Category Archives: Wild Trout Streams

Utah Trout, Wild Trout Streams

Prospecting Big Trout – Small Streams

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This is the Part Two installment of MKFF’s Utah Fourth of July adventure; Part Three, Lapping the C, will be available later on in the week, including all of the pictures.

This blog entry is informational in nature; stream locations and identities are disguised to protect the innocent.

Matt and Sam Prospect a Long Run

During the long hot summer, mountain streams remain cool, clear, and filled with beautiful Trout.

First Trout in Utah 2012

Reading the Water

As opposed to large streams and rivers, Trout residing in small mountain streams have less food sources available to them. Fortunately, this makes them especially inclined to eat a Hopper-Dropper combo.  The Trout we were chasing after like to hold in several key locations:

  • Head or Tail of Pools
  • Deep Undercut Banks
  • Long Runs
  • Behind Large Rock Obstructions

What to Throw

There are several combinations that seem to work well on small streams. Small general nymph patterns similar to the Hare’s Ear, Pheasant Tail, and the Gunslinger work very well. I prefer to prospect with a Foam Ant or Hopper, with one of the aforementioned flies as a dropper.

Matt Gets His Skunk Out

Another nice option; is a Woolly Bugger or a small streamer. I used a Coffee and Black Bugger, which I spun up heavily weighted with lead. My small streamer of choice is always the Black Nosed Dace and/or the Mickey Finn.

Now That Is The Fish We Are Here To Catch

Success

A bad day Fly Fishing is better than a good day at work.  Simply being out in the back country is enough to disengage and enjoy the scenery. Throw in a few 18 inch Trout, and Matt, Sam, and I had a great time.

18 Inch German Brown on Hopper Dropper, caught on Pheasant Tail

Read More:

Part 1: This Is Our First Rodeo

Part 3: Lapping the C

Interested in booking a Utah small stream fishing adventure. Check out Beehive Fishing Company for a guided Fly Fishing Adventure on one of many Utah small streams.

Utah Trout, Wild Trout Streams

Getting out there

Over the past weekend over 700 hundred miles were driven in the pursuit of happiness and splendid isolation.  The weather was beautiful.  Life is all about the journey…

Enjoying the ride
Back where you want to be
Unfortunately, the guide book written ten years ago lied and this GEM of an establishment is no longer open for business

I love seeing everything the state of Utah has to offer so we packed up the car and headed into the incredibly desolate and isolated Northwest corner.

Small freestone stream. No spring runoff this year
FUCKIN' awesome
Trophy huntin'
almost there
Bow and Arrow casting all day

The fishing on this stream was pretty fast for bow and arrow casting, but I had the lady and the dogs with me and they weren’t as excited for the lack of back cast as I was.  So we went site seeing.

City of Rocks
Disappointing, rock climber, hippie establishment in the middle of no where next to a built up hot spring where we had dinner

Probably the place that helped put an end to the Naf cafe.

On the way back to camp from sight seeing, the front tire happened to just so delicately fall off of the Jeep.

6 pm MST. Lost a tire, 70 miles from the nearest real town...no cell service to boot
Sun down in the middle of nowhere

After jerry-rigging the tire back on we drove at 3 mph until we received cell service.  No one at Triple AAA even knew where Naf, Idaho was.  By 11 pm the tow truck arrived.  He wouldn’t drive us the additional ten miles out of the way to our camp, but took us the 70 miles to the nearest town.  From there we met up with Jourdan’s mom who took us back to SLC where we arrived at around 3 in the morning.

The following morning we made the trip back to Naf to retrieve our camping and fishing gear from our campsite.  The good thing about being in the middle of nowhere in the west is everything was there the following day.

To be at this place in its prime

 

 

Wild Trout Streams

NJ Wild Trout Streams

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The State Legislature of New Jersey has designated 35 of the most pristine streams in the less populated areas of the state as “Wild Trout Streams.” Up to 175 similar waterways exist throughout the state, smaller in size and more difficult to access, they are classified as trout producing waters. “Wild Trout Streams,” support the natural reproduction of trout within their banks thus are well protected.  In addition to development buffers, special regulations apply such as artificial lures only and a 12 inch/ two per day limit, effectively protecting the rare populations within these waters. If you are lucky, a few of these locations harbor Heritage Brook Trout; the ancestral relatives to the stocked brook trout of today.

Saturday was unseasonably warm and the Moose Knuckle crew ventured to a purposefully undisclosed location. Many of the streams are at higher elevations (for NJ) as wild Brook Trout require clear, cool and highly oxygenated water. This trout stream is surprising. It thrives in swampy low lands, backyards and long since abandoned farm fields; a true testament to the smart growth management tools used by the town and state government.

Pulled this guy out on a gold Panther Martin

Fortunately, in February there are no briars or thistle; come May this stream is inaccessible courtesy of the dense underbrush that colonized the fallow grazing land surrounding the muddy channel. Fishing was slow and remained that way, the sun disappeared behind the clouds as soon as we arrived. The trout were not cooperating with our intention to momentarily capture them. A gold Panther Martin helped end the skunk; when the sun poked through the clouds, the gold glint attracted an aggressive Brook Trout.

The quarry was stacking up at the tail end of the pool, along an undercut bank prior to the narrow fast riffle where the water exited. They would respond only to lures that dragged along the muddy bottom, risking a snag on the tree roots. Above is a picture of one of the little guys, we promptly released him to where he came. As note, please be gentle with these wild trout; de-barb your hooks, wet your hands before handling and release as soon as possible. Practice catch and release here, it takes longer for these Brook Trout to grow a mere 12 inches than any hatchery trout.

This blog is the first of an ongoing blog. If you are interested in learning more about Wild Trout Streams in New Jersey or a guided fishing trip on one of these streams send an email to mooseknucklefishing@gmail.com.