Mid Winter Fly Fishing Or Blue Bird Days Still Water Fishing For Trophy Rainbow Trout & Tiger Trout In Utah

Blue Bird Winter Fishing Days Are Here & I Am Ready

It's 7:09 a.m. Friday February 11th 2011 and I am going fly fishing in a couple of hours with my best Friend and fellow guide Ralf.  Ralf likes to sleep in and fish during bankers hours in the late morning after the sun is well into the almost mid day sky and the black midge hatches are starting to stir the clear open waters of the still waters where we fish for trophy tiger and rainbow trout.  We stay near Salt Lake City & Park City in the lower altitudes where the open waters don't freeze and the tiger and rainbow trout are big and feisty.

Most people write about the great day they have had fishing....to be truthful, I am like a kid on Christmas ever and just couldn't sleep any longer.  So to kill some time before I head out I am writing about some preparation work I've completed to make this day a success.  But just so you don't get too bored I have attached some great pictures taken in the past three weeks of fly fishing in Tooele County Utah at Dove Creek West located on the Hogan Ranch and home to Trophy Trout School.

Roaring Tiger Trout with kipe jaw and huge teeth holding a small chironomid in his lower jaw.

 Get The Equipment Clean

Getting ready took longer than I thought, mainly because I haven't stopped fishing this past summer, fall and winter to clean up my fly boxes and get organized.  So I began by washing the many layers of dirt and mud off my 9 1/2 foot fly rod and and bathing the reel and floating fly line in a warm bathtub of clean water....no I was not in the tub with my equipment.  I had a shower earlier.  Anyway after removing all the line on my reel I opened it up and scoured out he the mud and dust from the past year.  Yes there was mud from falling into some slippery spots on the bank a few times.  I used a clean rag to run the run back onto the reel and does it ever shine.  Now rod and reel are ready for the giant trout the next step is preparing the fishing vest and flies.

Giant Winter Rainbow Trout solid red bars on his side starting to stage for Spring Spawn.

Get Those Flies In Order & Ready To Tie On 

Fishing vest unloaded and sent to the washer, organize all the flies in the 8 double sided floating boxes I always have close by in the trusty vest.  Clean the flies by removing left over tippet that I didn't take time to clear after using them sometime in the past year.  It is a pain to grab just the right fly and find you have to stop and clean the eye before you can tie it on..

Giant Winter Spawning Buck Tiger Trout At Trophy Trout School In Full Orange & Red Colors, Note The Kipe Jaw

Get Your Go To Flies Ready & Check My Hatch Chart

Dry the vest and organize the gear in your pockets so you know where each item is located.  My fly boxes are arranged dries on one side and nymphs on the reverse side located on my right hand outside pocket.  This is my go to side, yes I am right handed.  Left side is streamers, leeches, muddlers, sculpins, chironomids, terrestrials, scuds, sow bugs etc... the secret to winter fly fishing is to be prepared with every fly you may need to have a successful day of catching and not just fishing.  Take a look at my year round hatch chart at. http://sites.google.com/site/trophytroutschool/fly-hatch-chart

Sweet Monster Winter Rainbow Trout On A Cold Day With The Winter Snow Melted At First Thaw 

Ready To Go And All Gear Is At The Door 

This includes boots for the mud, extra drinking water bottles and some snacks to enjoy while I am catching trophy trout.  For more photos check out the website at http://www.trophytroutschool.com/

After The First Winter Thaw The Snows Came Again But What A Perfect Setting For Still Water Fly Fishing

One last parting shot of a buck tiger trout in full winter spawn colors in the net ready to be released.

I will post some current photos of today's fishing along with some videos ....now get out there and do some winter blue bird fishing yourself.

Winter Fly Fishing Secrets For Catching Utah Trophy Trout Part 2

Secrets For Catching Trophy Trout Part 2



As fly fishing guides in Utah we like to show our fly fishing clients a really good time catching huge tiger and rainbow trout. We accomplish a quality fly fishing trip by taking our clients to the best trophy trout producing waters in Utah. In fact these waters are close to Park City, Heber City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, Orem, Bountiful, Layton Utah on a private family owned ranch in Tooele County, Utah. I will share this location at the end of this blog. Tooele county spring creek properties located at Dove Creek West @ Hogans Ranch always offers great success for all levels of fly fishing skills by providing the ultimate quarry of huge trout offering both massive Tiger Trout and extreme Rainbow Trout for your fly fishing pleasure.

