the fly broad side in front of the fish. Make sure to use a lower pound test (i.e. 3x or lower) because it is not uncommon for strikes to snap your line. Low light conditions are the best for streamers btw.

Streamer fly fishing is definitely the most exciting way to fish for us. There isn’t much guesswork in determining whether a fish has actually taken the bait. If the fish is going to strike, it will strike almost immediately.

Brown Trout Spawn Season

During the months of November and on into early December as the water level and air temperature begins to drop, Provo's brown trout will be preparing for their yearly spawn. Males are becoming more territorial which means streamers will do progressively well.