03-12-2019, 04:37 PM
I always carry some size 18-20 dries and nymphs. I have had some rare but amazing days when larger flies weren’t working throwing the small stuff. However I just enjoy throwing large flies more and can make them work 99+% of the time. In the winter tailwaters that get pressure such as the Provo, SJR and Marble Canyon I’m always ready switch to the small stuff if larger flies, streamers and egg patterns aren’t working. Those places are low on my fishing priorities but sometimes they’re the only places that are really fishable during the winter. The only other place I found small flies a must is the small tributaries into Strawberry Reservoir. In the late Spring sometimes the big Cutts will run upstream before it closes for their spawn. If you throw larger than 18 you will only catch the 10-16 inch year round Cutts and not the lake run 18- 27 inches ones. And believe me despite those fish being wet rags in Strawberry, they can really put up a fight in the current of those small streams. While size is important almost any standard small nymph will work there.
I don’t fish the Provo all that much. Does it even have salmonflies or that many stoneflies? That lack of biodiversity probably means the fish aren’t eating larger nymphs year round and you need to adjust to it’s limitations especially in the winter. It’s always good to understand the intricacies of each river you fish.
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I don’t fish the Provo all that much. Does it even have salmonflies or that many stoneflies? That lack of biodiversity probably means the fish aren’t eating larger nymphs year round and you need to adjust to it’s limitations especially in the winter. It’s always good to understand the intricacies of each river you fish.
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