Utah Trip: Ogden Canyon

The challenges on the Provo had me looking for easier fishing. I was told Ogden canyon had eager wild trout. I woke up one morning and decided to check it out. The sun had not shed light across the canyon and the water was shaded.

The access is really easy and I was surprised to be the only person in the parking area. The water reminded me of many of the creeks I've fished in the Sierra's. The Ogden River was recently designated as a Blue Ribbon Stream. When I made a few casts I realized why. There were fish in every pool that could hold a trout. I spooked as many as I landed. The fish were beautiful and larger than expected.

Up until this point all I had caught were browns. I probably caught more browns in a week than I have in my whole life. The food sources and water conditions in Utah must be perfect for browns. They seem to thrive here. The canyon fishing was fun and exciting. I could have spent the rest of my vacation just exploring the canyon and be perfectly happy. It was a different experience than the Provo. The fish were smaller but they were a lot more interested in taking a fly. Especially a dry. There was eye candy around every turn.

The lower Ogden River also has decent fishing. My family tried where the river flows right through a park in Ogden. The river was recently stocked and it was the only time in my whole vacation where I caught rainbows. The stocked rainbows were pretty pathetic looking fish. Especially when compared to the brute healthy looking wild browns. Many of the stocked fish had missing fins and barely reached 11inches. I kind of felt these fish needed to be harvested to put them out of their misery. The creel limit was only 2 fish which I found interesting. Even though it's close to a populated area there isn't as many anglers as you'd expect. The hold over fish wise up pretty quickly and become selective and only hit when the drift is just right. It's a great place to fish with kids. The upper waters are a little more sketchy. Mainly because of the chance rattlesnake encounters. I didn't have any but the first day I fished the canyon a gentleman warned me that he had just passed one on the trail. It was enough to keep me from wet wading in sandals. Fishing here was bitter sweet. The conditions and fishing were fantastic. I broke my rod tip after my second fish. I don't know if it was fractured from casting big streamers or other bead head flies. It was connected by a few fragments. I had to decide if it was fixable. I decided to rip the broken section off and use the next eye as the last guide. I lost about 14inches and the rod was difficult to cast with at first. I was able to make it work and I guess now I have that 7ft 5wt I've been wanting.