Friendly...Mr. Brown Trout

So, last Saturday, I got my fill of fly fishing... Here are some questions for you...What is "Friendly Fishing"???  Is it the fish, is it the conditions (water clarity/bugs), or is it the people fishing next to you?  Or all of the above...?  

The Provo River

Scoreboard:  Sat. Sept. 3rd

Fish Caught ~                    Big Cottonwood  4      Provo  1

Responses to "hello" ~      Big Cottonwood  2      Provo  0

Clear crystal water ~         Big Cottonwood  3      Provo  2       

Bug life/hatches ~             Big Cottonwood  2      Provo  2

Total points:                      Big Cottonwood 11     Provo  5        

 Note:  These results might not reflect a typical day on these rivers...just Sept. 3rd, 2011 for RD.

I decided to divide up my day on Saturday...getting on the Provo at 7:30 am and fishing there until 10:30 am.  Then, I went home for lunch and took a nap...left for Big Cottonwood and fished there from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  I have started to really enjoy the different type of water around me.  I have always fished on "bigger" water until recently.  But, there is something to say about the "small" water which is a whole different game. 

 THE PLAYERS:                                                                                 

   

Mr. Brown Trout - Provo River  - Sorry, the picture doesn't do the brownie justice.  He is kind of on the bottom of the net and my shadow didn't help the cause!!  Then, he flipped out when I lifted him out... But, you still get the picture...A nice 15 in brown trout...probably the average size you get on this river.  The one thing that disturbed me at the Provo was the noses up in the air were from the fisherman, not the fishes!  I am the friendly type...always giving a quick nod or a hello as I pass people on the path...but, for some reason, I was not getting any "hello's" back.  Maybe the moon wasn't aligned the night before...dunno.





Mr. Mini Brown Trout - Big Cottonwood Creek  - One thing that amazes me is that small fish seem to like large flies!  I started putting on midges and small dries when getting introduced to the Big Cottonwood which is the small creek coming down from Brighton/Solitude ski resorts into the Salt Lake Valley.  And then, I put on some 14-16 size nymphs, to see if a larger fish might appear...and guess what?  Yep, a 8 in brown trout took it... : )  Oh well...and that brought up the question about small fish and large flies and why they go after them?

Here is a picture that was posted by John Dollar of Seven Bridges Road, in reponse to my question on Google +...epic!  A very agressive little fingerling of a fish!  The fly is almost as big as the fish!!

 

My friendly river of last week was the Big Cottonwood Creek...as small and windy as it is, it was full of friendly fish, bugs and those who resonded with a simple "hello"...

So, Big Cottonwood won this round...Even with some dirt and grime...I had a heck of a good time!

(The back of my pants were a little muddy too, imagine that!)

Not falling...just sitting with my netted friends...silly me. : )

Yep, this nice size brown in a small creek has me thinking that a 7-8 ft. rod is in my future...

 Friendly...Mr. Brown Trout.  It's him that really matters on the river anyway.