Photo 3 Lb. "+" Rainbow Trout Caught Fly Fishing Close to Salt Lake City Utah

Our last article on fly fishing secrets a couple of months ago spoke about selecting the correct location and the correct fly for your outing in search of the elusive giant rainbow trout or tiger trout of a 1,000 casts.

Now I will address proper fly selection and the best presentation of the fly. To catch the elusive trophy trout you need to be open minded and remember these big boys get big by being selective of what they eat and where they hide.

Sometimes The Right Fly Is The Right Pattern, But The Wrong Size Or Color Combination.Big Flies don't necessarily mean you will catch trophy size fish. The majority of the insects your target fish eat are really quite small in size. I have caught many trout in the 4,5 & 6 pound class on flies in the #20-#26 hook range. When using flies this small you have got to have some good steel that won't break or bend too easily, so buy the best hooks available for this task. You must also have your drag ready for the heavy load, not too tight and not too loose, because if you try to "horse" a big fish the hook, leader, tippet or knot is going to "give" and your fish of a lifetime will be gone forever.
Make That Knot Tight!!!
Speaking of knots, a quick note: I use a Duncan not that goes through the eye of the hook "twice" creating a super strong connection point between the line, hook and the most important factor in knots that slip, the tag end. The double loop created by the Duncan assures the angler of virtually "0" slippage of the tag end, which is disaster when you hook a big trophy. If you don't currently use the Duncan, look it up on the Internet and start using it. You will be glad you did. In closing, the knot is really fast and easy to tie with plenty of knot strength.
Photo Trophy Rainbow Trout Caught Fly Fishing In Tooele County, 4 Lb. "+"

Match Fly Colors With The Correct Presentation Back to proper fly selection. A few weeks ago at the start of the winter trout spawning run I started throwing a standard leech pattern in a small #20 nymph hook but changed my colors to a black marabou tail with a pinch of bright orange marabou for the body with black thread for the thorax and head. Nothing really spectacular, in fact a pretty bland and simple pattern to tie. I selected the colors of black and orange to contrast each other and to add some flair with the orange similar to a brook trout coloring. But the pattern needed a good presentation. I opted for a non standard leech retrieve.
Whip it, Whip it Good...

The presentation I used was similar to casting and retrieving a streamer or small minnow. The nice color combination with the orange and black creates some of the same color as a spawning Brook and Tiger Trout. The presentation worked! I was ripping lips in the first 2 or 3 casts and landed some nice 4 and 5 pound tiger trout. As I moved up and down the stream things seemed to cool off and I quickly switched to another color combination. Same pattern, a leech, but this time with a olive green marabou tail and orange marabou for the body and of course olive green thread for the thorax and head. Simple, same streamer presentation and wham! I nailed two really nice 3 pound rainbows in less than 15 minutes! Not bad considering the majority of the time was spent playing the fish and trying to get them to the net. These big boys run like a freight train when they feel the bite from my steel.

Share The Wealth With Others
Photo Big 4 Lb Winter Rainbow Caught fly fishing Near Salt Lake City

Now my buddy wanted in on the action and of course (he was tired of just netting my big brute trout) I shared my collection of various colors as well as the presentation. He quickly tied on the olive green and orange pattern and started nailing the trophies. About 6 fish later we were kicking back and laughing about how many times we have failed to experiment with various colors on an old standard pattern and vowed to keep experimenting with both color and presentation.

Advantage Of Tying Your Own Flies Or Not...
If you tie your own flies you can have all the crazy color variations you want, if you don't tie your own. Find a fishing buddy who does tie and you will always have a great selection. That's why my buddy always goes fishing with me. I tie and he shares in the wealth.

Tooele County Location For Giant Rainbow Trout & Tiger Trout...

As I promised at the start of this blog I will share the greatest trout fishing location near Salt Lake City, which is located near Tooele.

Visit our website for additional winter photos and fly fishing information!


http://trophytroutschool.com


Talk with you soon.

All_Tied_Up

(my fly box is always full and ready to go)