Well, I thought I posted my original post on the Utah fly fishing forum, but I guess somehow I got to the general fly fishing forum... thank you flygoddess for pointing that out... anyway I'm from MN and some friends of min and I are planning a vacation to northern Utah in mid April, one friend has family that has a cabin up there somewhere (not even sure where yet). I guess I'm looking for a little help as to if this will be a good time to go, should we look at big waters or small waters to fish, anything would help.
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It would be a little more helpful if we knew where in northern Utah you are gonna be. Just to give you the basic rundown: Blue wing olives are far and away the major hatch. The Green and Provo will have fish rising to blue wings about every day from 11-4. Midges in the mornings and evenings. The Weber and the SF of the ogden also get blue wing hatches but usually only rise in large numbers during prime conditions (cool, overcast, humid). Logan, BS Fork, SF ogden, and middle provo should have a few skwala stoneflies lingering around in april, and the Weber gets a Mothers day caddis hatch that starts in late April. Can be great when its on, but many times its inconsistent.
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Just make sure you plan on fishing tail waters fairly close to the dams. There is a good chance it is going to be way muddy the whole month of April. There are some great lake flyfishing to be had. Strawberry resivour is a favorite Utah spot. Because of the slot limit the average size of the trout there (mostly cutties, no slot limit on the bows) average 19" for me. I like to use a streamer scud settup there. Usually the ice doesn't come off of it until mid april so you'll have to check the conditions. Contact Daniels Summit Lodge or Strawberry Bay Marina. Another favorite flyfishing destination for me when it is muddy is Jordanelle Res. It has a good pop. of stocked rainbows. and more than a few nice browns. Catch the smallies there on streamers queit often. Catch monster smallies on bass tackle there in may.
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All your smaller streams and rivers in northern Utah will be blown out with run-off at that time. But the Green should be fishing well. The Provo, Weber, and Ogden will be high, but you can still catch fish at those times. Just have to fish smarter.
Strawberry most likely won't be ice-free at that time. It was May before it opened up last year. But Deer Creek and Jordanelle will likely be open by then.
Let us know where you're going to be and how far you want to travel and I'm sure you can get pointed in the right direction.
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As stated previously, once you know where you will be at let us know- very northern Utah may not have the rivers blown out at all- just depends on the year and weather.
Some of my best fishing in Cache Valley is in April on very small waters.
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April is a little more hit or miss with runoff and storms like others have mentioned. However when you time thing right the fishing can be fantastic. I probable catch more fish per hour in April than any other month. I think some places that haven't been fishable due to snow start to become accessable and fish are seeing a fly for the first time in many months. And when it comes to fish over 18 inches I catch more then than any time except late fall. Again tailwaters but as other have mentioned some of the lower elevation smaller streams when reasonable clear can be incredible. With the faster water I find a tungsted beadhead nymph extremely effective that time of year on those smaller freeflowing streams. Save the dries for the tailwaters.
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Quote:All your smaller streams and rivers in northern Utah will be blown out with run-off at that time.
VERY UNLIKELY - Most of our rivers in northern utah are dam controlled. Runoff is not usually a problem until you get into may. The spring ramp up of the middle provo usually takes place between the second and third week of May. Dam managers are trying to fill Deer Creek so don't look for the lower to get too terribly high until mid may as well.
April is a fantastic month. Baetis Baetis Baetis
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