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Fly fishing in the winter is a blast. It's probably one of my favorite times of year to get out and fling flies, to be honest. The crowds thin out, the rivers are slower and more manageable, and the fish seem to be just a bit more feisty as well.
Of course, fly fishing in the winter means battling snow storms and the occasional flurry of ice, but those are small prices to pay for the glory of fly fishing.
That’s the funny thing about fly fishing - it’s so addicting that once you’ve been hooked (pardon the unforgivable pun) you’ll brave almost any weather condition to go get a line wet. You’ll even brave the wrath of your wife for skipping out on the honeydo list when it’s only half done.
Now, if you’d like to tap into the awesome world that is winter fly fishing, you’ll need to know a few of the basics: where to fish, what patterns to use, and how to stay warm. We’ll delve into a few of the best places to experience winter fly fishing in Utah, flies that are proven to work there, and how to not freeze to death while doing it.
The Provo River
Species - brown trout, rainbow trout, rocky mountain whitefish
Flies - egg patterns, sow bugs, black zebra midges, BWO emergers, caddis emergers
The Provo is the most popular fly-fishing water in the Salt Lake area. Hardly any other river in the state receives as much pressure as the stretch of water from the Deer Creek Dam down to the Olmstead Diversion Dam in Provo Canyon.
While the Provo does suffer from overfishing at times, and can be a very crowded place, it keeps drawing anglers back due to its abundance of large brown and rainbow trout. This fish are incredibly seasoned, so only the perfect drift will do.
Nymphs are most effective on this river, and my personal favorite rig is a BWO emerger with a sow bug tied onto the shank of the BWO hook onto about 8 inches of 5x tippet. Add weight to get the rig down lower in the water column if needed.
The Green River
Species - brown trout, rainbow trout
Flies - egg patterns, scuds, San Juan worm, midges, stonefly emergers
The Green is probably the most fished river in the state of Utah. Boasting trout populations of anywhere between 10-15,000 fish per mile, it’s no wonder the Green demands such attention from fly fishermen. Oh, that and the amazing scenery the Green offers.
If the fish on the Provo are seasoned, the fish in the Green are the equivalent of a mother-in-law coming to visit her daughter-in-laws house - nothing is quite good enough.
That may be a slight exaggeration, but it takes everything a fisherman has in order to convince Green River fish to bite - unless you happen to be caught in the middle of a legendary Green River hatch.
Strawberry River
Species - brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout
Flies - any emerger patterns, streamers
The Strawberry River may be the state’s best little-known fishery. The section above the famed Strawberry Reservoir is a great stretch to fish, and during the winter when all the attention is on the ice fishing at the Berry, the Strawberry River serves as a great way to get out of the crowds.
You’ll find a lot of success on this river with rigs similar to the Provo - small, dull-colored emerger patterns with a scud tied below it. This rig is money on the Provo, and even more so on the Strawberry.
The Strawberry’s fish aren’t very big, but the point of fishing isn’t always to get big fish. I think the scenery on the Strawberry is second to none in the state, and during the winter, it’s a great place to go and get away from the crowds.
Winter fly fishing is a blast. Do yourself a favor and get out this winter and experience it!
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