The Lower Lower Provo

My first fly fishing trip of the year proved to be a comedy, frustrating, but still fun.

We chose to fish the Lower Lower Provo (the section between Bridal Veil Falls and the mouth of the canyon). That portion of the river doesn't get much respect, doesn't attract nearly as many fishermen, and I was out to prove it is home to a good number of nice brown trout.

Down there the number of fish per mile isn't as high as on the famous fly and lure only section, and there aren't as many big fish, but it can offer decent action without the crowds found upstream. I've fished the canyon mouth several times and had good trips.

But this time the comedy hit quickly, as started to get into my gear. It seems that I've put on a few pounds since I last used my waders. They were tight - very tight. I squirmed in and waddled down to the stream, vowing to start walking off winter flab.

When I opened my fly box I discovered that all of my nymphs were missing. All of them. I have no idea where they went. My daughter probably "organized" my stuff for me.

Nothing was happening on the surface and so I tied on a black woolly bugger. No go. I found a glo bug and tried it, without success. A hares ear, pheasant tail or sow bug might have enticed fish. Without them, my fly rod was not an effective tool.

My companion Kevin, bouncing worms along the bottom, caught several nice fish. The biggest was about 14.5 inches. Not great but respectable.

I love to use the fly rod but I'm not a purist. If it isn't working, I'm happy to try something else. But I couldn't bring myself to use worms. I fished a Rapala for a few minutes and a 10-inch brown kept the skunk away.

A chilly wind blew off and on. When the wind died down the air felt almost warm and conditions weren't bad

So, I survived the ice-breaker trip. I'll get out again within a week or two, and I'll make sure I have my stuff together.

- Dave