Blacksmith Fork River, UT

Outing Information

Fish Caught

Brown Trout

Weather

Other Patterns Tried

No other pattern information for this outing.

Fishing Partners

No fishing partners were saved with this outing.

Waypoints

No waypoints were saved with this outing.

Notes

I made it out last night with my friend Dan from the History Department. We fished the Blacksmith Fork River near the CCC Campground as well as Dan’s favorite section near the old dam. We did quite well. I set up my 5wt with two tried and true nymph patterns for Dan, and brought along the Tenkara with an elk hair caddis for me.

Dan was focused. He had the goal of catching a “big” fish. By big, he wanted something over 15inches. The caddis and mayflies were in wing, and it didn’t long before I landed a small brown on the Tenkara. I handed the Tenkara to Dan and he looked at me like, “what am I supposed to do with this?” I told him to just slingshot the ling upstream and watch the fly. His first attempt resulted in hooking himself. His second was much better. The caddis landed perfectly on the water. A bubble appeared and the fly disappeared. Dan didn’t see it but as the fish ran he set the hook and hollered. In his excitement his hands went half way up the rod like he was climbing a rope. It is something that I have repeatedly told him not to do. But unlearning something takes time. Because of where he was gripping the Tenkara it couldn’t bend properly. I thought it was going to snap for sure. I quickly yelled at him to get his hands back down, but he wasn’t listening. With a bit of luck I was able to land the fish before my destroying my rod.

It was ridiculous. The fish fully met Dan’s qualifications as “big” being around 17inches long, and he managed to catch him on only his second cast. I felt a bit jealous, seeing that it was his first time using Tenkara EVER! He was ecstatic and we both grinned for some time. Dan decided to keep him for dinner.

We fished on, catching only browns. Dan went back to nymphing and severely outfished me. As the sun went down, the fishing slowed a bit. Dan suggested that we head upriver to what he calls his “favorite spot.” It is the stretch of river below the old dam. It is the first place I ever took him on the BFR and we have been back several times. Whenever I ask him where he wants to fish he replies, “Wherever, but we should try my favorite spot if we have time.”

It was around 8:45 by the time we made it back to the truck and up the canyon to the stretch below the dam. Dan led the way, skipping a few decent holes in order make it to the good places before it was too dark to see. I brought along my nymphing rod but really didn’t plan to use it. We made it to the white fish hole and Dan pulled out two 16inch+ whities. He also missed a few smaller browns that spit the hook. It was almost too dark to see the indicator, but Dan wanted to keep going. A man after my own heart. We came to a deep pool behind a large boulder in the middle of the stream where Dan lost an excellent brown a few weeks ago. I razzed him about missing the fish. He cast and had an immediate hit but was too slow. By now I could barely see the red and green of the indicator. I reminded him to keep his tip up and just feel the take. He cast in again and connected. I could tell it was a decent fish because it didn’t come flying helplessly out of the water after Dan’s zealous set. It fought hard, and I split the next few minutes reminding Dan not to climb up the rod while trying to net the fish in the fast water. I finally netted the big boy just before he went for deeper water. Dan had done it again. Another great fish for the BFR. He laughed and smiled and then broke the fish’s neck. He said he wanted this guy for dinner too. With dinner in hand and no more light, we called it quits.