Our yard is under siege by robins and starlings today. I wonder what they are getting under the snow? I don’t imagine there are many worms out in 20F weather and we don’t have any berry bushes. I will post again if they start breaking through the windows like a Hitchcock movie! Better get the shotgun ready…
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I had a great outing today on the Lower Provo River in Provo Canyon, UT. It started off rather sketchy as the day was really snowy and I wasn’t sure if my 20 year old Honda Accord was up to the task, but I figured if I just took it easy I could get there without any issue. My usual 40 minute drive was more like 80 minutes, but once I got there I found I had the whole stretch to myself. I went to Vivian Park and fished up from the bridge. Given then weather I determined I would be nymphing. It was about 18-20 degrees Fahrenheit and a constant snow was falling. I had in mind to fish a fly I haven’t used in a while; a big, juicy cranefly larva pattern about size 6. I trailed it with a size 14 red fox squirrel nymph. For weight I used a BB size split shot and an 8 ft leader with 5x tippet. On my fifth cast of the day, I took a nice brown trout about 15 in long. It took to the air straight away after being hooked. Once I landed it, I could see that he had eaten the cranefly larva. Over the next 10 minutes minutes I landed two more fish both were mountain whitefish of decent size and both foul hooked. I think they were taking the cranefly and I was hooking them with the RFSN. The cranefly was big enough they couldn’t fit it in their tiny mouths. I hooked 3 or 4 more browns ranging from 11-14 inches and all on the cranefly. The fish of day had to be the 18 inch rainbow that was a healthy slab of a fish. Rainbows aren’t common fare on the Provo River and this one as a great fish. It took the RFSN. The fish was a beautiful shade of steel blues and lavenders. I had originally thought I was snagged when I hooked it but he eventually started moving and put up a pretty good fight.
By the time I hooked him I had run out of 5x tippet (I know, stupid) but had switched to 4x and it didn’t seem to be an issue and allowed me to play him a little harder. I took a couple more browns from the same long run and then moved up several hundred yards. The weather was getting colder so I called it a day. Not a bad way to spend 3 hours.
Some additional notes from the trip. I saw several american dippers, song sparrows, and a bald eagle flew over head through the snow. I also observed at least 2 fish feeding up on the surface but didn’t make the switch to dries. It was a fun trip. Enjoy the slide show.
A couple months ago I went fishing on the South Fork of the Snake River with my cousin. He brought along a killer addition for a snowy day, ThermaCare heat wraps for our lower backs. We happened to be fishing on one of the few snowy days in October. We were floating with a guide which usually means a lot of casting giant streamers. This tends to be pretty exhausting on my lower back now that I am getting old 
. The heat wrap kept me going all day without any problems and had the added benefit of providing some heat to my waders.
Last week I picked up a couple of boxes from Wal-mart since I knew I would be fishing today. I put one on before leaving my house and by the time I got to the river it was nice and toasty. After a few hours standing in the cold I was very thankful to have deployed my ThermaCare Lower Back Heat Wraps
Today while taking out the trash I spotted a flock of about 30 Cedar Waxwings sitting in my neighbor’s tree. I could hear their unmistakable winter whistling. Seems like the only time I ever see these birds is winter time and I can only spot them after hearing them. Despite their pretty splashes of color, they are pretty hard to spot in leafless trees against the winter sky. Nevertheless, I always enjoy seeing them when I can, from their crests, their buff colored bellies, paint tipped red flight feathers and similiarly yellow tipped tails, they are real beauties. Read more about them here: Cedar Waxwing.
Today we got a pretty good snow in the Salt Lake Valley. About 4-5 inches I would guess are on the ground at my house. I had to go run some errands tonight and it was pretty slow going, but got most of what I need to done. I am hoping to get out fishing next week after Christmas but snow doesn’t bother me too much. I recall one winter fishing outing where the outer fabric of my neoprene waders froze solid at the knees as I was standing in shallower water. I had to gingerly hobble back into the river to thaw the ice and then remembered to keep moving!