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I had a pretty slow day on the Provo today. I was hoping streamers would be effective but it was pretty slow. Pseudocleons were everywhere and the only thing that I had that could reasonably match them was a gray size 20 WD40. Put it on, and within the next few casts my reel was screaming with a huge rainbow on it.
Every time I got him close he would dart upstream again ripping out a bunch of line with him. By the time I got him close enough to net I realized my net was not big enough to catch him. I ended up having to beach him and race to get him back in the water. It seemed like he still had plenty of vigor when I released him, so hopefully the fight didn't take too much out of him.
He destroyed my only WD40, so I tried a sow bug for a bit and then left. He was the one and only fish I caught today. Still, I had to show it off, I haven't caught a fish this big on a fly rod in a long time.
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Nice Bow I was up the weekend before seems the flows are up quite a bit but same for me pretty slow most the day Used all the typical flies for the Provo I seen caddis flies every now and then but nada from the top. Bottom bounced a bh hares ear and was able to pull in a couple of 14 & 17inch browns but nothing of the size of your bow. Congratz !!!
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I'm used to bows over 20 inches resembling footballs in Utah streams I fish. It's not an overly thin fish but is that typical on the Provo? Most I catch are sterile triploids and thats probable got something to do with their growth pattern. Wonder if that a fertile diploid? Really nice bow regardless. My stream net has a 19- 20 inch opening. It really helps make quick work of landing bigger fish. Only problem with it is if you include it in the background with the fish it makes the fish look smaller than it is[laugh].
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That's a trophy fish in my book. Nice job! I love to hear about the fight that the picture fails to capture. How do you like your Orvis setup?
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It seems like the average size fish I get out of the Provo is about 14 inches, a nice one is around 17. I almost never get bows out of there. I'm sure I've caught over 100 fish in the Provo and I can only think of three rainbows. Every rainbow has been large and fat though.
Lech, I love my Orvis rod. I got the 10' 5wt access. I upgraded from a $100 Wild Water Fly fishing set up I got off of Amazon. The difference has been night and day. The only thing that upset me is that about a week after I bought the rod it went on sale for $150 off what I purchased it for.
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You got me beat hands down on the Provo. I think I can count on one hand the number of fish I have landed on that river, and to be honest I didn't even know there were rainbows in there. I have been using an okuma starter kit that I bought for my wife ever since my dad's old st. Croix I was using grew legs. I just ordered a TFO BVK but I was looking at the orvis stuff pretty hard. Im glad you like the rig and I hope my new rod brings the same kind of luck that yours has.
Lech
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I used to be in the same boat. I think I spent 50 or 60 hours on the Provo before I got a single fish, and then for a while I could only catch them on streamers. I did three things that really upped my ability to catch fish there.
1. I went with a guide on the Green and he helped me with a number of errors I was making as far as my technique is concerned. I think you would get more value out of a day with a good guide then you would with a new top of the line rod.
2. I read Dynamic Nymphing by George Daniels. I still suck at the euro stuff, but there is a lot of good advice regarding indicator fishing and flies in there.
3. I read an entomology book so that I could identify the bugs on the river. I can't remember the name of the one I read, but I think a lot of people recommend A Guide to Western Hatches.
Anyways, that took me from averaging one or two fish a trip to more like ten or fifteen. I've only been fly fishing a year and a half now and there are a lot of people with a lot more experience than me here.
I'd sure like to hear where this stream full of 20 inch bows is at though. [sly]
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That is all great advice. I actually just bit the bullet and hired a guide for a day up here, where I am now living, in Star Valley Wyoming. that was just a few weeks ago and it was money well spent for sure. We got onto some private waters, which was great, but I got to talk his ear off all day about all kinds of stuff and that was the real treat. Totally worth it. That is what pushed me over the edge to buy a new rod actually.
As to you other two points, the winters here are long and cold so I should have plenty of off season time to digest a few books and maybe even learn to tie a few flies that don't look like a half slaughtered chicken. Thanks for the advice.
To be honest, I can USUALLY do pretty well nymphing. that is how my dad taught me to fly fish growing up and I'm comfortable with it. What I am not comfortable with is streamer fishing. You said that you have had luck on the Provo with streamers and that kind of blew me away. When I went with that guide we spent some time streamer fishing in slow and deeper pools and had success. But now that I am out in the real world I have been throwing streamers and trying different techniques but I am struggling to be productive. By that I mean I haven't caught a damn thing. Talk to me about your techniques and favorite patterns.
As for the stream full of 20" bows, I can't help you with that. I have however come across a few honey holes with browns and cuttys here in my neck of the woods that I would be happy to share with you, if you decide to make the trek up to God's country.
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You probably know way more about fly fishing than me then. When you said you had only caught a handful of fish on the Provo I assumed you were having trouble with the river, which seems to be a common complaint. I wish my dad had taught me how to fly fish growing up.
As to the streamers, I think the biggest thing is just covering lots of water. Tom Rosenbauer hosts the Orvis podcast and he says if a fish doesn't take a streamer on the second cast it is not going to. So I usually just make sure I cover all the likely holes with two or three casts and then move upstream a few yards. It seems like 90% of takes occur on the swing, I'm not sure why. I vary my strip between short and jerky and long and slow until I see what they are biting on that day.
I'll take you up on your offer if I find myself up in Wyoming.
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Make no mistake, I do have trouble with the Provo. I am totally intimidated when someone wants to fish the Provo. Thanks for the advice on the streamers. I watched the streamer videos on the Orvis website and they were helpful. I am determined to fish streamers until I become proficient. If you do make it up this way you should shoot me a PM, I would love to show you what I have found. Thanks again!
LECH
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