Provo River, UT
Pescador on the Fly = Fisherman on the Go
My beautiful wife Heather and I chose to celebrate our 10 year anniversary with a little trip to ski in Park City . Heather still categorizes herself as a "beginner" when it comes to skiing. Only having skied for one day prior to our trip, and that was in Minnesota, we were told by countless people in Park City "that doesn't count." As many of you that know me are well aware, a trip anywhere I've never been before led me to research where I could fly fish. The great news on this one is that I've definitely heard of The Provo River, right outside of Park City. Since this was not a "fly fishing focused trip", I chose to clip the "El Cinco" combo & "El Bolso", our new fly fishing sling pack, to my backpack. I've brought a fly rod on just about every family vacation and business trip for years. After searching the market for a GREAT super compact travel rod, trying everything I could find & striking out, I chose to produce my own. This combo travels better than anything I've found, and fishes fantastic. Does it cast as well as a 4 piece rod? Not exactly. But everyone I've spoken to that has thrown a fly with them has been VERY impressed, and VERY surprised at how well it fishes given the 7 pieces. Anyway...on to the trip!
Heather & I on the Mountain
On day 1, it was snowing! The mountain was virtually empty compared to what we would see on the weekend. We hit the slopes, focusing mainly on the bunny hill. After a few hours of practice, we decided to hang up our skis for the day and go find The Provo River. My wife was eager to come with me to experience the river, which was a pleasant surprise for me. The Provo is a gorgeous tailwater a short drive from Park City. It is classified as a Blue Ribbon Fishery, and as most with this classification, gets a TON of fishing pressure. These are educated trout for sure. The advice I got from a local fly shop was to fish deep with a lot of weight and an indicator. I'll do a little of this during our trip, but I'm much happier fishing a dry and dropper, so that's how I rigged up. I had one fish go after the dry on our first day on the water, which I missed. The first day was a strike out for about an hour and a half, but as you can imagine, listening to the river was simply awesome for Heather and I.
El Cinco Adventure System
El Cinco Travel Fly Rod Combo
El Cinco Adventure System
For the next 4 days, we skied and fished each day. It's great to be in a place where you can go for several ski runs and then head to the river. This may be one of my new favorite places to visit in the winter.
Fish On, Provo River
Brown Trout, Provo River
We caught several gorgeous wild brown trout over the next few days. Nothing big, but everyone was beautiful! Heather thought they were all "very cute"!
Brown Trout, El Cinco
Brown Trout, Provo River
Baby Brown Trout
El Bolso Fly Fishing Sling Pack
On the final day of our trip, we hooked into a much larger brown that took me down the river a ways before the hook pulled. I was disappointed I didn't do a better job of getting down the river, but Heather was PISSED. She was so disappointed we lost the fish, and it reminded me how much I love her! Here is a picture she took right before the hook pulled.
El Cinco getting a workout
Below is one more we got on the dropper, a size 20 zebra midge, below the dry. The last fish of the trip. The colors of these fish are spectacular!
Brown Trout on the Provo River
El Cinco with a Brown from the Provo
Walking through the airport with El Cinco clipped on my backpack, we were approached by a Delta Airline pilot asking, "Is that a fly rod?" (This happens just about every time I fly). We had a great conversation, and he instantly got the concept. He said to me, "It's small enough to bring with me, which is way better than the rod I won't bring with me." He ordered one the next day.
By far, my favorite part of this trip was fishing with my wife Heather. She wanted to come with me each day. It's a fantastic benefit to have some good pictures for a change vs my normal poor attempt at taking fish selfies.
Pescador on the Fly to us means Fisherman on the Go. If you are on the go, and like to slip away to find fish on the fly, check out our travel rods. We'll keep updating our blog with new fishing adventures after the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
Jeff Ditsworth
Heather and I at the Mormon Temple
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