Drove to Utah to drop my kid off at the University of Utah to begin his college years and got a chance to fish with a guide to the headwaters of the upper Weber river located near Peoa, UT.
This was my second trip to Utah with the same guide - first trip was nymphing for monster browns where I caught a ton on the lower Weber. See previous trip report post for some huge monster brown pictures.
But this time I asked my guide if I can try dry fly fishing.
I have NEVER ever tried dry fly fishing because every river I have encountered everywhere else have been subsurface (steelhead, salmon, perch, bass, trout, mackerel, etc...).
Now to add a wrinkle, I asked my guide if I can use my switch rod (2 handed) for dries.
First he said the rod might be too long.
Then I countered and said my G Loomis rod is 10'6" while his Sage VXP single hander was 10' - only half a foot different.
Second he said dry lines w/ tapered leaders only - I said sure - OPST Commando and Airflo Rage heads w/ tapered leaders.
Finally he could not find a reason to deny me. So he took me along with another guide on his staff along who knows a lot more about spey fishing.
An hour drive from Salt Lake City, we reached a private ranch near the Smith Morehouse area and fished all day.
It was a blast to see PMX, Purple Haze, Chernobyl ants, and foam hoppers being eaten off the top of the water from my 2 hander.
Caught tons of small brook trout, beautiful cutthroat, and a few rainbows. Did not get the full grand slam: Arctic grayling or Tiger trout.... Next time!
Most of the time to cast the waters, I had to single hand it but I also had times where I had to "reach" over current seams to the opposite bank and land the fly upstream without a false cast.
My guide was surprised at how good the 2 handed rod worked on "small waters". My idea of "small waters" would be a ditch, canal or a trickle of water. I considered the water I fished more like a river (30-40 feet across).
The Airflo Rage line worked the best - landed lightly like a scandi line but cut through the wind easily. OPST Commando head casts well but lands very heavy due to the chunky nature of the short head.
Some pictures:
This was my second trip to Utah with the same guide - first trip was nymphing for monster browns where I caught a ton on the lower Weber. See previous trip report post for some huge monster brown pictures.
But this time I asked my guide if I can try dry fly fishing.
I have NEVER ever tried dry fly fishing because every river I have encountered everywhere else have been subsurface (steelhead, salmon, perch, bass, trout, mackerel, etc...).
Now to add a wrinkle, I asked my guide if I can use my switch rod (2 handed) for dries.
First he said the rod might be too long.
Then I countered and said my G Loomis rod is 10'6" while his Sage VXP single hander was 10' - only half a foot different.
Second he said dry lines w/ tapered leaders only - I said sure - OPST Commando and Airflo Rage heads w/ tapered leaders.
Finally he could not find a reason to deny me. So he took me along with another guide on his staff along who knows a lot more about spey fishing.
An hour drive from Salt Lake City, we reached a private ranch near the Smith Morehouse area and fished all day.
It was a blast to see PMX, Purple Haze, Chernobyl ants, and foam hoppers being eaten off the top of the water from my 2 hander.
Caught tons of small brook trout, beautiful cutthroat, and a few rainbows. Did not get the full grand slam: Arctic grayling or Tiger trout.... Next time!
Most of the time to cast the waters, I had to single hand it but I also had times where I had to "reach" over current seams to the opposite bank and land the fly upstream without a false cast.
My guide was surprised at how good the 2 handed rod worked on "small waters". My idea of "small waters" would be a ditch, canal or a trickle of water. I considered the water I fished more like a river (30-40 feet across).
The Airflo Rage line worked the best - landed lightly like a scandi line but cut through the wind easily. OPST Commando head casts well but lands very heavy due to the chunky nature of the short head.
Some pictures:
